Where process plant overtime comes from
Each source has an owner. Double shifts belong to the reliever plan, call-outs to maintenance planning, and turnaround hours to the shutdown budget. Ask shift in-charges to note the cause in the shift log, and review overtime by crew and department every month, so each owner sees their share rather than one plant-wide figure nobody owns.
- Double shifts when a relief does not report
- Handover time outside the shift timings
- Night call-outs for maintenance and instrument technicians
- Turnaround and restart weeks
- Mould trials and urgent orders in plastics units
Consent, caps and fatigue
Under the OSH Code, work beyond the prescribed hours is overtime, paid at twice the ordinary wage rate, with the worker's consent. The overtime rules under the OSH Code give the detail. In a hazardous unit, add a fatigue rule of your own: for example, no more than one double shift a week, and nobody goes from a double shift straight into the next morning's shift. A monthly cap per person stops overtime piling onto the two operators who never say no.
Worked example: an instrument technician's call-outs
Vinod Patel, an instrument technician at a Vapi plant, has a monthly gross of ₹31,200 on a fixed 26-day basis: a day rate of ₹1,200 and an hourly rate of ₹150. In the month he is called out three times at night, for 3, 2.5 and 4 hours, and works 8 hours on a Sunday during a mini shutdown. The 9.5 weekday hours pay 9.5 x ₹150 x 2, which is ₹2,850. At a weekly off multiplier of 2.5, his Sunday pays 8 x ₹150 x 2.5, which is ₹3,000. His overtime for the month is ₹5,850.
Turnaround overtime is a budget
A three-week turnaround can double a maintenance team's monthly hours. Before it starts, agree the working pattern, the overtime budget by department, the payout choice of pay or comp-off after restart, and the cap per person. Approve turnaround overtime daily by team and look closely only at the exceptions. When it ends, compare planned with actual hours so the next turnaround is budgeted on real numbers.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- In the Overtime policy, count overtime beyond full-day hours, with a 30-minute minimum and rounding down to 15 minutes.
- Keep working day, weekly off and holiday multipliers at 2 or above, and set a monthly cap per person.
- Require approval so shift in-charges review the previous night's detected overtime in My Team each morning, before HR.
- Bulk approve turnaround teams daily, and reject overtime that has no call-out or relief reason behind it.
- Pick the payout as pay, comp-off or employee's choice; comp-off after restart suits turnaround hours in some plants.
- Before each payroll, review approved overtime by department to spot crews that are living on double shifts.
Read more about overtime in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
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Is a double shift overtime?
Yes. A second shift after a full one takes the worker beyond the prescribed hours, so the extra hours are overtime, paid at twice the ordinary wage rate and worked with the worker's consent. In a hazardous plant, limit double shifts with a fatigue rule and a reliever pool, so they never become the normal way to cover absence.
How are call-outs paid in a chemical plant?
Call-outs outside a technician's shift are counted from the punch in and out, approved by the maintenance head and HR, and paid as overtime at twice the ordinary wage rate or more, or given as comp-off where your policy allows. Some plants also pay a fixed call-out allowance, which HR adds as a payroll input.
How can a plant reduce overtime from missed reliefs?
Size a reliever pool from planned absence, train relievers on the same units, and roster them into gaps a week ahead. Track double shifts by crew each month. If one crew keeps needing them, look at its leave pattern, sickness and supervision rather than treating the overtime as normal.