Working Hours and Overtime in Djibouti

In Djibouti, 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, you should expect closer scrutiny of working-time records, stronger enforcement of rest and overtime rules, and a growing expectation that employers proactively manage fatigue and work–life balance. This means formalizing working-time policies, training managers on scheduling and overtime approval, and ensuring that your payroll and timekeeping systems can demonstrate compliance at any time.

• 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 Djibouti?

An employee whose age is 17 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 48 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 8:00 to 17:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Djibouti

Under Djiboutian labour law, the statutory limit for normal working time is generally 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week for adult employees. You should structure work schedules so that the weekly total does not exceed 48 hours, excluding overtime. Daily hours can be distributed across five or six days, but you must still respect mandatory daily and weekly rest periods.

For young workers under 18, stricter protections typically apply, including reduced weekly limits and prohibitions on night work and hazardous tasks. As an employer, you should verify ages, keep appropriate records, and ensure that minors are not scheduled beyond the reduced daily and weekly limits or during restricted hours.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Port And Maritime Operations
• Transport And Logistics Services
• Hotels Restaurants And Tourism
• Security And Guarding Services
• Healthcare And Emergency Services
• Agriculture And Seasonal Work

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managerial staff and certain highly autonomous employees may have more flexible working schedules, as their duties often require irregular or extended hours. However, you should not assume that all managers are automatically exempt from hour limits or overtime rules. The actual level of responsibility, decision-making authority, and independence in organizing their time are key factors.

Where a genuine managerial or executive exemption applies, you should clearly define it in the employment contract, specify the expected working patterns, and ensure that the employee’s overall remuneration reflects the broader time commitment. Even for exempt staff, you remain responsible for protecting health and safety, avoiding excessive working hours, and providing adequate rest.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Djibouti

Full-time employment in Djibouti is typically based on the statutory 48-hour workweek for adults, usually spread over five or six days. Many employers adopt a standard schedule of around 40 to 44 hours per week for operational or competitive reasons, but you should treat anything up to 48 hours as full-time for legal purposes.

When defining full-time status in contracts and policies, specify the normal weekly hours, daily schedule, and any flexibility arrangements. This helps you determine eligibility for benefits, overtime, and leave accrual, and ensures that any hours worked beyond the agreed full-time schedule are correctly treated as overtime where required by law.

Overtime Regulations In Djibouti

What Counts As Overtime In Djibouti?

Overtime in Djibouti generally refers to any hours worked beyond the statutory or contractually agreed normal working hours, typically more than 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week for adult employees. When you ask employees to work beyond these limits, those additional hours are usually treated as overtime and must be compensated at enhanced rates.

Overtime should be exceptional, justified by business needs, and preferably authorized in advance by a manager. You should maintain accurate timekeeping records that show start and end times, breaks, and total daily and weekly hours so you can clearly identify which hours qualify as overtime and calculate the correct pay.

Maximum Overtime In Djibouti

Djiboutian labour rules aim to prevent excessive overtime to protect employee health and safety. While specific caps can vary by sector or collective agreement, you should treat overtime as limited and avoid scheduling employees for systematically long workweeks. As a good practice, keep total hours, including overtime, within a reasonable ceiling and ensure that employees still receive their daily and weekly rest periods.

Before introducing regular overtime, review any applicable collective agreements, internal policies, and individual contracts. You should also consult with employee representatives where required and assess the impact of extended hours on fatigue, accident risk, and overall productivity.

Overtime Payout Rates In Djibouti

Overtime hours in Djibouti are generally paid at a premium above the employee’s normal hourly wage. Common practice is to apply higher rates for overtime worked beyond the daily or weekly limit, and even higher rates for night work, work performed on weekly rest days, or work on public holidays. The exact percentages may be set by law, collective agreements, or company policy, but they must never fall below any statutory minimums.

To remain compliant, you should define overtime rates in employment contracts or internal regulations, clearly distinguishing between ordinary overtime, night overtime, and work on rest days or holidays. Ensure that payroll systems correctly apply these multipliers, and that payslips transparently show the number of overtime hours, the applicable rate, and the resulting amount paid.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Djibouti

Employees in Djibouti typically work up to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week, and rest periods are designed to ensure that these hours do not compromise health and safety. During the working day, employees who work more than a set number of hours must receive a meal break, and between working days they are entitled to a continuous daily rest period, as well as a longer weekly rest period. You should plan schedules so that these breaks are built into the normal working pattern and are not reduced by overtime or shift changes.

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