Does a women's night shift pay for itself?

Running women on a night shift brings costs a day shift doesn't: pick-up and drop transport, security and escort, often a night allowance, and the extra cameras and lighting the rules expect. Against that sits the contribution from the extra output. On this calculator's defaults (60 women, 26 nights a month) the extra costs come to about ₹3.29 lakh a month against ₹10.40 lakh of extra contribution, a net of about ₹7.11 lakh. For a small crew, the fixed security cost can tip the answer the other way, and the calculator shows that honestly.

How the calculator works

The calculator takes seven inputs:

• Women on the night shift. The number on the roster each night.
• Transport per woman per night (₹). The cost of pick-up and drop from home: your vehicle cost or contract rate, divided per head per night.
• Security and escort per month (₹). Guards, escorts in vehicles, a female supervisor or warden, and anything else the night arrangement needs, as one monthly figure.
• Night allowance per woman per night (₹). Any extra you pay for night work. Enter zero if you pay none.
• Extra cameras and storage, one-time (₹). Cameras, recording storage and lighting added for the night arrangement.
• Contribution from extra night output, after the women's wages (₹ per night). What the night's extra output earns after material, power and the women's wages are paid. The calculator does not subtract wages separately.
• Nights a month.

The formulas:

Transport a month = women × transport per night × nights
Allowance a month = women × allowance per night × nights
Cameras a month = one-time camera cost ÷ 36 (spread over three years)
Extra cost a month = transport + security + allowance + cameras
Extra contribution a month = contribution per night × nights
Net a month = extra contribution − extra cost

If the net is negative, the calculator says plainly how much more the night shift costs than it earns.

Worked example (India)

A garment or electronics-assembly unit runs a women's night shift. All values are assumptions for illustration; they are the calculator's defaults.

Transport is the biggest line, more than half of the extra cost. Cameras, spread over three years, are the smallest: about 1% of it.

When it doesn't pay. Take a smaller crew of 10 women whose extra output earns ₹3,000 a night after wages, with the same transport rate, allowance, security contract and cameras:

Security and cameras don't shrink with the crew. For 10 women, the night needs ₹4,168 of contribution a night just to break even. Below that, the shift costs money every month. Sharing transport and security with another night crew or a neighbouring unit can help; if that isn't possible, the arithmetic may not work.

What the rules require, in short

Section 43 of the OSH Code entitles women to work in all establishments and lets them work before 6 a.m. and after 7 p.m. with their consent, subject to conditions the appropriate government prescribes. For a factory that is the state government. The OSH Central Rules, 2026 (rule 83), which bind central-sphere establishments and are a useful reference for what states ask, list written consent, pick-up and drop transport from home, well-lit workplaces and passages, CCTV "on the way to" toilets and other facilities, displayed emergency numbers and compliance with the POSH Act.

Your state's own rules apply to your plant and may add conditions. Check them in our state-by-state tracker, and for Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu in their own guides. Every line in this calculator should cost what your state's conditions require, not less.

What typical numbers look like

We found no credible public benchmark for what Indian factories spend on night transport, escort or security per woman, or on a typical night allowance. We also found no national statutory night-shift allowance for factory workers. These depend on distance, city, contract rates and local practice. Get quotes from your transport and security vendors and use them here.

What this number does not tell you

• Whether the extra output can be sold. The contribution input assumes every extra piece is sold. If your order book can't absorb a night's output, the shift builds stock, not profit. The third shift payback calculator works through the same question for any night crew.
• Whether night output matches day output. The UK Health and Safety Executive notes that concentration and productivity tend to decline during the night and early hours, so a night crew of 60 may not produce what 60 do by day. Measure a few weeks of night running before you trust the contribution figure.
• Compliance in full. The calculator prices the main cost lines. It doesn't check consent forms, POSH committees, lighting levels or camera coverage. The retention and audit checklist covers the records side.
• What the cameras are for. Cameras on the route to washrooms and facilities are there for safety, not to watch individuals. Tell workers what is recorded and why with a DPDP worker notice, and keep footage access limited. For output, what matters is whether machines and lines ran, counted in aggregate.
• What a camera can and cannot see. A camera can show whether the night line ran, how long it stood and whether passages were lit and covered. It cannot confirm consent, the quality of transport arrangements or that a woman reached home safely.

Related guides

• Running Women on the Night Shift in India: The CCTV the 2026 Rules Now Expect
• Which Indian States Require CCTV to Run Women at Night (2026 Tracker)
• CCTV Records for Women's Night Shifts: The Retention & Audit Checklist
• Running a Night Shift in a Textile Unit: CCTV, Compliance & the ₹ Case
• Third shift payback calculator (₹)

FAQ

Is it legal for women to work night shifts in Indian factories? Yes. Section 43 of the OSH Code allows women to work before 6 a.m. and after 7 p.m. with written consent and prescribed safeguards: transport, lighting, emergency numbers, POSH compliance and, under the Central Rules, CCTV along the way to washrooms and facilities. Your state's rules may add more, so check them.

What does a women's night shift cost a factory? Mostly transport, security and any night allowance, plus a one-time spend on cameras and lighting. On the default example, 60 women over 26 nights, those extras come to about ₹3.29 lakh a month, more than half of it transport.

Is a night allowance compulsory? We found no national statutory night allowance for factory workers. Some states, sectors or settlements may set one, and local practice often expects it, so check your state and agreements.

When does a women's night shift not pay? When the crew is small and the fixed costs (security, escort, cameras) are spread over few people. In the 10-woman example, the shift needs about ₹4,168 of contribution a night to break even; at ₹3,000 it loses about ₹0.30 lakh a month.

Do the rules require CCTV across the whole factory? The Central Rules require CCTV on the way to toilets, washrooms and other facilities, not across the whole floor, and set no camera count or retention period. State rules may add more, so check yours.

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