(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, no person shall be employed about the business of an establishment for more than forty-eight hours in any one week and nine hours in any one day.
(2) On occasions of seasonal or exceptional pressure of work, a person employed in an establishment may be employed about the business of the establishment in excess of the working hours specified in sub-section (1):
Provided that-
(a) the total number of overtime hours worked by an employee does not exceed fifty within a period of any one quarter; and
(b) the persons employed overtime shall be paid remuneration at twice the rate of his normal wages calculated by the hour.
Explanation.- For the purposes of clause (b) of the proviso to this sub-section and of sections 10 and 12, “normal wages” means basic wages plus such allowances including the cash equivalent of the advantages accruing through the concessional sale to workers of foodgrains and other articles as any worker is for the time being entitled to, but does not include bonus.
(3) No employer shall, on any day or in any week, employ about the business of the establishment any person who has been previously employed on that day or in that week in another establishment or factory for a longer period which together with the time during which he has been previously employed on that day, or in that week in such other establishment or factory, exceeds the number of hours permitted by this Act.
(4) In any proceedings against the employer of an establishment for a contravention of the provisions of sub-section (3), it shall be a defence to prove that the employer did not know and could not with reasonable diligence ascertain that the person was previously employed by the employer of the other establishment or factory.
(5) No person shall work about the business of an establishment or two or more establishments or an establishment and a factory in excess of the period during which he may be lawfully employed under this Act.