Working Hours and Overtime in Bolivia

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Bolivia?

An employee whose age is 18 or younger has a maximum of 6 hours per day and 30 hours per week. An employee whose age is 19 or older is allowed to work 48 hours per week. A minimum meal interval of 60 minutes must be observed by employees who work more than 5 consecutive hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 08:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 18:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Bolivia

Bolivian law sets the general limit for adult employees at 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week, while women and minors are limited to 40 hours per week. You must organize schedules so that these limits are not exceeded on a regular basis, unless a lawful overtime arrangement is in place. Any system of compressed hours or irregular distribution must still respect the weekly cap over the applicable reference period.

Collective bargaining agreements or internal regulations may introduce shorter standard hours or stricter limits, and you are required to comply with whichever rule is more favorable to the employee. You must keep accurate time records for all staff to demonstrate compliance with daily and weekly limits. Failure to document working time can lead authorities to presume employee claims about excessive hours are correct.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

Companies hiring in sectors like healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, or hospitality may be subject to special scheduling rules that allow for longer shifts but require compensatory rest. In continuous-process operations or services that cannot be interrupted, you may use rotating shifts as long as the average weekly hours do not exceed 48 for adults and 40 for women and minors. Any such arrangements should be clearly documented in contracts or internal policies.

• 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 monitor fatigue risks and adjust staffing levels where long or irregular shifts are common.

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managerial staff and employees in positions of trust may not be subject to strict hourly tracking in practice, but Bolivian law does not create a blanket exemption from maximum working hours. You should define their working-time expectations and any inclusive salary arrangements explicitly in the employment contract. Where managers regularly exceed 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week, you should either pay overtime or provide clearly documented compensatory rest.

For genuinely autonomous employees who control their own schedules, authorities may accept more flexible arrangements, but you still bear the burden of proving that they are not being overworked. Misclassifying employees as exempt to avoid overtime or hour limits can result in back pay claims and administrative sanctions. Regular audits of managerial workloads help demonstrate good-faith compliance.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Bolivia

In Bolivia, full-time work for adult employees is generally understood as 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week, while women and minors are capped at 40 hours per week. You may agree to shorter full-time schedules, such as 40 hours per week, through contracts or collective agreements. In such cases, the agreed lower threshold becomes the basis for calculating overtime.

Part-time arrangements are permitted as long as the agreed hours are clearly stated in writing and comply with daily and weekly limits for the category of worker. You should avoid using successive short-term or part-time contracts to disguise what is effectively a full-time role. Where employees regularly work beyond their contracted hours, authorities may treat those additional hours as overtime subject to premium pay.

Overtime Regulations In Bolivia

As an employer in Bolivia, you must control and record all hours worked beyond the statutory limits of 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week for adults, and 40 hours per week for women and minors. Overtime must be expressly authorized, documented on timesheets or electronic systems, and reflected in payroll with the correct premium rates. Ignoring these obligations exposes you to back pay claims, fines from the labor inspectorate, and potential criminal liability in cases of systematic abuse.

What Counts As Overtime In Bolivia?

Overtime in Bolivia is any time worked beyond 8 hours in a day or beyond the applicable weekly limit of 48 hours for adult men and 40 hours for women and minors. Work performed on the employee’s weekly rest day or on a public holiday is also treated as overtime and attracts higher premium rates. You must obtain the employee’s consent for overtime and ensure that it is exceptional rather than a permanent feature of the schedule.

Unrecorded extra time, such as employees staying late to finish tasks or answering work communications outside normal hours, can still be considered overtime if it is known or should reasonably be known by you. In such cases, the same premium rates apply, and you may be liable for arrears if these hours were not paid correctly. Clear policies on pre-approval of overtime and after-hours work help reduce this risk.

Maximum Overtime In Bolivia

Bolivian regulations limit overtime to a maximum of 2 hours per day and 14 hours per week for each employee. In addition, the total overtime must not exceed 120 hours per year per employee, except in duly justified emergencies authorized by the labor authority. You must organize staffing so that business needs are met without systematically pushing employees to the legal ceiling.

Where exceptional circumstances require exceeding the normal caps, you must seek prior approval from the Ministry of Labor and document the reasons and duration. Even with approval, daily working time including overtime should not exceed 10 hours for adults to protect health and safety. Repeated reliance on emergency overtime can trigger inspections and demands for structural staffing changes.

Overtime Payout Rates In Bolivia

In Bolivia, ordinary overtime worked on a normal working day must be paid at a minimum of 2.0x the employee’s regular hourly rate, equivalent to a 100% premium. Overtime worked at night between 22:00 and 06:00 must be paid at a minimum of 2.5x the regular hourly rate, combining the 100% overtime premium with an additional 25% night premium. You may always grant higher contractual or collective-agreement rates, but you cannot go below these statutory minima.

Work performed on Sundays or the employee’s weekly rest day must be paid at a minimum of 2.0x the regular hourly rate, while work on public holidays must be paid at a minimum of 2.5x the regular hourly rate. If you require employees to work on their weekly rest day, you must also grant a substitute rest day in addition to the premium pay. All overtime and premium payments should be itemized separately on payslips to provide transparent evidence of compliance.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Bolivia

In Bolivia, employees generally work up to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week for adults, with women and minors limited to 40 hours per week, and rest periods are designed to protect health within these limits. Daily schedules must include a meal break when work exceeds 5 consecutive hours, and employees are entitled to daily and weekly rest between shifts. You must structure working time so that these breaks and rest periods are actually taken, not just written into policy.

• Meal Break: Employees who work more than 5 consecutive hours must receive at least a 60-minute unpaid meal break, typically scheduled around midday in split shifts. You should ensure that operational demands do not prevent staff from taking this full break.
• Daily Rest: Employees are entitled to a minimum uninterrupted daily rest of 11 hours between the end of one workday and the start of the next. Night or rotating shifts must be planned so that this 11-hour gap is preserved.
• Weekly Rest: Bolivian law guarantees at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest, usually on Sunday. If business needs require Sunday work, you must provide a substitute rest day and apply the applicable premium pay.
• Minors: Workers under 18 are limited to 6 hours per day and 30 hours per week and must receive adequate breaks within that shorter schedule. You should avoid assigning minors to night work or split shifts that reduce their effective rest.
• Employer Duty: You are responsible for organizing work so that statutory breaks and rest periods are respected and recorded. Policies should clearly prohibit employees from voluntarily skipping breaks to finish work faster.

Night Shifts And Weekend Regulations In Bolivia

Night and weekend work are legal in Bolivia but subject to additional employer responsibilities and employee protections. You must pay statutory premiums, manage health and safety risks, and ensure that rest periods are not undermined by irregular schedules.

Night work in Bolivia is generally defined as work performed between 22:00 and 06:00, regardless of the sector or role. Any hours worked within this window by eligible employees attract a night premium on top of any applicable overtime or holiday premium.

• Premium Pay: Regular night work must be paid at least 1.25x the normal hourly rate, representing a 25% night premium, and when combined with overtime the total rate must reach at least 2.5x for night overtime hours. Sunday or public holiday work at night should not fall below 2.5x the regular hourly rate when all applicable premiums are combined.
• Health Monitoring: For employees who regularly work night shifts, you should provide periodic health assessments focused on fatigue, sleep disorders, and cardiovascular risks. Adjustments to schedules or reassignment may be necessary if medical evaluations show that night work is harming the employee’s health.
• Workplace Restrictions: Minors are generally prohibited from night work, particularly between 22:00 and 06:00, except in narrowly defined training situations authorized by the labor authority. Pregnant workers should be removed from night and heavy weekend shifts upon medical recommendation and reassigned to safer schedules without loss of pay.

Weekend work, especially on Sundays, is treated as work on the weekly rest day and must be minimized or rotated where possible. When you require employees to work on Sunday, you must pay at least 2.0x the regular hourly rate and grant a substitute rest day, and work on public holidays typically requires at least 2.5x the regular hourly rate.