Working Hours and Overtime in Cambodia

In Cambodia, 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 needs through 2026, you should expect continued enforcement of existing working-time rules and potential refinements to regulations affecting overtime, night work, and vulnerable groups such as young workers and pregnant employees. Building robust internal policies, accurate timekeeping systems, and clear manager training now will help you adapt quickly to any regulatory updates while maintaining productivity and employee well-being.

• 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 Cambodia?

An employee whose age is 15 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 48 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 17:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Cambodia

Under the Cambodian Labour Law, the general limit for standard working time is 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week. These hours normally apply to full-time employees working in industrial, commercial, and service sectors. You should organize schedules so that employees do not exceed 8 hours on any given day, except where lawful overtime is used, and ensure that weekly totals remain within the 48-hour ceiling for regular time.

Working time includes all periods during which the employee is at your disposal and carrying out duties – including short preparatory tasks, closing activities, and mandatory meetings. Travel that is an integral part of the job, such as visiting clients or work sites during the day, is generally treated as working time, whereas commuting from home to the usual workplace is not.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Garment, Footwear, And Textile Manufacturing
• Hospitality, Tourism, And Restaurants
• Agriculture, Plantations, And Seasonal Work
• Construction And Infrastructure Projects
• Transport, Logistics, And Port Operations
• Healthcare, Emergency, And Continuous-Process Services

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Cambodian law allows some flexibility for senior managerial staff and employees who have genuine decision-making authority or who represent the employer. In practice, these employees may have less rigid schedules and may not track hours in the same way as rank-and-file workers. However, you should not assume that all managers are automatically exempt from working-time protections.

To reduce risk, clearly define managerial roles in employment contracts, specify that the position involves irregular or extended hours where appropriate, and ensure that base salaries reflect the expected workload. Even for managers, you should avoid excessive hours that could endanger health and safety, and you should respect weekly rest and public holiday rules unless a lawful exception applies.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Cambodia

Statutory full-time work in Cambodia is based on the 48-hour week, typically structured as 8 hours per day over 6 days, or 8 hours per day over 5 days with adjusted schedules depending on your operational needs. Many employers adopt a 5.5-day or 6-day pattern, but you may also implement a 5-day week provided that daily hours and overtime rules are respected.

When designing full-time roles, you should specify the normal daily and weekly hours, the distribution of workdays, and the expected start and end times. Any work beyond the agreed normal hours should be treated as overtime and compensated at the applicable premium rates, subject to the legal limits on daily and weekly working time.

Overtime Regulations In Cambodia

What Counts As Overtime In Cambodia?

In Cambodia, overtime is generally any authorized work performed beyond the standard 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week. Overtime must be exceptional, justified by business needs, and approved in advance by the employer. You should implement a clear written policy that explains when overtime is permitted, how it is requested and approved, and how it is recorded.

Overtime can arise from extended shifts, additional days of work, or work performed on weekly rest days and public holidays. Time spent on mandatory training, meetings, or handover activities outside normal hours will usually count as working time and may trigger overtime if it pushes the employee beyond daily or weekly limits.

Maximum Overtime In Cambodia

Cambodian regulations limit overtime to protect employee health and safety. As a general rule, overtime should not exceed 2 hours per day, meaning that the total daily working time should not normally go beyond 10 hours. You should also monitor weekly totals to ensure that overtime remains exceptional and does not become a permanent substitute for proper staffing.

For certain sectors or in special circumstances, the labour authorities may allow specific arrangements, but these must still respect overarching health and safety principles. You should keep accurate records of all overtime hours worked, including the reason for the overtime and the manager who approved it, so that you can demonstrate compliance during inspections or audits.

Overtime Payout Rates In Cambodia

Overtime in Cambodia must be paid at premium rates on top of the employee’s normal wage. For overtime worked on a regular working day, the typical minimum premium is 150 percent of the normal hourly rate. For overtime performed at night, on weekly rest days, or on public holidays, higher premiums – often 200 percent or more – may apply depending on the circumstances and current regulations.

You should calculate overtime pay based on the employee’s base wage plus any regular, fixed allowances that are considered part of normal remuneration. The calculation method and applicable rates should be clearly described in employment contracts and internal policies. Where a collective agreement or company policy provides more generous overtime rates than the legal minimum, you must apply the more favourable terms for employees.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Cambodia

In Cambodia, employees typically work up to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week, and the law links rest periods and breaks directly to these limits by requiring meal breaks during longer shifts, daily rest between working days, and weekly rest days so that employees can recover from the physical and mental demands of their standard working hours.

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

For meal breaks, Cambodian labour rules generally require at least a 1-hour break when the working day exceeds 5 consecutive hours. This break is usually unpaid and should be scheduled so that employees are not required to work more than 5 hours without an interruption. You should clearly indicate break times in work schedules and ensure that supervisors respect them in practice.

Daily rest refers to the uninterrupted time between the end of one workday and the start of the next. You should provide a sufficient rest interval – commonly at least 11 consecutive hours – to allow employees to recover, especially where shifts approach the 8-hour daily limit or include night work. Avoid scheduling back-to-back shifts that compress daily rest below safe levels.

Weekly rest is typically at least 24 consecutive hours, often granted on Sunday, although another day may be used depending on your operations. Employees should not be required to work more than 6 consecutive days without a weekly rest day, and any work performed on the weekly rest day should be treated as exceptional and compensated at the applicable premium rates.

For minors, stricter protections apply. Young workers must not work the same intensity or duration as adults, and you should provide more frequent or longer breaks, avoid night work, and ensure that their schedules do not interfere with schooling or vocational training. Written parental consent and medical fitness may also be required depending on age and the nature of the work.

Employer duties include designing schedules that comply with rest requirements, communicating break and rest entitlements to employees, and maintaining accurate time and attendance records. You should train supervisors not to discourage employees from taking their breaks, and you should regularly review rosters to ensure that operational demands do not erode statutory rest periods over time.