Working Hours and Overtime in Gabon

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Gabon?

An employee whose age is 17 or younger has a maximum of 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. An employee whose age is 18 or older is allowed to work 40 hours per week. A minimum meal interval of 60 minutes must be observed by employees who work more than 6 hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 8:00 to 16:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Gabon

Under Gabonese labour law, the general statutory limit for full-time work is 40 hours per week, usually spread over 5 or 6 days. Daily working time is commonly set at 8 hours, and you should structure schedules so that employees do not routinely exceed this threshold. Any hours beyond these limits are treated as overtime and must follow the applicable caps and premium rates.

Collective agreements or company-level accords may organize working time over reference periods, but they cannot reduce the protections granted by the Labour Code. As an employer, you must clearly define working hours in employment contracts and internal regulations, and you must display work schedules in the workplace. You are also required to keep accurate time records to demonstrate compliance in the event of an inspection.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

Companies hiring in sectors like healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, or hospitality may be subject to special scheduling rules. These sectors often require continuous or shift-based operations, which can lead to longer daily hours balanced by compensatory rest or rotation systems. You should rely on sectoral collective agreements and specific decrees to structure shifts while still respecting the average weekly limit.

• Healthcare professionals may work 12-hour shifts with extended rest periods.
• Transport workers must comply with EU-aligned rest and driving limits.
• Manufacturing and security staff often rotate through night or weekend shifts.

Even in these sectors, you must ensure the average weekly limit is respected over a reference period. You should monitor rosters so that extended shifts do not push employees beyond 40 hours per week on average without properly authorized overtime. Written schedules and rotation plans are essential to show that you are managing these exceptions lawfully.

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managerial staff in Gabon may be classified as cadres with broader autonomy over their working time. While they can have more flexible or irregular schedules, they are not completely outside the scope of working-time protections. Their contracts should clearly state whether they are on a fixed number of hours or a forfait arrangement based on days or responsibilities.

Even when managers are treated as exempt from some hourly limits, you must ensure that workloads remain reasonable and do not endanger health and safety. Excessive hours over long periods can expose you to claims for damages or reclassification of the role. It is prudent to document expectations and any lump-sum compensation that is intended to cover a certain volume of overtime.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Gabon

In Gabon, statutory full-time work is generally defined as 40 hours per week for most private-sector employees. This is the benchmark used for calculating overtime thresholds and many social security and benefit entitlements. Part-time arrangements are those with contracted hours below this 40-hour standard.

You may distribute the 40 hours over 5 or 6 days, such as 8 hours per day from Monday to Friday or slightly shorter days including Saturday. Any alternative pattern should be agreed in writing and comply with daily rest and weekly rest rules. When you introduce flexible or shift-based schedules, you must still ensure that the average working time does not exceed the statutory full-time standard without properly compensated overtime.

Overtime Regulations In Gabon

Overtime in Gabon is tightly regulated, and employers must track hours accurately to prove compliance with the 40-hour weekly standard. You are required to maintain reliable timekeeping systems, retain records, and ensure that any hours beyond the legal limits are both authorized and correctly paid. Failure to do so can result in back-pay orders, fines, and potential criminal liability for serious or repeated breaches.

What Counts As Overtime In Gabon?

In Gabon, overtime is generally any time worked beyond 40 hours in a week for full-time employees. Work performed beyond the normal daily schedule, such as more than 8 hours in a day, is also treated as overtime when it causes the weekly total to exceed 40 hours. You should define normal hours clearly in contracts and internal rules so that overtime triggers are transparent.

Work performed on the employee’s weekly rest day or on a public holiday is treated as overtime and attracts higher statutory premiums. In practice, this means Sunday work or work on a declared public holiday is compensated at enhanced rates even if the weekly total remains close to 40 hours. You must obtain prior authorization where required and keep written records of rest-day and holiday work.

Maximum Overtime In Gabon

Gabonese law generally limits overtime to 20 hours per week, meaning an absolute weekly maximum of 60 hours including regular time. On an annual basis, the typical ceiling is 200 hours of overtime per employee, unless a sectoral agreement or administrative authorization allows a higher figure. These caps are designed to protect employee health and prevent systematic overuse of overtime.

Where justified by exceptional workload or specific industry needs, you may request authorization from the labour authorities to exceed the normal annual cap, often up to around 300 hours per year. Even with such authorization, you must still respect daily rest and weekly rest requirements. You should implement approval workflows so that managers cannot schedule overtime that would push employees beyond the weekly 20-hour overtime limit or the authorized annual ceiling.

Overtime Payout Rates In Gabon

In Gabon, the statutory minimum overtime premium is 15% above the normal hourly rate for the first tranche of overtime, typically the first 8 overtime hours in a week, which must be paid at 115% (1.15x) of base pay. Beyond that, overtime is commonly paid at 50% above the normal rate, or 150% (1.5x) of base pay, for additional hours up to the weekly and annual caps. These percentages apply unless a collective agreement grants more generous rates, in which case you must follow the higher standard.

Work performed at night, on Sundays, or on public holidays usually attracts higher premiums than standard overtime. Sunday and public holiday work is often paid at 100% above the normal rate, or 200% (2.0x) of base pay, while night overtime can be subject to both the night premium and the overtime premium. You should specify in writing whether premiums are cumulative and ensure your payroll system correctly applies the 115%, 150%, and 200% multipliers where applicable.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Gabon

In Gabon, employees typically work 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, and rest periods are structured around these standard hours to protect health and safety. During the working day, employees are entitled to meal and rest breaks once their continuous work exceeds a set number of hours. Daily and weekly rest rules ensure that employees have sufficient time away from work between shifts and across the week.

• Meal Break: Employees who work more than 6 consecutive hours must receive at least a 60-minute unpaid meal break, which should be scheduled roughly in the middle of the workday. You should ensure that this break is clearly indicated on work schedules and actually taken in practice.
• Daily Rest: Employees are generally entitled to a minimum of 11 consecutive hours of rest between the end of one workday and the start of the next. This means you should avoid scheduling late-night finishes followed by early-morning starts.
• Weekly Rest: Gabonese law provides for at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest, typically on Sunday, in addition to the daily rest period. If business needs require Sunday work, you must grant a substitute rest day and apply the appropriate premium pay.
• Minors: Workers under 18 benefit from stricter limits on daily hours and must receive longer rest periods between shifts. You should avoid night work for minors and ensure that their weekly rest is strictly respected.
• Employer Duty: Employers must organize schedules so that statutory breaks and rest periods are actually taken and not waived. Labour inspectors in Gabon may review rosters and time records to verify compliance with these obligations.

Night Shifts And Weekend Regulations In Gabon

Night and weekend work are legal in Gabon but subject to additional employer responsibilities and employee protections. You must pay attention to premium rates, health and safety measures, and specific protections for vulnerable groups when organizing such work. Proper documentation and clear policies are essential to demonstrate that you are meeting these obligations.

Night work in Gabon is generally defined as work performed between 22:00 and 05:00, although some sectoral rules may extend the window to 21:00–06:00. This definition applies across most roles, including industrial, service, and security staff, unless a specific decree provides otherwise. Any employee whose schedule regularly falls within this time band should be treated as a night worker for compliance purposes.

• Premium Pay: Night work in Gabon typically attracts a premium of at least 30% above the normal hourly rate, meaning night hours are paid at a minimum of 130% (1.3x) of base pay. Where night work coincides with overtime, you should apply both the night premium and the overtime premium, resulting in combined rates that can reach 195% (1.95x) or more.
• Health Monitoring: Regular night workers should receive periodic medical examinations to assess the impact of night schedules on their health. You should also evaluate fatigue risks and adjust staffing or shift patterns where medical advice indicates a concern.
• Workplace Restrictions: Minors are generally prohibited from night work, with only narrow exceptions for certain sectors under strict conditions. Pregnant workers should be exempted from night shifts upon medical recommendation, and you should consider reassigning them to daytime duties without loss of pay.

Weekend work, particularly on Sunday, is normally treated as work on the weekly rest day and is therefore exceptional. When employees work on Sunday, you must grant a substitute rest day and pay at least a 100% premium, meaning Sunday hours are compensated at 200% (2.0x) of the normal rate. You should limit routine Sunday work to cases where continuous operations are essential and ensure that collective agreements or internal rules clearly set out the applicable premiums.