Working Hours and Overtime in Antigua and Barbuda

In Antigua and Barbuda, your company must comply with working hour and overtime laws – including daily limits, overtime thresholds, and rest requirements – to stay compliant and build a strong employee experience.

As you plan staffing and scheduling, you should align your internal policies with statutory standards on normal hours, overtime, and rest, and ensure that contracts, rosters, and payroll systems all reflect the same rules. By 2026, regulators and courts across the region are expected to place greater emphasis on accurate timekeeping, transparent payslips, and demonstrable protection of employee health and safety, especially where long hours or night work are involved. Investing now in robust time-tracking, clear overtime approval procedures, and documented rest arrangements will reduce legal risk and support retention.

• Standard Working Hours
• Overtime Thresholds
• Overtime Pay Rates
• Daily And Weekly Rest Requirements
• Night Work Restrictions
• Penalties For Non-Compliance

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 5 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

Under common practice in Antigua and Barbuda, a standard workweek is generally 40 hours, usually spread over five 8-hour days. Daily working time for adult employees should not normally exceed 8 hours, excluding unpaid meal breaks, unless overtime arrangements are in place. You should clearly define normal working hours in employment contracts or written statements of terms, including start and finish times, shift patterns, and any flexitime arrangements.

For younger workers, you must apply stricter limits. Employees under 18 should not be scheduled for excessively long shifts, night work, or work that interferes with schooling or vocational training. You should keep accurate records of hours worked for all employees, including part-time and casual staff, to demonstrate compliance with statutory and contractual limits.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Hospitality And Tourism Establishments
• Hotels, Resorts, And Guesthouses
• Transportation And Port Services
• Emergency, Health, And Essential Services
• Security And Guarding Services
• Agriculture, Fisheries, And Seasonal Work

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managers, executives, and certain professional or supervisory staff in Antigua and Barbuda are often treated differently from rank-and-file employees when it comes to working hours and overtime. Their roles typically involve a higher degree of autonomy, irregular schedules, and responsibility for directing other employees, which may justify excluding them from some overtime provisions by contract.

When you classify an employee as managerial or exempt, you should base this on their actual duties and decision-making authority, not just their job title. Their contracts should clearly state that their remuneration is intended to cover any additional hours reasonably required to perform their role. Even for exempt staff, you remain responsible for ensuring that working hours are not excessive, that health and safety obligations are met, and that adequate rest periods are provided.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Antigua and Barbuda

In practice, full-time employment in Antigua and Barbuda is generally based on a 40-hour workweek, commonly structured as 8 hours per day over 5 days. Some sectors may operate on a 6-day schedule with shorter daily hours, provided the total weekly hours remain within legal and contractual limits. You should specify in writing whether Saturday work is part of the normal workweek and how hours are distributed across the week.

Part-time employees should have their normal hours clearly defined as a proportion of the full-time schedule, and they should receive pro-rated benefits where applicable. Any changes to standard hours, such as the introduction of shift work, compressed workweeks, or flexible arrangements, should be agreed in writing and communicated in advance to avoid disputes and ensure ongoing compliance.

Overtime Regulations In Antigua and Barbuda

What Counts As Overtime In Antigua and Barbuda?

Overtime in Antigua and Barbuda generally refers to any hours worked in excess of the employee’s normal contractual hours, typically beyond 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week for full-time staff. Work performed on weekly rest days, public holidays, or outside the employee’s agreed shift pattern is also commonly treated as overtime, unless the contract clearly designates those days as part of the regular schedule.

To avoid disputes, you should define in writing what constitutes normal hours, when overtime begins, and whether overtime must be pre-approved by a supervisor. Keep detailed time records, including start and end times, breaks, and any call-out or standby periods, so you can accurately determine which hours qualify as overtime and how they should be compensated.

Maximum Overtime In Antigua and Barbuda

While overtime is permitted in Antigua and Barbuda, it should not be used to such an extent that it undermines employee health, safety, or family life. As a best-practice benchmark, you should avoid scheduling more than 4 hours of overtime on any given day and more than 12–16 hours of overtime in a week, and you should ensure that total weekly hours, including overtime, do not regularly exceed 56–60 hours.

In sectors with fluctuating demand, such as tourism or agriculture, you may need temporary peaks in overtime. In these cases, you should consult with employees, plan rosters in advance, and ensure that additional hours are compensated at the correct premium rates. You should also monitor cumulative overtime over monthly or quarterly periods and provide additional rest or schedule adjustments where workloads have been unusually high.

Overtime Payout Rates In Antigua and Barbuda

Overtime work in Antigua and Barbuda is typically compensated at premium rates above the employee’s normal hourly wage. A common structure is at least 150% of the regular rate (time and a half) for overtime hours worked on normal working days, and up to 200% of the regular rate (double time) for work performed on weekly rest days or public holidays, subject to any applicable collective agreements or company policies.

You should clearly set out overtime rates in employment contracts, staff handbooks, or collective agreements, specifying how the basic hourly rate is calculated for salaried employees. Where time off in lieu is used instead of cash payment, it should be granted at an equivalent premium (for example, 1.5 hours of paid time off for each overtime hour worked) and taken within a reasonable period. Always itemize overtime hours and corresponding pay on wage slips so employees can verify that they have been correctly compensated.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Antigua and Barbuda

In Antigua and Barbuda, employees typically work around 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, and rest periods and breaks are designed to ensure that these hours are worked safely and sustainably. You must schedule meal and rest breaks within the working day, provide adequate daily and weekly rest between shifts, and pay particular attention to the needs of younger workers and night staff so that total working time, including overtime, does not compromise employee health or legal compliance.

• Meal Break Requirements
• Daily Rest
• Weekly Rest
• Minors
• Employer Duties