Working Hours and Overtime in Equatorial Guinea

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Equatorial Guinea?

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 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 17:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Equatorial Guinea

Under the Labour Code of Equatorial Guinea, the general legal limit for adult employees is 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week in most sectors. You should structure work schedules so that employees do not regularly exceed these limits without a clear overtime framework. Collective agreements or company policies may refine how these 40 hours are distributed across the week.

Where flexible or shift arrangements are used, you may average hours over a reference period, but the average must still not exceed 40 hours per week. Any hours beyond the daily or weekly limits must be treated and compensated as overtime according to statutory rules. You are responsible for keeping accurate time records to demonstrate compliance in the event of an inspection.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

Companies hiring in sectors like healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, or hospitality may be subject to special scheduling rules. These rules allow for longer daily shifts, split shifts, or irregular patterns, provided that the average weekly working time and mandatory rest periods are respected. You should always check whether a sectoral collective agreement or ministerial decree applies to your operations.

• Healthcare professionals may work 12-hour shifts with extended rest periods.
• Transport workers must comply with EU-aligned rest and driving limits.
• Manufacturing and security staff often rotate through night or weekend shifts.

Even in these sectors, you must ensure the average weekly limit is respected over a reference period. You should document any derogations from the standard 8-hour day and 40-hour week in employment contracts or internal policies. This documentation helps demonstrate that longer shifts are balanced by compensatory rest or reduced hours on other days.

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managers and certain trusted employees in Equatorial Guinea may be treated as partially exempt from strict hourly tracking, especially where they have broad autonomy over their schedules. However, the law still expects that their workload remains reasonable and that daily and weekly rest principles are respected. You should avoid assuming that all managers are automatically excluded from working-time protections.

Where you agree on a global or lump-sum salary that is deemed to include a certain amount of overtime, this must be clearly specified in the employment contract. The contract should indicate the reference number of hours covered and the basis on which the salary was calculated. Without such clarity, courts may presume that overtime remains payable on top of the agreed salary.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Equatorial Guinea

In Equatorial Guinea, full-time work is generally understood as 40 hours per week for adult employees. Most employers spread these hours over 5 days, typically Monday to Friday, but a 6-day distribution is also possible if daily limits and rest periods are respected. Part-time arrangements are permitted where the contractual hours are below this 40-hour benchmark.

You may adopt compressed workweeks or shift systems, provided that the average weekly hours do not exceed 40 and that employees receive their statutory rest. Any systematic work beyond 40 hours per week should be treated as overtime and compensated at the applicable premium rates. Clearly defining full-time, part-time, and shift patterns in contracts will reduce disputes and support compliance.

Overtime Regulations In Equatorial Guinea

As an employer in Equatorial Guinea, you must monitor and control overtime to ensure that work beyond the standard 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week remains within legal limits. You are required to keep reliable attendance and timekeeping records that show daily hours worked, overtime performed, and rest days granted. Failure to document and pay overtime correctly can lead to back-pay orders, fines, and potential labour disputes.

What Counts As Overtime In Equatorial Guinea?

Overtime in Equatorial Guinea is generally any time worked beyond 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week for adult employees. Work performed on the employee’s weekly rest day, typically Sunday, or on a public holiday is also treated as overtime, even if the 40-hour weekly threshold is not exceeded. You should define in writing how you calculate daily and weekly overtime to avoid ambiguity.

Overtime must normally be requested or approved by the employer in advance, except in emergencies where immediate action is required to protect people, property, or production. Time spent on mandatory training or meetings outside normal hours is usually counted as working time and may generate overtime if it exceeds the legal limits. You should ensure that managers do not encourage off-the-clock work, as this can still be considered compensable overtime.

Maximum Overtime In Equatorial Guinea

In Equatorial Guinea, overtime is generally capped at 2 hours per day and 20 hours per week for each employee. This means that a full-time worker should not normally exceed a total of 10 working hours in any one day or 60 hours in any one week, including overtime. Over a year, a practical ceiling of around 200 to 250 overtime hours per employee is commonly applied in line with regional practice, and you should avoid exceeding 240 overtime hours per year without strong justification.

Exceeding these limits is only permissible in exceptional circumstances, such as urgent work to prevent accidents or serious operational losses, and may require prior authorization from the labour authorities. You should implement internal approval workflows so that any overtime approaching 20 hours in a week or 240 hours in a year is escalated and reviewed. Systematic reliance on overtime to cover normal staffing needs can be challenged by inspectors as an abuse of the working-time rules.

Overtime Payout Rates In Equatorial Guinea

For overtime worked on a normal working day in Equatorial Guinea, the statutory minimum premium is typically 25% above the employee’s regular hourly rate, meaning you must pay at least 1.25x the base rate. When overtime is performed at night or on a weekly rest day such as Sunday, the premium generally increases to 50%, or 1.5x the base hourly rate. Work performed on an official public holiday is usually compensated at a 100% premium, equivalent to 2.0x the normal hourly rate.

Collective agreements or company policies may grant higher premiums, such as 50% (1.5x) for weekday overtime and 100% (2.0x) for Sunday or holiday work, but you may never go below the statutory minima. You should calculate overtime pay based on the employee’s full remuneration, including fixed allowances that are considered part of normal pay, and clearly itemize overtime hours and rates on payslips. Where time off in lieu is used, it should be granted at an equivalent enhanced rate, for example 1.5 hours of paid time off for each hour of overtime paid at 150%.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Equatorial Guinea

In Equatorial Guinea, employees typically work up to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, and rest periods are designed to protect their health within this framework. During and between these working hours, the law and common practice require meal breaks, daily rest, and weekly rest days to prevent excessive fatigue. You must plan schedules so that these breaks are built into the normal working pattern rather than treated as optional.

• Meal Break: Employees who work more than 6 consecutive hours in Equatorial Guinea must receive at least a 60-minute unpaid or paid meal break, which should be scheduled roughly in the middle of the workday. You should ensure that employees are genuinely relieved of duties during this period.
• Daily Rest: Workers are generally entitled to a minimum uninterrupted daily rest period of 11 hours between the end of one workday and the start of the next. Night and shift workers should receive equivalent daily rest even where schedules are irregular.
• Weekly Rest: Employees must receive at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest, typically on Sunday, in addition to their daily rest. If business needs require Sunday work, you should grant a substitute rest day during the same week.
• Minors: Young workers under 18 in Equatorial Guinea benefit from shorter maximum daily hours and more frequent breaks to reflect their increased vulnerability. You should avoid scheduling minors for night work or split shifts that reduce their rest.
• Employer Duty: Employers are responsible for organizing work so that statutory breaks and rest periods are actually taken, not just written into policy. Labour inspectors may review rosters and time records to verify that daily and weekly rest rules are respected in practice.

Night Shifts And Weekend Regulations In Equatorial Guinea

Night and weekend work are legal in Equatorial Guinea but subject to additional employer responsibilities and employee protections. You must pay attention to working-time limits, health and safety risks, and any applicable premium pay when scheduling staff outside normal daytime hours. Proper planning and documentation are essential to show that these protections are being observed.

Night work in Equatorial Guinea is generally understood as work performed between 22:00 and 06:00, although collective agreements may define a slightly different 8-hour window. This definition applies across most roles, including industrial, service, and security staff who regularly work overnight. Employees who perform a substantial portion of their hours within this window are typically regarded as night workers for compliance purposes.

• Premium Pay: While the Labour Code of Equatorial Guinea does not set a specific statutory night work premium, common practice is to grant at least a 25% premium, or 1.25x the base hourly rate, for hours worked between 22:00 and 06:00. Many employers adopt higher rates, such as 30% to 50% (1.3x to 1.5x), through contracts or collective agreements to attract and retain night staff.
• Health Monitoring: Regular night workers should receive periodic health assessments to identify fatigue, sleep disorders, or other conditions aggravated by night schedules. You should also provide training on managing shift work, along with measures such as adequate lighting and safe transport options.
• Workplace Restrictions: Minors under 18 are generally prohibited from night work in Equatorial Guinea, especially in hazardous sectors such as construction, mining, or heavy industry. Pregnant or breastfeeding workers should be exempted from night shifts on request and reassigned to daytime duties without loss of pay where reasonably possible.

Weekend work, particularly on Sunday, is normally treated as work on the weekly rest day and should be limited to cases where business continuity requires it. When employees work on Sunday, you must provide a substitute rest day and, in many sectors, pay at least a 50% premium (1.5x) for Sunday hours, while work on public holidays is often paid at 100% premium (2.0x). Clearly stating weekend expectations and premiums in contracts and policies will help avoid disputes and support compliance.