Social media is rife with claims that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the possibility for employers to reduce the number of weekly working days to four, for employees who are working up to 12 hours a day.
BOOM found this claim to be false; a source at the Ministry of Finance rubbished this claim as false, and confirmed to us that there is no such proposal to reduce the number of weekly working days to four.
A viral Instagram post containing a picture of Sitharaman, along with the false claim, was shared with the caption, "2 DAYS WEEK OFF OUTDATED, GOVT BRINGS 3 DAYS WEEK OFF POLICY 🥳 What are your view on this decision ??? 🧐🤔"
This was also being shared on Facebook, which can be viewed here and here.
Fact Check
BOOM searched for news reports on such a proposal using keywords, but was unable to find any credible reports that would suggest such an announcement taking place in the upcoming Union Budget on February 1, 2024.
We referred to existing laws around weekly holidays, under the Factories Act, 1948, and the Weekly Holidays Act, 1942.
According to the Factories Act, 1948, no worker shall be made to work more than 48 hours a week, and shall get at least one day off, either on a Sunday, or within three days prior or after a Sunday.
According to the Weekly Holidays Act, 1942, a shop, restaurant or theatre is required to provide one day off to its employees every week.
Currently, employers usually provide either one or two days of weekly holidays to its employees, depending on the number of weekly working hours.
BOOM found no credible reports on proposals to amend to any of these laws.
Finally, we reached out to a source at the Ministry of Finance, who rubbished the viral claim as false, and confirmed to us that there is no such proposal to introduce three holidays per week, and reduce the number of working days to four.