When comp off is earned
The usual trigger is a full day worked on a weekly off or a paid holiday, for example a technician called in on Sunday for a client shutdown, or a guard covering a colleague on Republic Day. Some policies also grant a half-day comp off for a substantial part-day, and a few grant it for working well beyond shift hours on a normal day, though that is closer to overtime and should be treated as such for statutory purposes.
Under the Factories Act, a worker deprived of the weekly holiday must be allowed compensatory holidays of equal number within the month in which the holidays were due or within the two months immediately following. Shops and Establishments Acts have comparable provisions that vary by state.
Comp off versus overtime pay
Comp off restores rest; overtime pay compensates hours. For a worker covered by the Factories Act or the Code on Wages, hours beyond the daily or weekly limit must be paid at twice the normal rate, and a comp off does not replace that payment. Working a full shift on a weekly off within the 48-hour weekly limit may be compensated by a comp off; working beyond the weekly limit triggers overtime pay regardless.
For salaried staff outside those statutory hour limits, comp off is a matter of company policy and is the common approach for weekend work.
- Weekly off worked, within 48 hours in the week: comp off is the standard remedy
- Hours beyond 9 a day or 48 a week: overtime at twice the rate is due
- Comp off must be granted, not merely credited, within the statutory window
- Record the date worked, the approval and the date the comp off was taken
Policy points that avoid disputes
Define the minimum hours needed to earn a full or half comp off, the validity period (many companies use 30 to 90 days, but the Factories Act window is the month plus two months for factory workers), whether comp off can be encashed or lapses, whether it needs prior approval before the extra day is worked, and how it appears on the attendance record. Unlimited accumulation of comp off is the most common problem in field teams and ends in a large unpaid liability or a mass leave request.
A maintenance electrician on a ₹24,000 monthly wage works a full 8-hour day on Sunday 6 September for a plant shutdown, in a week where his total hours stay at 48. He earns one comp off, which he must be allowed to take by 30 November under the Factories Act window; he takes it on Friday 25 September as a paid day. Had the shutdown pushed his weekly hours to 56, the 8 extra hours would additionally be paid as overtime at 2 × (₹24,000 ÷ 26 ÷ 8) = ₹230.77 per hour, or ₹1,846.
Attend Mitra can hold comp off as a leave type with a balance that is credited on approval after a day worked on a weekly off or holiday, and the roster builder warns when someone with approved leave is scheduled, so a comp off booked for a day is not silently overwritten by a shift.