Working Hours and Overtime in Guyana

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Guyana?

An employee whose age is 16 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 60 minutes must be observed by employees who work more than 5 hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 08:00 to 16:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Guyana

Under the Shops (Hours of Work) Act and common practice in Guyana, the standard limit for most adult employees is 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week. You should structure rosters so that employees do not routinely exceed these limits, except where overtime is lawfully agreed and recorded. Daily hours can be distributed unevenly across the week, but the average should not surpass 48 hours over the chosen workweek.

Any extension beyond 8 hours in a day or 48 hours in a week should be treated as overtime and compensated at the applicable premium rate. Employers are expected to keep accurate time and attendance records showing start and finish times, breaks, and overtime worked. Collective agreements or individual contracts may set lower daily or weekly limits, and you must comply with whichever standard is more favourable to the employee.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

Companies hiring in sectors like healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, or hospitality may be subject to special scheduling rules. In practice, hospitals and continuous-process operations often rely on shift systems that extend beyond 8 hours in a day, provided that weekly averages and rest requirements are respected. You should document any such shift arrangements clearly in contracts or workplace policies and ensure that overtime premiums are applied when statutory or agreed thresholds are exceeded.

• 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. Where operations require frequent long shifts, consider using rotating rosters that cap average hours at 48 per week and provide at least one full rest day every seven days. Written risk assessments and consultation with workers or unions are advisable when designing non-standard schedules.

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managerial and supervisory employees in Guyana are sometimes treated as exempt from certain overtime rules, particularly where they have genuine authority over hiring, firing, and budgeting. However, there is no blanket exemption from reasonable working-time protections, and you should avoid schedules that are excessively long or unsafe. Employment contracts for managers should clearly state expected working hours, any flexibility, and whether the salary is intended to cover a reasonable amount of additional time.

Where managers or professionals regularly work beyond 48 hours per week, you should either pay overtime at agreed premium rates or provide time off in lieu on a 1:1 or better basis. Misclassifying non-managerial staff as exempt to avoid overtime obligations can expose you to back-pay claims and penalties. Always assess exemption status based on actual duties, not just job titles.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Guyana

In Guyana, full-time employment is generally understood as 40–48 hours per week, typically spread over five or six days. Many office-based roles operate on a 40-hour schedule, while retail, industrial, and service roles more commonly reach 44–48 hours. You should specify the normal weekly hours and workdays in each employment contract so expectations are clear.

Part-time and shift-based arrangements are permitted as long as they comply with daily and weekly limits and rest rules. When varying full-time hours, such as moving from a 5-day to a 6-day week, you should obtain written consent and ensure that any change does not reduce statutory entitlements or undercut overtime thresholds. Collective agreements may define full-time hours more precisely for particular sectors, and those definitions will govern for covered employees.

Overtime Regulations In Guyana

Overtime in Guyana must be carefully managed, with employers responsible for authorising extra hours, tracking them accurately, and paying the correct premium rates. You should maintain detailed time records for at least every pay period, including start and end times, breaks, and total overtime hours. Failure to comply with overtime rules can lead to wage claims, labour inspections, and financial penalties.

What Counts As Overtime In Guyana?

For most employees in Guyana, overtime is any time worked beyond the normal contractual hours, typically 8 hours per day or 40–48 hours per week depending on the contract and sector. Work performed on a scheduled weekly rest day, usually Sunday, is also treated as overtime and attracts premium pay. Public holiday work is generally considered overtime regardless of weekly totals and must be compensated at higher statutory rates.

Overtime should normally be pre-approved by a supervisor, and you should have a clear written policy stating when overtime is allowed and how it is paid. Employees should not be pressured to work excessive overtime, and you must ensure that total hours, including overtime, remain compatible with health and safety obligations. Where employees are on flexible schedules, you should define in writing the threshold at which additional hours convert into overtime.

Maximum Overtime In Guyana

Guyana’s legislation does not prescribe a single unified numerical overtime cap across all sectors, but common practice and labour guidance treat 12 hours as a practical daily ceiling, including overtime. This means you should avoid scheduling more than 4 hours of overtime on top of an 8-hour day, and you should not exceed 60 total hours in any week except in genuine emergencies. No statutory overtime cap is explicitly set in weekly or annual terms, but labour officers may treat sustained work above 60 hours per week as unreasonable.

Where business needs require extended hours, you should limit overtime to no more than 2 hours per day and 12 hours per week for most employees, unless a collective agreement or written approval from the Ministry of Labour allows a higher threshold. In emergency situations, such as breakdowns or urgent repairs, temporary increases may be tolerated, but you must still pay the correct premium rates and return to normal hours as soon as possible. Documenting the reasons for any exceptional overtime and obtaining employee consent helps mitigate compliance risks.

Overtime Payout Rates In Guyana

In Guyana, the standard statutory overtime rate for hours worked beyond the normal daily or weekly schedule is 1.5x the employee’s regular hourly rate, equivalent to a 50% premium. Work performed on a weekly rest day, typically Sunday, is commonly paid at 2.0x the normal rate, representing a 100% premium. When employees work on a public holiday, the prevailing practice and statutory guidance require payment at 2.0x the regular rate or 1.5x plus a full paid day, whichever is more favourable under the applicable agreement.

You should state these overtime rates clearly in employment contracts and payslips, showing the number of overtime hours at 1.5x and at 2.0x separately. Where collective agreements provide higher premiums, such as 1.75x for weekday overtime or 2.5x for holiday work, those higher rates must be honoured. Time off in lieu is permissible only if it is agreed in writing and provided at an equivalent value, for example 1.5 hours of paid time off for each hour of overtime worked at a 1.5x rate.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Guyana

In Guyana, employees commonly work around 8 hours per day and 40–48 hours per week, and rest periods are designed to ensure these hours do not compromise health and safety. During the working day, employees who work more than 5 hours must receive a meal break, and daily and weekly rest periods must be respected between shifts. You should align your scheduling and break policies with these standard hours so that employees have adequate recovery time.

• Meal Break: Employees who work more than 5 consecutive hours in Guyana must receive at least a 60-minute uninterrupted meal break, which should not be unreasonably delayed beyond the middle of the shift.
• Daily Rest: As a good-practice standard, employees should have at least 11 consecutive hours of rest between the end of one workday and the start of the next, and you should avoid split shifts that erode this rest.
• Weekly Rest: Employees are generally entitled to at least 24 consecutive hours of rest each week, commonly on Sunday, and any work on this day should be compensated at premium overtime rates.
• Minors: Young workers under 18 in Guyana should have shorter daily hours, more frequent breaks, and must not be scheduled for night work, with rest periods structured to support schooling and development.
• Employer Duty: Employers must plan rosters and break schedules so that statutory meal and rest periods are actually taken, and they should keep records that demonstrate compliance in case of labour inspections.

Night Shifts And Weekend Regulations In Guyana

Night and weekend work are legal in Guyana but subject to additional employer responsibilities and employee protections. You must pay appropriate premiums where required, manage fatigue risks, and ensure that rest periods are not undermined by irregular schedules.

Night work in Guyana is generally understood as work performed between 22:00 and 06:00, although specific definitions may vary by sector or collective agreement. This time window applies across most roles where employees are scheduled on rotating or permanent night shifts, and you should define the exact night period in contracts or policies.

• Premium Pay: There is no statutory night work premium rate expressly set in Guyanese law, so there is no mandatory percentage such as 25% or 1.25x; in practice, many employers pay a night-shift allowance of 10–25% on top of the base hourly rate or apply a 1.25x multiplier for hours worked between 22:00 and 06:00 as agreed in contracts or collective agreements.
• Health Monitoring: While not always mandated by statute, employers using regular night shifts should offer periodic health assessments, at least annually, to monitor fatigue, sleep disorders, and other health impacts associated with working between 22:00 and 06:00.
• Workplace Restrictions: Minors under 18 and pregnant workers should not normally be assigned to night work, and any exception must be carefully justified, risk-assessed, and consistent with medical advice and labour standards.

Weekend work, particularly on Sundays, is permitted in Guyana but is typically treated as overtime and paid at premium rates, commonly 2.0x the normal hourly rate for Sunday or statutory rest-day work. Where employees regularly work on weekends, you must provide an alternative 24-hour rest period during the week and clearly state in contracts whether Saturday and Sunday are normal workdays or attract overtime premiums.