Working Hours and Overtime in Dominica

In Dominica, 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.

To remain compliant, you should define standard working hours in contracts, track all time worked, and apply overtime and rest rules consistently across your workforce. Clear internal policies, accurate timekeeping systems, and regular training for managers will help you prevent excessive hours, ensure proper compensation, and reduce the risk of disputes. As labour standards continue to evolve toward 2026, expect closer scrutiny of working-time records, stronger enforcement of rest and night-work protections, and growing expectations around employee well-being and work–life balance.

• 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 Dominica?

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 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 Dominica

In Dominica, a standard full-time schedule is generally based on 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, spread over five working days. Employment contracts, collective agreements, or workplace policies should clearly define the normal daily and weekly hours, including start and end times, as well as any flex-time arrangements. You should avoid scheduling employees beyond these limits on a regular basis, except where overtime is properly authorized, recorded, and compensated according to law or contract.

For younger workers, especially those under 18, you should apply stricter limits and avoid night work or excessively long shifts. Working time should be organized so that employees have adequate rest between shifts and do not routinely exceed the standard weekly hours, as this can raise health and safety concerns and increase your compliance risk.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Hospitality And Tourism Operations
• Agriculture And Seasonal Crop Activities
• Emergency, Security, And Protective Services
• Healthcare And Residential Care Facilities
• Transportation, Ports, And Maritime Services

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managers and certain high-level professionals in Dominica are often treated differently from rank-and-file employees when it comes to working hours. Their roles typically require a higher degree of autonomy, irregular schedules, and responsibility for business outcomes, which may justify more flexible or extended hours without the same overtime entitlements as non-exempt staff. However, this does not remove your duty to protect their health and safety or to provide reasonable rest periods.

If you classify an employee as managerial or exempt, ensure that their job description, level of decision-making authority, and remuneration genuinely reflect that status. Misclassifying employees to avoid paying overtime can lead to back-pay claims, penalties, and reputational damage. Even for exempt staff, it is good practice to monitor workloads, discourage excessive hours, and promote work–life balance.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Dominica

Full-time employment in Dominica is typically understood as 40 hours per week, usually worked as 8 hours per day over five days. Many employers adopt a Monday–Friday schedule, but other patterns – such as shift work or weekend operations – are permissible as long as the total weekly hours and rest requirements are respected. Your employment contracts should specify what constitutes full-time hours in your organization and how any variations, such as compressed workweeks or rotating shifts, are managed.

Part-time employees should have their hours clearly defined in writing, and their entitlements – including overtime, leave, and benefits – should be pro-rated where appropriate. Maintaining accurate time and attendance records for all categories of staff is essential to demonstrate compliance with statutory working-hour limits and to support correct payroll calculations.

Overtime Regulations In Dominica

What Counts As Overtime In Dominica?

Overtime in Dominica generally refers to any time an employee works in excess of the normal daily or weekly hours set out in law, collective agreements, or the individual employment contract. For most full-time employees, this means hours worked beyond 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. Work performed on public holidays, weekly rest days, or outside the employee’s regular shift pattern is also commonly treated as overtime or premium time.

To manage risk, you should define in writing what constitutes overtime in your workplace, how it is requested and approved, and how it is recorded. Overtime should be authorized in advance by a supervisor, except in genuine emergencies. Keeping detailed records of start and end times, breaks, and total hours worked each day will help you demonstrate that any overtime has been properly tracked and compensated.

Maximum Overtime In Dominica

While Dominica does not encourage excessive overtime, limited additional hours may be permitted where business needs require it, provided that daily and weekly rest requirements are respected. As a best practice, you should avoid scheduling more than 2–4 hours of overtime on any given day and should ensure that total weekly hours, including overtime, do not regularly exceed 48–52 hours.

Overtime should be exceptional rather than routine. If your operations consistently require employees to work beyond the standard 40-hour week, you should consider hiring additional staff, reorganizing shifts, or adjusting staffing levels during peak periods. Particular care is needed for young workers, pregnant employees, and those in safety-sensitive roles, for whom long hours can pose heightened health and safety risks.

Overtime Payout Rates In Dominica

Overtime work in Dominica is typically compensated at a premium rate above the employee’s normal hourly wage. Common practice is to pay at least 150 percent (time and a half) of the regular rate for overtime hours worked on ordinary working days, and a higher premium – often 200 percent (double time) – for work performed on public holidays or designated weekly rest days. Collective agreements or company policies may provide even more generous rates.

Your overtime policy should clearly explain how the overtime rate is calculated, including which elements of pay are included in the base rate (for example, basic salary, fixed allowances, or regular bonuses). Ensure that payroll systems correctly apply the premium to all qualifying hours and that employees can see overtime hours and pay itemized on their payslips. Where time off in lieu is used instead of cash payment, it should be granted at an equivalent premium rate and taken within a reasonable period, with the employee’s agreement.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Dominica

In Dominica, employees typically work around 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, and rest periods and breaks are designed to ensure that these working hours do not compromise health, safety, or productivity. As an employer, you must structure shifts so that employees receive appropriate meal breaks during the working day, daily rest between shifts, and weekly rest days, with particular protections for younger workers and those in demanding roles.

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