Forcing workers to work against their will under threat of penalty can indicate forced labour regardless of whether the involuntary work is performed during regular hours or overtime.
Under Indonesian law, employees must provide written consent for all overtime work.
The company cannot retain original documents of its employees without their consent, such as birth certificates, education certificates, and Personal ID cards. Retaining original personal documents against the will or without the consent of the worker is a strong indicator that forced labour maybe taking place, as it prevents the employee from leaving their current job and seeking employment elsewhere.
Example: Normal working hours at a garment factory are from 7am-4pm from Monday to Friday with a one hour lunch break. However, during peak season, the supervisors forced workers to sign their consent to work overtime, for an extra four hours, without considering whether the workers wanted to go home. If the workers refused, the supervisors threatened not to extend their non-permanent work agreement. This is a prohibited practice. Workers must freely agree to work overtime and their consent must be documented accurately. The workers cannot be punished because they refused to work overtime.
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