Working Hours and Overtime in Cape Verde

In Cape Verde, 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 regulations continue to evolve toward 2026, authorities are placing greater emphasis on accurate timekeeping, transparent overtime practices, and effective fatigue management. Employers should review contracts, internal policies, and scheduling tools to ensure that standard hours, overtime, and rest periods are clearly defined, properly recorded, and consistently applied. Proactive compliance – including training managers, consulting collective agreements, and monitoring legal updates – will help you avoid disputes, inspections, and financial penalties while supporting employee wellbeing and productivity.

• 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 Cape Verde?

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 17 or older is allowed to work 44 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 17:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Cape Verde

Under Cape Verdean labour law, the general limit for normal working time in the private sector is 44 hours per week, usually spread over 5 or 6 days. In practice, this often means 8 hours per day from Monday to Friday, with the remaining hours – if any – allocated to Saturday. Daily working time should normally not exceed 8 hours, although certain sectors and shift systems may distribute hours differently as long as the weekly ceiling is respected and rest rules are observed.

For young workers under 18, stricter limits apply. Their daily and weekly hours must be reduced compared with adults, and they are prohibited from night work and from work that is excessively strenuous or hazardous. Employers should document age, schedules, and tasks to demonstrate compliance during inspections.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Hotels, Tourism, And Hospitality
• Maritime And Port Operations
• Agriculture, Fisheries, And Seasonal Campaigns
• Health Services And Emergency Care
• Security, Surveillance, And Guard Services
• Transport And Aviation Operations

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managers and employees in positions of trust often have greater flexibility in their schedules and may not be subject to the same strict control of daily hours as rank-and-file staff. However, they are still protected by fundamental rules on health and safety, maximum weekly working time, and rest periods. Employment contracts for managerial staff should clearly define expectations regarding availability, working time, and whether any overtime premiums apply or are deemed included in a higher base salary.

To reduce risk, employers should avoid assuming that all white-collar or supervisory staff are automatically exempt from overtime rules. Instead, assess each role based on decision-making authority, autonomy, and how working time is organised. Where managers regularly exceed normal hours, consider written agreements on flexible schedules, time off in lieu, or specific allowances.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Cape Verde

Statutory full-time work in Cape Verde is generally based on a 44-hour workweek. Employees working close to this threshold on a regular basis should be treated as full-time for purposes such as benefits, leave accrual, and social security contributions. Part-time arrangements – where employees work fewer hours than the statutory full-time schedule – must be clearly documented in writing, specifying weekly hours, distribution of workdays, and how overtime will be handled if they exceed their agreed schedule.

Employers should maintain accurate time records for all employees, including full-time, part-time, and temporary staff. These records are essential to demonstrate compliance with the 44-hour weekly limit, to calculate overtime correctly, and to show that required breaks and rest periods have been granted.

Overtime Regulations In Cape Verde

What Counts As Overtime In Cape Verde?

Overtime in Cape Verde is generally any working time performed beyond the employee’s normal daily or weekly schedule as defined in the employment contract, internal regulations, or applicable collective agreement, subject to the statutory ceiling of 44 hours per week. Work performed on weekly rest days or public holidays, or outside the agreed shift pattern, is also typically treated as overtime or as work attracting enhanced pay.

Overtime must be expressly requested or authorised by the employer, except in genuine emergencies where immediate action is required to protect people, property, or essential operations. Employers should implement clear procedures for requesting, approving, and recording overtime to avoid disputes and to ensure that all additional hours are compensated correctly.

Maximum Overtime In Cape Verde

Cape Verdean law limits the amount of overtime that can be imposed on employees to protect their health and safety. While specific caps can vary by sector or collective agreement, a common framework is that overtime should not regularly push total working time far beyond the 44-hour weekly standard, and annual or monthly ceilings may apply to prevent systematic overuse of overtime.

Employers should monitor cumulative overtime for each employee, ensuring that daily and weekly rest periods are not compromised. Where operations require frequent overtime – for example, in tourism high season or during special projects – consider hiring additional staff, using fixed-term contracts, or implementing shift work rather than relying on continuous overtime.

Overtime Payout Rates In Cape Verde

Overtime work in Cape Verde is generally compensated at a premium rate above the employee’s normal hourly wage. Typical practice, subject to applicable law and collective agreements, is to pay a higher percentage for overtime performed on normal working days and an even higher premium for overtime on weekly rest days, nights, or public holidays. Some arrangements may allow time off in lieu, but only if this is agreed with the employee and provides an equivalent benefit.

To remain compliant, employers should define overtime rates and conditions in employment contracts or internal policies, ensure that payroll systems correctly apply the relevant multipliers, and keep detailed records of hours worked, rates applied, and payments made. Transparent payslips that clearly distinguish base pay from overtime and other supplements help reduce disputes and demonstrate compliance during inspections.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Cape Verde

In Cape Verde, employees typically work around 8 hours per day within a statutory framework of up to 44 hours per week, and rest periods and breaks are designed to protect health and safety within these limits. Employers must ensure that workers who perform more than 6 hours in a day receive a proper meal break, that daily and weekly rest periods are respected, and that schedules are organised so that the total working time – including any overtime – does not undermine these mandatory rest entitlements.

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