Working Hours and Overtime in Haiti

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Haiti?

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 6 hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 8:00 to 16:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Haiti

Under Haitian labor law, the normal working time for adult employees is generally limited to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week in most sectors. You must organize schedules so that employees do not routinely exceed these limits without triggering overtime obligations. Collective agreements or internal policies may set lower daily or weekly limits, and those more favorable terms will bind you.

Where operational needs require flexibility, you may adjust daily hours as long as the average does not exceed 48 hours per week over the applicable reference period. Any hours worked beyond the statutory daily or weekly thresholds must be treated and paid as overtime at the applicable premium rates. You are responsible for maintaining accurate time records to demonstrate compliance with these limits.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

Companies hiring in sectors like healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, or hospitality may be subject to special scheduling rules. In Haiti, these sectors often rely on shift work and extended operating hours, but the underlying 48-hour weekly limit still applies unless a specific legal derogation exists. You should review any sectoral collective agreements or decrees that may refine how hours are distributed across days.

• 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. In practice, this means carefully planning rotations so that longer shifts are offset by additional rest days or shorter shifts. Failure to do so can result in unpaid overtime claims and administrative sanctions.

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managerial staff in Haiti may be treated as having broader flexibility in their working hours, particularly where they exercise real authority over hiring, discipline, or budgeting. However, simply giving an employee a managerial title does not automatically exempt you from overtime or maximum-hours rules. You should clearly define managerial status and working-time expectations in the employment contract.

Where managers are genuinely exempt from standard hour tracking, you should still ensure that their workload is reasonable and consistent with health and safety obligations. For mid-level supervisors and technical specialists who do not meet the strict criteria for exemption, you must continue to track hours and pay overtime once they exceed 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week. Transparent classification reduces the risk of reclassification disputes and back-pay liabilities.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Haiti

In Haiti, full-time employment is typically based on the statutory norm of 48 hours per week for adult workers. Many employers, especially in offices and service industries, voluntarily adopt a 40-hour week while still treating employees as full-time. Your internal policies or collective agreements should specify what constitutes full-time status in your organization.

Part-time arrangements are permitted as long as the agreed hours are clearly stated in the contract and do not exceed the statutory full-time thresholds. When part-time employees work beyond their contractual hours but within 48 hours per week, you may pay them at the normal rate unless a collective agreement provides otherwise. Once they exceed 8 hours in a day or 48 hours in a week, overtime premiums must be applied in the same way as for full-time staff.

Overtime Regulations In Haiti

As an employer in Haiti, you must monitor and record all hours worked so that any time beyond the statutory limits is correctly identified as overtime. Accurate timekeeping systems, such as timesheets or electronic clocking, are essential to demonstrate compliance in the event of an inspection or dispute. Ignoring overtime rules can lead to back-pay claims, penalties, and reputational damage.

What Counts As Overtime In Haiti?

In Haiti, overtime generally begins once an employee works more than 8 hours in a single day or more than 48 hours in a standard workweek. Hours worked beyond these thresholds must be compensated at the applicable premium rates, even if the extra work was informally requested. Work performed on the employee’s weekly rest day or on a public holiday is also treated as overtime.

If you require employees to remain on-site and available for work, that on-call time may be considered working time depending on the level of restriction. Any mandatory training, meetings, or preparatory activities outside normal hours should be counted toward daily and weekly totals. To avoid disputes, you should set clear written rules on when overtime is authorized and how it will be compensated.

Maximum Overtime In Haiti

Haitian labor rules generally limit overtime to a maximum of 2 hours per day, meaning a practical ceiling of 10 hours of work on any given day. On a weekly basis, overtime should not cause total hours to exceed 60 hours, which corresponds to 48 regular hours plus 12 overtime hours. This effectively caps overtime at 12 hours per week under normal circumstances.

Where exceptional and temporary business needs arise, you may request administrative authorization to exceed these limits, but such approvals are typically time-bound and must still respect health and safety considerations. You should document the reasons for any extended overtime and keep evidence of the authorization and employee consent. If no specific authorization is granted, you must treat the 2-hours-per-day and 12-hours-per-week thresholds as hard caps and adjust staffing accordingly.

Overtime Payout Rates In Haiti

In Haiti, standard overtime worked beyond 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week is typically paid at 150% of the employee’s regular hourly wage, that is, a 1.5x rate. When employees work on their designated weekly rest day, overtime is commonly paid at 200% of the regular rate, or 2.0x, reflecting the loss of rest time. Work performed on official public holidays is usually compensated at 200% to 250% of the normal rate, depending on the applicable collective agreement or company policy.

You should clearly state these overtime rates in employment contracts or internal regulations so employees understand how their extra hours will be paid. For example, an employee earning 100 gourdes per hour would receive 150 gourdes per hour for standard overtime and 200 gourdes per hour for work on a weekly rest day. Consistent application of these numerical rates, supported by detailed payslips, is critical to avoiding wage disputes and inspections by labor authorities.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Haiti

In Haiti, employees typically work up to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week, and rest periods are designed to protect health within this framework. During a standard workday, workers who exceed 6 hours of work must receive a meal break of at least 60 minutes, which does not count as working time. Over the week, employees are also entitled to daily and weekly rest so that the cumulative effect of long hours does not lead to fatigue or safety risks.

• Meal Break: In Haiti, employees who work more than 6 consecutive hours must receive a meal break of at least 60 minutes, typically scheduled near the middle of the shift. You should ensure this break is clearly reflected in work schedules and not routinely shortened.
• 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. This means you should avoid scheduling late-night work followed by an early-morning shift.
• Weekly Rest: Haitian practice provides at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest, commonly on Sunday, in addition to daily rest periods. If business needs require Sunday work, you must grant a substitute rest day and apply the appropriate overtime premium.
• Minors: Employees under 18 are subject to stricter limits on daily and weekly hours and must receive adequate rest breaks. You should avoid scheduling minors for night work or extended shifts that could interfere with their education or health.
• Employer Duty: As an employer, you must organize work so that statutory breaks and rest periods are actually taken, not just written into policy. Keeping accurate rosters and training supervisors to respect rest entitlements is essential for compliance in Haiti.

Night Shifts And Weekend Regulations In Haiti

Night and weekend work are legal in Haiti but subject to additional employer responsibilities and employee protections. You must pay close attention to working-time limits, rest periods, and any applicable premium rates when scheduling these shifts. Proper planning and documentation help ensure that operational needs are met without breaching labor standards.

Night work in Haiti is generally understood as work performed between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., although specific definitions may vary by sectoral agreement. Employees who regularly work during this window are considered night workers and may require special consideration regarding health and safety. You should identify roles that routinely fall into this time band and apply consistent rules to them.

• Premium Pay: Haitian law does not mandate a specific statutory night work premium, so there is no fixed percentage such as 25% or 1.25x required by statute. In practice, many employers voluntarily grant a night differential of around 20% to 30% above the base hourly rate, for example paying 1.2x to 1.3x, as set out in contracts or collective agreements.
• Health Monitoring: While there is no detailed statutory schedule for medical checks, you are expected to protect the health of regular night workers through appropriate assessments. Providing periodic health evaluations and offering transfers to day work where medically indicated are considered good practice in Haiti.
• Workplace Restrictions: Minors are generally prohibited from night work, especially in hazardous occupations, and you should not schedule employees under 18 for shifts between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. Pregnant workers should be reassigned away from night shifts or heavy night duties where there is any risk to maternal or fetal health.

Weekend work, particularly on Sunday, is treated as work on the usual weekly rest day in Haiti and therefore attracts special protection. If employees work on Sunday, you must provide a substitute rest day and typically pay a premium of around 200% of the normal rate, or 2.0x, in line with common practice and applicable agreements. Clear policies on Sunday scheduling and premiums help you avoid disputes and ensure that employees receive both adequate rest and fair compensation.