Working Hours and Overtime in Antigua and Barbuda

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Antigua and Barbuda?

An employee whose age is 16 or younger has a maximum of 6 hours per day and 30 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 Antigua and Barbuda

In Antigua and Barbuda, the standard statutory workweek for adult employees is generally 40 hours, usually spread over five 8-hour days. Daily hours beyond 8 in a day or 40 in a week are typically treated as overtime under individual contracts or collective agreements. You should clearly define normal hours and overtime triggers in written employment terms.

Collective agreements in some sectors may allow for compressed workweeks or different daily distributions, provided the average does not exceed 40 hours over the agreed reference period. Any extension of daily hours must still respect required rest breaks and weekly rest. You must keep accurate time records to demonstrate compliance if inspected by the Labour Department.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

Companies hiring in sectors like hospitality, tourism, security, and transportation in Antigua and Barbuda often operate on a 24/7 basis, which can require split shifts or rotating rosters. You may schedule longer daily hours in peak periods if the average weekly hours remain within statutory and contractual limits.

• 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 document any special scheduling rules in contracts or workplace policies and obtain employee consent where required.

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managerial and supervisory employees in Antigua and Barbuda are often treated as having broader flexibility in their working hours, and some may be paid on a salary basis without strict overtime entitlements. However, there is no blanket exemption from basic health and safety protections, including reasonable limits on hours and required rest.

Where you classify staff as managerial or exempt from overtime, this should be clearly justified by their actual duties and level of autonomy. Their contracts should specify expected working hours, availability requirements, and any inclusive salary arrangements to reduce the risk of disputes.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Antigua and Barbuda

Full-time work in Antigua and Barbuda is generally understood in practice as around 40 hours per week for adult employees. Many collective agreements and company policies define full-time as 8 hours per day over 5 days, although some operations use 6-day weeks with shorter daily hours.

You may agree to slightly higher or lower weekly hours as full-time, such as 35–44 hours, provided you comply with minimum wage, overtime, and rest-period rules. Any variations from the standard pattern should be clearly set out in the employment contract and communicated to employees in advance.

Overtime Regulations In Antigua and Barbuda

As an employer in Antigua and Barbuda, you must monitor hours worked beyond the normal 40-hour workweek and ensure that any overtime is properly authorized and compensated. You are expected to maintain accurate time and attendance records showing daily and weekly hours, overtime, and rest days. Failure to do so can expose you to back-pay claims, penalties, and reputational risk during inspections or disputes.

What Counts As Overtime In Antigua and Barbuda?

In practice, overtime in Antigua and Barbuda is generally any time worked beyond 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week for full-time adult employees. Work performed on an employee’s scheduled weekly rest day or public holiday is also treated as overtime for pay purposes. You should define these triggers explicitly in contracts or policies so employees understand when overtime begins.

Overtime should normally be requested or approved in advance by a supervisor, except in genuine emergencies. You should avoid patterns of systematic overtime that effectively increase normal working hours without proper compensation at the agreed premium rates.

Maximum Overtime In Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda does not prescribe a detailed statutory numerical overtime cap in primary legislation, so there is effectively no fixed weekly or annual overtime ceiling for adults beyond general health and safety obligations. In practice, many employers limit overtime to about 12 hours per week, meaning a practical cap of 52 total hours per week, to avoid fatigue and regulatory scrutiny. No statutory overtime cap.

Where collective agreements or internal policies apply, they often set clearer limits such as a maximum of 3–4 overtime hours per day and 10–15 overtime hours per week. You should adopt written limits and require managerial approval when an employee’s hours are expected to exceed 52 hours in a week, documenting the justification and ensuring adequate rest.

Overtime Payout Rates In Antigua and Barbuda

In Antigua and Barbuda, common practice and many collective agreements provide that overtime on ordinary working days is paid at a minimum of 1.5x the employee’s normal hourly rate (150%). Work performed on the weekly rest day or on a Saturday is frequently paid at 1.5x–2x, with 1.5x used as a minimum benchmark and 2x (200%) often applied in more competitive sectors.

Public holiday work is typically compensated at 2x the normal hourly rate (200%) for all hours worked, in addition to granting the employee a substitute day off where agreed. You should specify in writing that weekday overtime is at least 1.5x, weekend overtime at least 1.5x–2x, and public holiday work at 2x, and ensure your payroll system calculates these premiums correctly.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Antigua and Barbuda

Employees in Antigua and Barbuda typically work around 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, and rest periods are designed to protect their health within this framework. During a standard workday, employees who work more than 6 hours must receive a meal break, and daily and weekly rest periods must be scheduled around these core hours. As an employer, you should integrate these breaks into rosters so that operational needs are met without breaching statutory or contractual rest entitlements.

• Meal Break: Employees who work more than 6 consecutive hours in Antigua and Barbuda should receive at least a 60-minute unpaid meal break, which may be split into shorter segments by agreement.
• Daily Rest: You should provide a minimum uninterrupted daily rest period of about 11 hours between shifts, so an employee finishing at 20:00 would not normally resume work before 07:00 the next day.
• Weekly Rest: Employees are generally entitled to at least 24 consecutive hours of rest each week, commonly scheduled on Sunday or another fixed day agreed in the contract.
• Minors: Workers under 18 in Antigua and Barbuda should have shorter daily limits, more frequent breaks, and must not be scheduled for night work, reflecting their additional protection under labour standards.
• Employer Duty: You are responsible for planning shifts so that statutory meal breaks and daily and weekly rest periods are actually taken, and for keeping records that demonstrate compliance in case of inspection or dispute.

Night Shifts And Weekend Regulations In Antigua and Barbuda

Night and weekend work are legal in Antigua and Barbuda but they come with additional responsibilities for employers to manage fatigue, safety, and fair compensation. You should carefully plan rosters, provide appropriate supervision, and ensure that employees working atypical hours still receive their required daily and weekly rest.

Night work in Antigua and Barbuda is commonly understood as work performed between 22:00 and 06:00, although specific definitions may be set in contracts or collective agreements. This time window often applies across roles in sectors such as hospitality, security, healthcare, and transportation, where continuous operations are required.

• Premium Pay: There is no statutory night work premium in Antigua and Barbuda, but many employers pay a night-shift allowance of at least 1.25x–1.5x the normal hourly rate (125%–150%) for hours worked between 22:00 and 06:00 to attract and retain staff.
• Health Monitoring: While not mandated by detailed regulations, you should periodically assess the health and fatigue levels of regular night workers, and consider offering medical checks and rotation out of night shifts where risks are identified.
• Workplace Restrictions: Minors should not be employed on night shifts, and pregnant workers should be reassigned from night work where medically advised, to avoid undue risk to their health and safety.

Weekend work, including Sunday work, is permitted in Antigua and Barbuda, particularly in tourism, retail, and essential services, but employees should still receive at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest on Sunday or another agreed day. Many employers pay a weekend premium of 1.5x the normal hourly rate (150%) for Sunday or designated rest-day work, or 2x (200%) where Sunday is both a rest day and a public holiday.