Compensation and Working Time
Overtime Compensation
In accordance with the Labour Act, 2007, ordinary hours per week are 45. The daily working hours cannot 9 hours per day if the employee works 5 days or less per week. Where the employee works 6 days, working hours cannot exceed 8 hours per day. Children under 14 years of age are not allowed to work. For children above the age of 14 years and adults, there does not appear to be any distinction as to their ordinary work hours or overtime.
An employer cannot ask the employee to do overtime unless otherwise agreed in the written agreement. Overtime must not exceed 10 hours a week and 3 hours per day. The employer must pay an employee at a rate of at least one and one-half times (150%) of the employee’s hourly basic wage for overtime. Where the employee ordinarily works on a Sunday or on a public holiday, he/she must be paid at a rate of at least double (200%) the employee’s hourly basic wage for overtime.
The periods of work are to be fixed in such a way that where an employee has continuously worked for 5 hours, he/she must be given a meal interval for at least 1 hour. This meal interval can be decreased to half an hour, where the employee agrees and the Labour Department has been notified of such an agreement. The meal interval is not regarded as time worked unless the employee is a security officer, works in an emergency healthcare service, or is of any class designated by the Minister of Labour, and has to work up to 60 hours a week.
Source: §3(2) & 16-18 of the Labour Act, 2007
Night Work Compensation
The working hours for night workers are between 10 pm and 7 am. An employee is entitled to an additional payment of 6% of the employee’s hourly basic wage, not including overtime, for each hour of work performed by the employee between the hours of 10 pm and 7 am. The law does not provide for reduced working hours for a nighttime worker. Children below the age of 18 years cannot be employed as night-time workers. However, the Minister of Labour can make regulations permitting children between the ages of 16 to 18 years to carry out night work.
Source: §3(3), 3(4) & 19 of the Labour Act, 2007
Compensatory Holidays / Rest Days
An employer must allow an employee a weekly interval of at least 36 hours of consecutive rest unless the employee is performing urgent work. Furthermore, an employer cannot permit an employee to work on a Sunday or a public holiday unless the latter is performing urgent work, business in a shop, hotel or such other establishment that operates on Sunday, domestic service, health and social welfare care, work which requires continuous shifts, farm work, or any activity approved by the Permanent Secretary for Labour.
Where both the employer and employee agree and the worker works on a Sunday or on a public holiday, such an employee is to be paid his normal daily remuneration along with 150% (for Sunday) or 50% (for public holiday) of the employee’s hourly basic wage for each hour worked as opposed to 200% (for Sunday) or hourly basic wage (for public holiday) along with daily remuneration. In return, the employee is to receive an equal period of time off work during the next working week.
The law does not require compensatory rest days for working on a weekly rest day or a public holiday. However, employees can have the equivalent time off if they accept a decrease in the hourly basic wage.
Source: §20-22 of the Labour Act, 2007
Weekend / Public Holiday Work Compensation
The Labour Act, 2007, does provide compensation for the employees working on a Sunday or a public holiday. For Sundays, the employer must pay an employee who works on Sundays 200% of that employee’s basic wage for each hour worked. However, an employer can pay an employee who works on a Sunday 150% of that employee’s hourly basic wage instead, if the employer grants the employee an equal period of time away from work during the next working week. However, for such an arrangement, agreement from the employee is necessary. Where the employee ordinarily works on a Sunday, then the employer has to pay the employee’s daily remuneration, along with the hourly basic wage for each hour worked.
For public holidays, if the holiday falls on a day on which an employee would have ordinarily worked, then the employee who works on a public holiday must be given normal daily remuneration as well as the hourly basic wage for each hour worked. However, where the employer and the employee agree, then the latter who works on a daily holiday can be given normal daily remuneration along with 50% of the employee’s hourly basic wage for each hour worked and in return, the employee has to be given an equal period of time off work during the next working week. If the employee works on a public holiday that falls on a day other than the employee’s ordinary working day, the employer must pay 200% of the employee’s hourly basic wage for each hour worked.
Source: §21-22 of the Labour Act, 2007
Regulations on Compensation
- Labour Act, 2007
