HYDERABAD: Accusing a major MNC of forcing him to intermittently work for over 16 hours a day during his 14-year tenure, a former employee lodged a complaint with the Telangana labour department, seeking compensation for the extra hours worked.
The complaint assumes significance amid a nationwide debate on optimal working hours for India's youth, triggered by Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy's call for a 72-hour work week to become the norm.
"It is impossible to physically or mentally work for so many hours. Also, when companies charge clients by the hour, why shouldn't employees be paid accordingly?" said the complainant, Sridhar Merugu, who also approached the National Human Rights Commission over the matter.
He said he was compelled to flag the "illegal practice" after the tech giant dismissed his request for overtime wages and subsequently terminated his services. According to the IT professional, the MNC continued to push him to work even when he was unwell and denied him late-night (8 pm to 4 am) and early-morning (4 am to 8 pm) shift allowances, in violation of labour laws.
"For about 3 to 4 months, I was forced to work continuously for more than 16 hours a day due to a shortage of resources. I was paid no overtime. I raised the issue only when it became too much to handle," Sridhar told TOI, alleging that his termination in September 2025 was directly linked to his refusal to work under "unlawful conditions".
"Instead of addressing my grievances, they laid me off within a week of me raising the issue," said the 45-year-old professional.
Sridhar urged the govt dept to direct the US-based firm to clear his pending overtime dues, along with statutory interest and penalties.
Unwritten norm in IT industryReacting to the case, other IT professionals from Hyderabad said exceeding the stipulated 40-hour work week became an unwritten norm in the industry, to the extent that many do not even consider claiming overtime, despite it being their legal right.
"Working even on weekends and holidays without pay became very common, especially post the pandemic. Be it management, team leaders or employees, everyone knows this but chooses to turn a blind eye," said Santosh Kumar, an IT employee with nearly 3 decades of experience.
He claimed that companies were increasingly pressuring employees to work overtime and indirectly threatening termination if they fail to comply, citing resource shortages or budgetary constraints. "Many are working for over 18 hours a day. The work culture has deteriorated, and there is no job security," he rued.
Similar concerns were raised by C Vinod Kumar, president of the Forum for IT Employees, who said the work-from-home culture exacerbated the problem.
"The concept of overtime pay has practically disappeared. Companies now expect employees to take client calls even at midnight, following US or UK time zones, and work through weekends," he said. He described statements by industry leaders, such as Narayana Murthy advocating 70–72-hour work weeks, as reflective of "a capitalist mindset with little concern for employees' work-life balance".
New labour codes to streamline issuesMembers of the Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association (HYSEA) said while overtime and extra working hours were not effectively regulated in the past, new labour codes that came into effect in Nov 2025 are expected to address these issues.
"There may be some older, individual cases. However, going forward, ambiguous practices such as overtime without pay will be streamlined, and such issues are unlikely to recur," said Phani Pattamatta, chief operating officer, HYSEA.
Pointing out that changes are already visible, he said several companies, in their recent quarterly results, reported an increase in employee costs following the implementation of the new labour codes. "These anomalies will be regulated, and employees will be adequately compensated," he added.