Overtime and comp-off in architecture and interior firms

Where the extra hours come from

Look at a year of studio punches and the late nights cluster around deadlines: competition entries, authority submissions, client presentations, tender drawings and handover weeks on fit-out sites. Revisions after a client meeting add unplanned evenings on top. Knowing the pattern helps the principal plan, for example by bringing in a freelance visualiser for the render crunch or staggering deadlines across projects, instead of expecting the same two designers to work every late night.

Pay or comp-off: choosing by role

The OSH Code rate for overtime, meaning work past the prescribed hours with the worker's consent, is twice the ordinary wage rate. In studios, draughtspersons, CAD technicians and fit-out supervisors are the roles most often paid overtime, while architects and designers in professional or supervisory roles more often receive comp-off under the firm's policy. Check each role against your state's rules before deciding, and where the policy allows, leave the choice of pay or time off to the employee, since many designers prefer rest after a crunch.

Worked example: a CAD technician's submission week

Farhan is a CAD technician on ₹30,000 gross a month. Dividing by a 30-day month gives ₹1,000 a day, and dividing that by eight gives ₹125 an hour. Before a municipal submission he works past his 7 pm shift end on four evenings: 2 hours 50 minutes, 3 hours 10 minutes, 1 hour 40 minutes and 20 minutes. The policy ignores anything under 30 minutes and rounds the rest down to the nearest quarter hour, so these count as 2 hours 45 minutes, 3 hours, 1 hour 30 minutes and nothing, a total of 7 hours 15 minutes. At twice the rate, 7.25 x ₹125 x 2 = ₹1,812.50.

Approving late nights and converting to comp-off

Overtime is picked up from the punches overnight and is waiting for approval the next morning. The project architect confirms it was needed for the submission, HR approves, and approved hours become pay or comp-off according to the payout rule. Every 4 approved hours earn half a day of comp-off and every 8 hours a whole day, so a designer with 16 approved extra hours in a competition week earns two days off. A monthly cap, such as 30 hours, makes a project that keeps exceeding it get more people rather than more nights.

How to set it up in ZeniaHR

1. In the Overtime policy, choose whether overtime counts beyond full-day hours, which suits flexible studio shifts, or after shift end.
2. Keep all three multipliers, for working days, weekly offs and holidays, at no less than twice the ordinary wage rate.
3. Pick employee's choice as the overtime payout, so designers can bank comp-off and technicians can draw pay.
4. Keep approval required so project architects confirm late nights before HR approves, and set a monthly cap per person.
5. Each month, look at approved overtime and where it came from, and plan freelance support where one project keeps crossing the cap.

Read more about overtime in ZeniaHR.

Roles this applies to

Frequently asked questions