Last year, New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern proposed a 4-day workweek to promote work-life balance. The United Arab Emirates also decided on slashing its official working week to four-and-a-half days. It also reportedly became the only Gulf country not to have a Friday-Saturday weekend.
Well, if these pieces of news excited you, then we’ve some good news for you.
India is also looking at having a four-day workweek as opposed to the current five-day workweek, probably from next year, reported Republic World.
The country has formulated new labour codes on wages, social security, industrial relations, and occupation safety, health, and working conditions that are likely to be implemented by the next fiscal year. And under this updated code, a lot, including an employees’ take-home salary, workdays, working hours might get changed among other rights of the employees.
It’s predicted that we might have a four-day workweek if the new codes are implemented. However, employees might have to work for 12 hours each day in order to meet the 48-hour weekly work requirement.
Experts analyzing the proposed new labour codes also indicate that there might be a reduction in the take-home salary of employees. Meaning, there might be a change in the way an employee’s basic pay and provident fund (PF) are calculated, read a report by Hindustan Times.
While a huge portion of an employee’s pay would go to their PF account every month, it will, however, reduce their monthly in-hand salary. Although, this might increase their retirement savings. Unlike now, the regulations would restrict allowances to 50 per cent.
The Centre has already finalised the rules under these codes and at least 13 states have pre-published draft rules on these laws.
“The four labour codes are likely to be implemented in the next financial year of 2022-23 as a large number of states have finalised draft rules on these. The Centre has completed the process of finalising the draft rules on these codes in February 2021. But since labour is a concurrent subject, the Centre wants the states to implement these as well in one go,” the Financial Express quoted an official as saying.
Do you think these new guidelines would help the employees?