Working Hours and Overtime in Gabon

In Gabon, 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 workforce schedules through 2026, you should closely monitor actual hours worked, document overtime approvals, and align internal policies with Gabonese labor legislation and any applicable collective agreements. Regulators are expected to continue focusing on accurate timekeeping, proper overtime compensation, and protection of vulnerable workers, so investing in reliable time-tracking tools, manager training, and clear written procedures will be essential to demonstrate compliance during inspections or disputes.

• 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 Gabon?

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 17:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Gabon

Under Gabonese labor law, the general statutory limit for adult employees in the private sector is 40 hours per week, usually spread over 5 days. Daily working time is commonly organized as 8 hours per day, but you may structure schedules differently – for example, 9 hours on some days and fewer on others – as long as the weekly total and mandatory rest periods are respected. You should clearly document working schedules in employment contracts or internal regulations and ensure that any variation from the standard pattern does not result in undeclared overtime.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Continuous-Process Industries And Manufacturing
• Hotels, Restaurants, And Tourism Services
• Transport, Logistics, And Port Operations
• Agriculture, Forestry, And Seasonal Activities
• Security, Guarding, And Emergency Services

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managerial staff and certain categories of autonomous employees may be treated differently from standard hourly workers. In Gabon, these employees often have broader availability expectations and may not track hours in the same way as non-exempt staff. However, you should not assume that all managers are automatically exempt from working-time protections. Clearly define managerial status, responsibilities, and compensation structure in writing, and ensure that workloads remain reasonable and compatible with health and safety obligations. Where managers are not genuinely autonomous, you should still monitor their hours and apply overtime or time-off-in-lieu rules as required by law or collective agreements.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Gabon

Full-time employment in Gabon is generally based on a 40-hour workweek for adult employees. This threshold is used to determine when overtime begins and to distinguish full-time from part-time roles. As an employer, you should specify the weekly working hours, daily schedule, and any shift patterns in the employment contract. If your operations require variable or shift-based work, ensure that the average hours over the relevant reference period do not exceed the statutory limits and that employees receive all applicable rest periods and overtime compensation.

Overtime Regulations In Gabon

What Counts As Overtime In Gabon?

In Gabon, overtime is generally any authorized working time performed by an employee beyond the statutory full-time limit of 40 hours per week. Depending on how you structure schedules, overtime can also arise when daily hours exceed the normal daily schedule set in the contract or internal rules. Overtime must be expressly requested or approved by the employer – you should avoid informal or undocumented extra hours, as they can still be claimed as payable overtime if you knew or should have known they were being worked.

Maximum Overtime In Gabon

Gabonese rules typically cap the amount of overtime that can be performed within a given period to protect employee health and safety. While specific limits may vary by sector or collective agreement, a common framework is to restrict overtime to a set number of hours per week and per year, with prior authorization from the labor authorities sometimes required for higher volumes. As an employer, you should implement internal controls – such as pre-approval workflows and time-tracking systems – to ensure that employees do not exceed the permissible overtime ceiling and that records are available in case of inspection.

Overtime Payout Rates In Gabon

Overtime in Gabon is usually compensated at premium rates above the employee’s normal hourly wage. Typical structures provide a percentage increase for the first block of overtime hours and a higher percentage for additional hours, night work, or work performed on weekly rest days and public holidays. Some collective agreements allow you to grant equivalent paid time off instead of cash payment, provided the employee agrees and the arrangement is properly documented. You should clearly communicate overtime rates and calculation methods in contracts, payslips, and policies, and ensure that payroll systems correctly apply the relevant multipliers to all eligible hours.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Gabon

Employees in Gabon typically work around 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, and rest periods are designed to ensure that this working time does not compromise health and safety. During the workday, employees who work more than 6 hours must receive a meal break, and you must also organize daily and weekly rest so that staff have sufficient uninterrupted time away from work between shifts and at least one full day of rest each week.

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