Working Hours and Overtime in Uzbekistan

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Uzbekistan?

An employee whose age is 15 or younger has a maximum of 4 hours per day and 24 hours per week. An employee whose age is 16 or older is allowed to work 40 hours per week. A minimum meal interval of 30 minutes must be observed by employees who work more than 4 hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 9:00 to 18:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Uzbekistan

Under Uzbek labour law, the standard working time for most adult employees is 40 hours per week, usually spread over five or six working days. Daily working time is commonly set at 8 hours per day, and any schedule that would exceed this norm must be clearly justified and documented. Employers must ensure that working time arrangements are reflected in employment contracts or internal regulations and communicated in writing.

Reduced weekly limits apply to certain categories, such as employees in hazardous conditions and persons with disabilities, where the statutory norm is typically 36 hours per week. When using summarized (averaged) working time accounting, you must ensure that the average over the reference period does not exceed the applicable weekly norm. Employers are responsible for monitoring hours, keeping accurate time records, and preventing systematic overwork that would breach the 40-hour standard.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

Companies hiring in sectors like healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, or hospitality may be subject to special scheduling rules that allow irregular or shift-based patterns. In these sectors, summarized working time over a reference period of up to one year is often used so that longer shifts on some days are offset by shorter days or additional rest on others. You must still respect the reduced norms for workers in harmful or hazardous conditions.

Even in these sectors, you must ensure the average weekly limit is respected over a reference period. Internal policies should specify how shifts are allocated, how rest periods are guaranteed, and how overtime is authorized and compensated. Coordination with sectoral collective agreements is important where they exist.

• 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 also document any deviations from the standard daily schedule and obtain employee consent where required by law.

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managers and certain highly autonomous employees in Uzbekistan may have more flexible schedules, but they are not fully exempt from working-time protections. Their working hours must still be reasonable and consistent with health and safety obligations, even if they are not strictly tied to a fixed daily schedule. Employment contracts should clearly describe the expected working-time regime and any conditions for additional pay.

Where managers are classified as working under an irregular working day regime, they may be called upon to work beyond normal hours without each instance being treated as overtime. However, this status must be explicitly stated in the contract or internal regulations and typically compensated through higher base pay or additional leave. Misclassifying employees as exempt or irregular-day workers can expose you to back-pay claims and administrative penalties.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Uzbekistan

Statutory full-time work in Uzbekistan is generally defined as 40 hours per week for adult employees in normal working conditions. This is usually organized as five 8-hour days or six shorter days, depending on the employer’s internal rules. Any arrangement that regularly exceeds 40 hours per week is treated as involving overtime and must follow the legal overtime rules.

For employees in harmful or hazardous environments, full-time work is typically limited to 36 hours per week, and for minors the weekly norm is lower still. Part-time arrangements can be agreed in writing, with hours proportionally reduced and pay adjusted accordingly. Employers must ensure that part-time status does not deprive employees of basic labour rights such as leave and social insurance.

Overtime Regulations In Uzbekistan

Overtime in Uzbekistan is tightly regulated, and employers may only require work beyond the established daily or weekly norm in exceptional cases. You must obtain the employee’s written consent in most situations and issue a formal order specifying the reasons and duration of overtime. Accurate timekeeping, payroll records, and justification documents are essential to demonstrate compliance during inspections.

Systematic or undocumented overtime can lead to claims for unpaid wages, administrative fines, and orders to correct working-time schedules. You should implement a clear internal policy that defines who can authorize overtime, how it is recorded, and how the applicable premium rates are calculated. Regular internal audits of timesheets and payslips help reduce the risk of disputes and sanctions.

What Counts As Overtime In Uzbekistan?

Overtime in Uzbekistan generally means any hours worked beyond the employee’s established daily schedule or beyond the statutory weekly norm of 40 hours for adults. Work performed on weekly rest days or public holidays is also treated as overtime and attracts higher pay, even if the total weekly hours do not exceed 40. Employers must distinguish between occasional extensions of the working day and regular shift patterns agreed under summarized working time.

For employees on summarized working time, overtime is calculated at the end of the reference period by comparing actual hours worked with the total hours allowed under the norm. Any excess over the norm is treated as overtime and must be paid at the applicable premium rates. You should clearly define in internal regulations how overtime is tracked for shift workers and how rest-day and holiday work is compensated.

Maximum Overtime In Uzbekistan

Uzbek law limits overtime to no more than 4 hours over two consecutive days for each employee and no more than 120 hours per year per employee. These caps apply regardless of whether the overtime arises from extended daily hours, rest-day work, or urgent production needs. You must plan staffing so that operational peaks are covered without systematically breaching these numerical limits.

Overtime beyond these thresholds is only permissible in narrowly defined emergency situations, such as natural disasters or accidents, and even then must be documented and justified. Certain categories of workers, including pregnant women, minors, and some persons with medical contraindications, may not be engaged in overtime at all. Employers should maintain a register of overtime hours per employee to ensure the 120-hour annual cap is not exceeded.

Overtime Payout Rates In Uzbekistan

For work performed beyond the normal working hours on a regular working day, Uzbek labour law requires a minimum overtime premium of 150% of the employee’s regular hourly rate (1.5x). When employees work on a weekly rest day or a non-working public holiday, the minimum premium increases to 200% of the regular hourly rate (2x). These are statutory minimums, and collective agreements or company policies may grant higher rates but never lower ones.

Employers may, with the employee’s consent, compensate overtime on rest days or holidays partly through time off, but the total value must not fall below the 150% or 200% thresholds. Payroll systems should be configured to apply 1.5x for standard overtime hours and 2x for work on rest days and public holidays, with clear breakdowns on payslips. Failure to apply these numerical rates can result in back-pay liabilities and administrative penalties.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Uzbekistan

In Uzbekistan, employees who work a standard schedule of around 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week are entitled to specific rest periods and breaks designed to protect their health and productivity. These include an unpaid meal break during the working day, daily rest between shifts, and weekly rest days. Employers must structure work schedules so that these rest entitlements are not undermined by overtime or shift work.

• Meal Break: Employees working more than 4 hours in a day must receive a meal break of at least 30 minutes, which is usually unpaid and scheduled roughly in the middle of the workday.
• Daily Rest: Employees are generally entitled to a minimum uninterrupted daily rest period of 12 hours between the end of one workday and the start of the next in Uzbekistan.
• Weekly Rest: Employees must receive at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest, typically on Sunday, and many employers provide 42 consecutive hours when combined with daily rest.
• Minors: Workers under 18 benefit from longer rest periods and additional breaks, and employers must ensure that their schedules are shorter and less intensive than those of adults.
• Employer Duty: Employers in Uzbekistan must formalize break and rest rules in internal regulations, communicate them to staff, and monitor compliance through schedules and time records.

Night Shifts And Weekend Regulations In Uzbekistan

Night and weekend work are legal in Uzbekistan but subject to additional employer responsibilities and employee protections. You must pay attention to working-time limits, health and safety considerations, and special protections for vulnerable groups. Internal policies should clearly define when night and weekend work is allowed and how it is compensated.

Night work in Uzbekistan is generally defined as work performed between 22:00 and 06:00. This definition applies across most roles and sectors, although specific collective agreements may refine the exact hours. Any employee regularly scheduled during this window is considered a night worker and must receive the applicable protections and, where provided, premiums.

• Premium Pay: Uzbek law does not set a fixed statutory numerical night work premium, so there is no mandatory percentage such as 25% or 1.25x, and night work compensation is typically determined by collective agreements or internal policies that often provide supplements in the range of 20%–40% of the hourly rate.
• Health Monitoring: Regular night workers should be offered periodic medical examinations to monitor fatigue, sleep disorders, and other health impacts associated with night shifts, with fitness-for-duty decisions documented.
• Workplace Restrictions: Minors and pregnant women are generally prohibited from night work in Uzbekistan, and additional restrictions may apply to workers with certain medical conditions based on occupational health recommendations.

Weekend work, particularly on the weekly rest day, is allowed only in exceptional or operationally necessary cases and usually requires the employee’s consent. Employees who work on their weekly rest day must receive either a substitute rest day of at least 24 consecutive hours or premium pay of at least 200% of their regular hourly rate (2x), as applied to rest-day or public-holiday work.