Working Hours and Overtime in Central African Republic

In Central African Republic, 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 rules on standard hours, overtime, and rest, and ensure that managers consistently apply these rules in practice. This includes documenting working-time arrangements in contracts, tracking hours accurately, paying overtime premiums or granting equivalent time off, and adapting schedules for vulnerable groups such as young workers and night workers. Looking ahead to 2026, you can expect closer scrutiny of working-time compliance, more digital record-keeping, and potential updates to sectoral rules, so building robust processes now will reduce legal and operational risk.

• 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 Central African Republic?

An employee whose age is 18 or younger has a maximum of 8 hours per day and 40 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 6 hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 8:00 to 16:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Central African Republic

Under the Labour Code of the Central African Republic, the general statutory limit for full-time work is 40 hours per week, usually spread over five days. Daily working time is commonly set at 8 hours, and you should structure schedules so that employees do not regularly exceed this threshold without triggering overtime. Working time includes all periods during which the employee is at your disposal and carrying out duties or following your instructions, whether on-site or at an agreed remote location.

You should clearly define working hours in employment contracts and internal regulations, including start and end times, shift patterns, and how on-call time is treated. Any time beyond the contractual or statutory limits should be monitored closely, recorded accurately, and compensated according to overtime rules. You must also ensure that working hours respect mandatory daily and weekly rest periods, particularly for night workers and vulnerable groups such as young workers and pregnant employees.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Healthcare And Hospital Services
• Hotels, Restaurants, And Tourism
• Transport, Logistics, And Aviation
• Agriculture, Forestry, And Seasonal Harvest Work
• Security, Guarding, And Surveillance Services
• Emergency, Utility, And Maintenance Services

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managerial staff and certain categories of highly autonomous employees may be subject to more flexible working-time arrangements. In practice, these employees often work beyond the standard 40-hour week without strict hourly tracking, provided their overall remuneration and responsibilities reflect this broader availability. However, you should not assume that all managers are automatically exempt from working-time protections.

To reduce risk, clearly identify managerial or exempt roles in contracts, describe their decision-making authority, and specify whether they are subject to standard hour tracking or to a results-based arrangement. Even for exempt staff, you remain responsible for protecting health and safety, avoiding excessive workloads, and respecting minimum daily and weekly rest. Where national regulations or collective agreements grant overtime or additional rest to certain categories of managers, you must apply those rules accordingly.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Central African Republic

Statutory full-time employment in the Central African Republic is generally based on a 40-hour workweek. Most employers implement this as 8 hours per day over five days, although some sectors may distribute hours differently across the week, subject to respect for maximum daily limits and rest periods. Any arrangement that averages hours over a reference period should be supported by law, a collective agreement, or an approved internal policy.

When you hire employees on a full-time basis, specify the weekly hours, daily schedule, and any shift or rotation system in the employment contract. For part-time staff, clearly indicate the reduced number of hours and how they are distributed, as this will determine when overtime or additional hours become payable. Maintaining accurate time records for all employees – including those on flexible schedules – is essential to demonstrate compliance with statutory full-time limits and to calculate overtime correctly.

Overtime Regulations In Central African Republic

What Counts As Overtime In Central African Republic?

In the Central African Republic, overtime generally refers to any working time performed beyond the statutory or contractually agreed weekly limit of 40 hours, or beyond the normal daily schedule where this leads to an excess over the weekly cap. Overtime must be expressly requested or approved by you as the employer, either in advance or under a documented emergency procedure. Time that employees spend at your disposal, performing tasks, attending mandatory meetings or training, or remaining on-site under your instructions will typically count as working time for overtime purposes.

You should distinguish between occasional additional hours and systematically extended schedules. If employees regularly work beyond 40 hours per week, this should be treated as overtime and compensated accordingly, or the contract should be adjusted to reflect a higher base schedule if permitted by law. On-call time may be treated differently depending on whether the employee is free to use the time as they wish or must remain at a workplace or respond immediately to calls. Your internal policies should clarify how such periods are counted and paid.

Maximum Overtime In Central African Republic

Overtime is intended to be exceptional and limited. While specific caps may be set by regulations or collective agreements, a common approach is to restrict overtime to a defined number of hours per week and per year to protect employee health and safety. As a best practice, you should avoid scheduling more than 10 hours of work per day, including overtime, and you should ensure that weekly working time, overtime included, does not regularly exceed 48 hours.

Before authorizing overtime, assess whether it is genuinely necessary, whether alternative staffing solutions are available, and whether the additional hours will infringe on daily or weekly rest requirements. Keep detailed records of overtime hours by employee, including the reason for the overtime, the authorization, and the compensation provided. For vulnerable categories such as young workers, pregnant employees, or night workers, overtime may be prohibited or subject to stricter limits, and you must verify the applicable rules before assigning extra hours.

Overtime Payout Rates In Central African Republic

Overtime work in the Central African Republic is typically compensated at a premium rate above the employee’s normal hourly wage. While exact percentages can vary depending on sectoral agreements or specific legal provisions, it is common for the first block of overtime hours to be paid at an increased rate – for example, 25 percent to 50 percent above the base rate – with higher premiums for work performed at night, on weekly rest days, or on public holidays.

To calculate overtime pay, determine the employee’s regular hourly rate from their base salary, then apply the applicable premium to each overtime hour. You should clearly describe overtime rates and calculation methods in employment contracts, payslips, and internal policies so employees understand how their additional work is remunerated. Where time off in lieu is permitted, it should be granted at an equivalent or enhanced rate and documented in writing, ensuring that employees still receive the minimum rest and do not lose out financially compared with cash overtime payments.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Central African Republic

Employees in the Central African Republic typically work 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, and you must organize rest periods and breaks so that these working hours do not compromise health and safety. This includes providing a minimum uninterrupted meal break when daily work exceeds a set number of hours, ensuring sufficient daily rest between shifts, and guaranteeing at least one full day of weekly rest, with particular attention to young workers and employees in demanding or irregular schedules.

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