Business
Can Indians Switch To A 4-Day Work Week? Here’s What Govt Says
New Delhi: For decades, the five-day work week has been the norm for most Indian employees. However, with rising conversations around work–life balance and productivity, many are now wondering if a four-day work week could become a reality in India. Several countries such as Japan, Germany and Spain have already experimented with shorter work schedules and reported encouraging outcomes. Interestingly, recent changes and discussions around India’s labour laws indicate that a four-day work week may be possible for certain sections of the workforce.
What the Labour Ministry Has Said on 4-Day Work Week
The Ministry of Labour and Employment recently clarified on X (formerly Twitter) that a four-day work week is possible under the new Labour Codes. According to the Ministry, employees can work for 12 hours a day for four days, while the remaining three days will be paid holidays. However, the total weekly working hours will still be capped at 48 hours, and any work beyond 12 hours in a day will have to be paid at double the normal wage rate.
Flexible Work Schedule Allowed Under New Labour Codes
The Labour Ministry has said that the revised Labour Codes allow employees to work 12 hours a day for four days, while the remaining three days can be taken as paid holidays, making a four-day work week possible under the new rules.
Weekly Work Hours Cap Remains Unchanged
The Labour Ministry clarified that the total working hours in a week will still be capped at 48 hours, even under a four-day work schedule. It also noted that the 12-hour workday includes breaks and spread-out time, ensuring employees are not working continuously for the entire duration.
What’s New Under India’s Updated Labour Laws
On November 21, 2025, the government consolidated 29 existing labour laws into four new labour codes—the Code on Wages (2019), Industrial Relations Code (2020), Social Security Code (2020), and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (2020). The move aims to simplify labour regulations while ensuring timely payment of wages, regulated working hours, better workplace safety and wider access to health and social security benefits.
A major change under the new codes is for fixed-term employees. They are now entitled to the same benefits as permanent workers, including leave, health coverage and social security. Notably, fixed-term workers can claim gratuity after just one year of continuous service, instead of the earlier five-year requirement, and must be paid wages equal to permanent employees doing similar work.
Two ads promoting British beef and milk have been banned after television presenter and environmental campaigner Chris Packham complained that they misled consumers about the products’ carbon footprints.
Both ads for the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s (AHDB) Let’s Eat Balanced campaign used the carbon footprint of British beef and milk to promote the products, firstly stating: “British beef not only tastes great, but has a carbon footprint that’s half the global average*.”
The asterisk linked to text that stated: “Full lifecycle emissions of CO2 eq (carbon dioxide equivalent) per kg of beef.”
The ad for milk stated: “British milk not only tastes good, but is also produced to world-class standards, and has a carbon footprint a third lower than the global average.”
Packham complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that the ads, and specifically the carbon footprint claims, were misleading as they did not reflect the full environmental impact of British meat and dairy.
The AHDB said the ads’ mention of carbon emissions would be understood in relation to the environmental impact of beef and milk that occurred between the “cradle-to-retail” stages.
But the ASA said the average consumer “being reasonably well-informed, observant and circumspect” would understand the claims to apply beyond the retail stage and include actions such as cooking and wastage.
The ASA said: “While we acknowledged the potential difficulties in producing post-retail emissions data, the claims in the ads suggested those emissions were included and we therefore expected the evidence provided to also include them.
“We therefore concluded that the evidence presented was insufficient to support the full life-cycle claims in the ads, which was how the average consumer was likely to interpret them.
“We reminded AHDB that environmental claims should be based on the full life cycle unless the ad stated otherwise.”
AHDB’s director of communications and market development, Will Jackson, said: “Let’s Eat Balanced is doing what it was designed to do, providing clear, factual, evidence-led information about British food, nutrition and farming standards.
“Since the investigation began, we have conducted independent consumer research which found that the majority of respondents interpreted these adverts as relating to the production phase only, from farm to retail.
“This research provides important insight into consumer understanding and supports our belief that consumers were not misled by the information we shared in these two specific adverts.”
BENGALURU: India’s Gen Z workforce is embracing what experts describe as “portfolio careers” – balancing multiple professional identities and income streams simultaneously. New research from LinkedIn shows that 75% of Gen Z entrepreneurs in India now manage multiple income streams, significantly higher than the 62% among Gen X entrepreneurs. The findings point to a growing preference among younger professionals for flexibility, autonomy and diversified sources of income. “We’re also seeing the rise of the ‘portfolio era’, with more professionals creating multiple income streams and redefining what a career can look like. This shift is making entrepreneurship more accessible than ever before,” said LinkedIn India country manager Kumaresh Pattabiraman.Rather than depending on a single full-time role, many professionals are simultaneously building businesses, freelancing, consulting, creating online content and monetising specialised skills through digital platforms. The trend comes amid a broader rise in entrepreneurial activity in India. LinkedIn recorded a 104% year-on-year increase in members adding “Founder” to their profiles – the highest growth among all global markets.AI is also emerging as a major enabler of this shift. The report found that 85% of Gen Z entrepreneurs consider AI and digital tools important to their business operations.
Sam Altman said Elon Musk tried many times for total control of OpenAI, which he’s now suing.
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