70-hr work raises compliance issues, violates labour laws: TeamLease VP

A 70-hour work week could raise compliance issues as it violates labour laws, a senior official of staffing company TeamLease said on Friday.

"If somebody is spending 70 hours (in office), they are going beyond 9 hours. There is a fundamental disconnect, when you are an employee labour law allows you to work 9 hours," Vice President and Business Head for TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship Dhriti Prasanna Mahanta said.

Former Infosys CEO N R Narayana Murthy had recently advocated for a 70-hour work week, drawing reactions from across the spectrum.

The cost of employment, if a 70-hour work week is made possible, will also increase, and in a lot of places you are not allowed to pay overtime, he said.

He pointed that this works for entrepreneurs and self-motivated individuals but cannot be accepted due to labour law compliance norms in place.

Speaking to PTI on hiring trends, Mahanta said around 65 per cent of the demand is coming from non-tech sectors for job roles in AI, machine learning and blockchain, especially from sectors like telecom, aviation, retail commerce, fintech, and electronics.

The reason for the increase in the requirement of these profiles is primarily due to investment from both government and the private sector and also the change in customers' buying behaviours post-Covid, TeamLease noted.

"Indian companies have made a beeline to adopt AI tools like fish takes to the water, and the demand for talent familiar with AI is going to come from sectors ranging from finance, healthcare, transportation, logistics, etc, resulting in a 51 per cent skill gap for AI talent, which needs to be addressed via work-based learning programs like apprenticeships," Mahanta said.

The IT profiles requirement in non-tech sectors will have a strong multiplier impact in FY-24 and virtual global mobility will also add up the growth, Mahanta added.

While cloud engineer jobs have seen 25 per cent upward trends, AI, blockchain and ML-certified professionals are seeing 35 pc upward trends in their hiring, whereas for network and computer systems administrator, there is a 10 per cent uptick.

For network security engineers, the company predicts 20 per cent upward trends as per approximations that were derived from various reports, and primary and secondary research.