Working Hours and Overtime in Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, 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 workforce capacity through 2026, you should align internal policies with the Bulgarian Labour Code, collective agreements, and EU working-time rules. This means clearly defining standard schedules, documenting any flexible or aggregated working-time arrangements, tracking hours and overtime accurately, and ensuring that employees receive the correct premiums or time off. Regulators are expected to continue focusing on excessive working hours, night work, and rest-period violations, so proactive audits of timekeeping, rostering, and payroll calculations will be essential to avoid disputes and sanctions.

• 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 Bulgaria?

An employee whose age is 16 or younger has a maximum of 7 hours per day and 35 hours per week. An employee whose age is 18 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 6 hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 9:00 to 18:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Bulgaria

Under the Bulgarian Labour Code, standard full-time working time is 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, distributed over a five-day working week. You may introduce different daily schedules – for example 7 or 10 hours per day – provided that the average working time over the reference period does not exceed 40 hours per week and daily and weekly rest rules are respected. Working time must be recorded accurately so that you can demonstrate compliance during inspections.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Continuous Production And Process Industries
• Healthcare And Emergency Services
• Transport, Logistics And Mobile Workers
• Hospitality, Tourism And Retail
• Seasonal Agricultural Work

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managerial employees in Bulgaria may have more flexible schedules and can be excluded from some working-time limitations, particularly where they manage their own working time and represent the employer. However, you must still respect health and safety obligations, ensure reasonable working hours, and provide statutory daily and weekly rest. Any broader availability expectations – such as being reachable outside normal hours – should be clearly defined in employment contracts or internal rules, and you should avoid creating de facto unlimited working time.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Bulgaria

Statutory full-time work in Bulgaria is generally defined as 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. Part-time arrangements are any schedules below these thresholds and must be documented in the employment contract, specifying daily and weekly hours. When you use aggregated or flexible working-time arrangements, you must ensure that the average working time over the chosen reference period – typically up to four months, extendable in specific sectors – does not exceed 40 hours per week and that overtime limits are not breached.

Overtime Regulations In Bulgaria

What Counts As Overtime In Bulgaria?

In Bulgaria, overtime is any work performed with the employer’s knowledge and order beyond the employee’s agreed normal working hours – usually above 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week – or work performed outside the established working-time schedule in systems of aggregated working time. Overtime also includes work performed during public holidays, weekly rest days, and at night when it exceeds the normal night-work schedule. You should regulate when and how overtime may be ordered in internal rules and keep detailed records of all overtime hours.

Maximum Overtime In Bulgaria

Bulgarian law strictly limits overtime. As a rule, overtime is only allowed in exceptional cases – such as urgent repairs, prevention of accidents, or seasonal peaks – and must be expressly ordered by you. The Labour Code caps overtime per employee at approximately 150 hours per calendar year, with additional limits per day, week and month. You must monitor overtime at the individual level and ensure that daily and weekly rest periods are not compromised. Systematic or permanent overtime to compensate for understaffing is not permitted and can trigger sanctions.

Overtime Payout Rates In Bulgaria

Overtime work must be compensated at enhanced rates or with equivalent paid time off, as agreed in the employment contract or collective agreement, but never below statutory minimums. Typically, overtime on a normal working day is paid at a higher percentage on top of the employee’s basic hourly wage, with even higher premiums for overtime at night, on weekly rest days, and on public holidays. You should define the exact multipliers – for example, at least 50 percent above the normal hourly rate on working days and higher for rest days and holidays – in your internal policies, ensure they meet or exceed legal and collective-bargaining standards, and reflect them transparently on payslips.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Bulgaria

Employees in Bulgaria typically work up to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, and the Labour Code links rest periods and breaks directly to these limits. You must schedule meal breaks during the working day, guarantee uninterrupted daily rest between shifts, and provide weekly rest days so that the overall pattern of work and rest protects employees’ health and safety while staying within the standard working-time framework.

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