Overtime for EPC Companies: Commissioning and Shutdowns

EPC overtime is not spread evenly across the year. It is low in early construction, rises through mechanical completion, and peaks in commissioning and client shutdowns, when twelve-hour days become normal for weeks. Good practice agrees the overtime plan with the project budget before the peak, takes each employee's consent, pays at twice the ordinary wage rate or gives comp-off by a clear rule, and watches fatigue as closely as cost.

Budget overtime before the peak arrives

Commissioning overtime is rarely a surprise, because the schedule shows it months ahead. Estimate it per discipline: how many engineers, how many hours beyond the ordinary day, for how many weeks. Check whether the contract lets you recover it from the client, as some shutdown and cost-plus contracts do, or whether it comes out of the project margin. A project manager who knows the overtime budget can choose between adding engineers and extending hours, instead of defaulting to the second.

Consent, the double rate and who is covered

The OSH Code treats work beyond the prescribed hours as overtime; it is paid at twice the ordinary wage rate and needs the worker's consent. Take consent in writing before a shutdown roster is published, not on the night itself. Many EPC firms pay overtime to site engineers, QC inspectors, technicians and store staff, and give comp-off to the managers who plan the work. Test each role against your state's rules and the terms of appointment before fixing the policy.

Worked example: a refinery shutdown week

Neha is an instrumentation engineer with a gross salary of ₹60,000. On a 30-day month her day rate is ₹2,000, and her hourly rate is ₹250 for an eight-hour day. During a shutdown week she works 12 hours on each of her six working days, which is 4 hours of overtime a day and 24 hours for the week. At twice the rate, 24 x ₹250 x 2 = ₹12,000. Over a four-week shutdown that pattern reaches 96 hours, which is why monthly caps and crew rotation matter. If the roster had also taken her weekly off, the weekly off multiplier would apply, or she could take a comp-off, but keeping the rest day is better.

Approving overtime from a remote site

Each night, overtime is picked up from the day's punches and queued for approval. At a busy site the discipline lead approves as reporting manager and HR follows, using bulk approval for a crew that worked the same extended shift. Approve weekly during shutdowns so hours are checked while the logbooks are fresh. Approved hours become a payroll earning, worked out as gross day rate divided by 8, times hours, times the multiplier, or a comp-off credit for staff on the comp-off payout.

How to set it up in ZeniaHR

In the Overtime policy, count overtime beyond full-day hours for site shifts; keep the minimum at 30 minutes and round down in 15-minute steps.
Set working day, weekly off and holiday multipliers no lower than twice the ordinary wage rate.
Choose the payout per group: pay for engineers and inspectors, comp-off for managers, or the employee's choice where your policy allows it.
Set a monthly cap that matches the shutdown or commissioning plan, so hours beyond it need a fresh decision.
Keep approval required and ask discipline leads to approve weekly, using bulk approval for crews on the same extended shift.
Collect written consent for overtime before publishing a shutdown roster, and file it in each employee's documents.

Roles this applies to

Industrial Relations Officer Industrial Relations Manager Production Trainee Graduate Engineer Trainee Diploma Engineer Trainee

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Frequently asked questions

How is overtime paid to EPC engineers during a shutdown?

At twice the ordinary wage rate for hours beyond the prescribed limit, with the employee's consent. For an engineer whose hourly rate is ₹250, four extra hours a day for six days is 24 hours, or ₹12,000 for the week. Some companies give comp-off instead to engineers in managerial roles.

Can EPC companies recover overtime costs from the client?

Sometimes, depending on the contract. Some shutdown and cost-plus contracts allow overtime to be billed, while lump-sum contracts usually do not. Check the contract before the peak, and keep approved overtime records by employee and date, because clients who reimburse overtime ask to see them.

Do EPC staff need to consent to overtime?

Yes. Under the OSH Code, overtime is work beyond the prescribed hours done with the worker's consent and paid at twice the ordinary wage rate. Take consent in writing before the roster is published, and do not treat silence as agreement.

What is a reasonable overtime cap during commissioning?

There is no single number. Set the cap from the commissioning plan and the weekly limits fixed by government notification, and review it every week. If crews keep hitting the cap, add engineers or a third shift rather than raising it, because tired engineers raise the safety risk in a live plant.