8 hours a day
No worker is required or allowed to work more than eight hours in a day. A Maharashtra shop allows nine under its own Act.
Source: OSH Code, 2020, s.25(1)(a)
Free Excel file
Festive Shift Roster Format for Indian Employers
A two-week roster around Diwali, Sunday 08-Nov-2026, that checks itself: a seventh day, too many hours and women's late shifts turn red or amber before anyone works them.
- 02 to 15 Nov 2026, one code a day
- Flags a seventh day and over-long weeks
- Diwali pay by State, not one rate
Instant download. No card needed.
Attendo presents
Festive Shift Roster
For Indian employers
6
sheets, roster to overtime
Attendo presents
What's inside
What is inside the roster
Six sheets. Plan the season first with the staffing checklist.
Sheet 1
Settings
Shift codes and times, and the limits: hours a day, hours a week, days a week and the women's window, each with its source.
Sheet 2
Roster
Fourteen days, one code a day from a drop-down. Each person's week is totalled, and anything over a limit turns red.
Sheet 3
Festival Pay
For everyone who works Diwali, what their State's law gives, with twice the day's wages worked out.
Sheet 4
Overtime
Hours above the week's limit at twice the rate, on the same overtime rule, and a flag where consent is missing.
Sheets 0 and 5
Read Me and Citations
What to check before you roster, and every limit against the provision it rests on.
Attendo
Book a Free Demo
Rosters for every branch
Attendo (formerly Petpooja Payroll) plans rosters in one spreadsheet view and works out overtime from the punches.
Why this matters
Why a festive roster has to check itself
Because the festive fortnight is when limits get broken without anyone noticing. A swap here and a double shift there, and someone has worked seven days or sixty hours.
The limits are short. Eight hours a day under the OSH Code, which binds an establishment of ten or more workers, forty-eight a week under the Central rules, and no more than six days in a week, so whoever works the weekly off gets another day that week. A duty roster that shows the rest day is the simplest proof.
Overtime needs consent and is paid at twice the rate, and the overtime rules count it by the week for most staff. A woman on a shift before 6 a.m. or after 7 p.m. works it only with her written consent and transport home.
None of it is one rule for India. A store in Pune works nine hours a day and its women's window runs to 9.30 p.m.; a hospital in Bengaluru follows Karnataka's festival rules. So every limit on Settings is yours to change.
Diwali pay is State law too. The Diwali holiday notice sets out Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, and the Festival Pay sheet applies them person by person. Tamil Nadu needs 24 hours' written notice to work the day, and none of the three reaches managers.
Preview
Three flags the roster raises
Each one is in the worked examples, so you can see it before you replace them.
- The seventh day. A factory operator rostered all of Diwali week turns red: give him a day off that week.
- The long week. A cook on 9.5-hour shifts goes over both the day's and the week's hours: that is overtime, only with his consent.
- The late shift. A Pune cashier ending at 22:00 with no consent recorded turns amber: get consent or change the shift.
| Employee (an example) | Flag | Week 1 hours | Week 1 days | State | Diwali |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suresh, factory | Seventh day | 56 | 7 | Tamil Nadu | Works |
| Anita, hospital | Consent on file | 48 | 6 | Karnataka | Works |
| Priya, store | Late, no consent | 48 | 6 | Maharashtra | Works |
| Ramesh, kitchen | Long shifts | 57 | 6 | Karnataka | Works |
| Farhan, warehouse | Within limits | 40 | 5 | Maharashtra | Holiday |
Key stats
Three limits the roster checks
48 hours a week
No worker more than forty-eight hours in a week, under the Central rules; overtime beyond it is paid at twice the rate.
Source: OSH (Central) Rules, 2026, rules 64 and 696 days in a week
No worker is allowed to work more than six days in any one week, so a worked weekly off moves within the week.
Source: OSH Code, 2020, s.26(1)
Common mistakes
6 Festive Roster Mistakes Indian Employers Make
Cancelling the weekly off
No one works more than six days in a week. Move the weekly off within the week instead of dropping it.
Double shifts by instruction
Hours beyond the limit are overtime, worked only with consent and paid at twice the rate.
Late shifts for women without consent
Before 6 a.m. or after 7 p.m., written consent and transport home come first; in a Maharashtra shop, outside 7 a.m. to 9.30 p.m.
One Diwali rate for every branch
Working Diwali pays differently in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. The roster reads each person's State.
Central limits in a State that sets its own
The defaults are the Code and Central rules. Change them on Settings to your State's before trusting the flags.
Changing shifts without notice
A new or altered shift is a change under the Third Schedule. Workers get twenty-one days' notice first: by 17-Oct-2026.
Comparison
A roster on paper against this workbook
A printed rota
Names and shifts
- Seventh days slip through
- Hours never added up
- Late shifts unchecked
- One Diwali rate for all
- Limits nobody sourced
Free either way
This workbook
Six sheets, every check a formula
- Seventh day turns red
- Day and week totalled
- Amber until consent is in
- Diwali pay by State
- Every limit with its source
Roster it before the rush
Fill the fortnight, clear the flags, then post it. Attendo keeps rosters and overtime for every branch.
FAQ
Common questions
Is this festive shift roster really free? +
Yes, completely. No card and no trial. The form asks for your name, work email, phone and city, then the Excel file downloads straight away. The Attendo team may follow up about payroll software, and you are free to say no thanks.
What does the roster check? +
Five things for each person, every week: more than six working days, more than the week's hours, a shift longer than the day's hours, a woman on a shift in the night window without consent recorded, and whether they work Diwali. The limits are inputs on the Settings sheet, with the Code or Central rule figure as the default and its source beside it.
How many hours can staff work during Diwali week? +
Under the OSH Code, eight hours a day, and under the Central rules forty-eight a week, with no more than six days in a week. Beyond that is overtime, at twice the rate and only with consent. A Maharashtra shop works nine hours a day, so the limits are yours to change to your State's.
What do we pay staff who work on Diwali? +
It depends on your State, and the roster does not print one rate. In Karnataka and Tamil Nadu the employee chooses twice the wages or a substituted holiday; in Maharashtra it is double the daily average wages and a day off, both. The Festival Pay sheet shows the right rule for each person's State.
Can a woman be rostered on an evening shift in a store? +
Yes, with her written consent and the safeguards, where the shift runs before 6 a.m. or after 7 p.m., or outside 7 a.m. to 9.30 p.m. in a Maharashtra shop. The roster turns the row amber until consent is recorded.
A
About Attendo
Attendo (formerly Petpooja Payroll) is payroll and attendance software used by 40,000+ businesses across manufacturing, corporate offices, retail, hospitals and education. General guidance, not legal advice. This roster is one of our free HR templates, each built from the law rather than from other templates.
Attendo
Get the festive roster
A two-week roster with its own checks, festival pay by State and overtime, in Excel. Free, and no card.
Book a Free Demo
Call: +91 72280 34343