Working Hours and Overtime in Jersey

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Jersey?

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 40 hours per week. A minimum meal interval of 30 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 9:00 to 17:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Jersey

Jersey does not prescribe a single statutory daily or weekly maximum for adult workers, but employers commonly structure work around a 40-hour week spread over five 8-hour days. You must ensure that contracted hours, together with any overtime, do not breach minimum rest requirements or create health and safety risks. Where you adopt longer daily spans, such as 10-hour shifts, you should balance them with additional rest or shorter working days elsewhere in the roster.

Working time limits and patterns are usually set out in contracts, staff handbooks, or collective agreements, and you are expected to follow those terms consistently. Any change to standard hours should be consulted on and confirmed in writing, especially where it may affect pay, overtime eligibility, or work–life balance. You must also monitor actual hours worked through reliable records so you can demonstrate compliance if inspected or challenged.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

Companies hiring in sectors like healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, or hospitality may be subject to special scheduling rules that reflect operational needs and safety risks. In these environments, longer shifts such as 10–12 hours may be used, but you must still respect daily and weekly rest and avoid excessive consecutive days of work. Where you rely on such patterns, document the justification and ensure employees understand how their hours and rest are managed.

• 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 typically aim to keep average hours at or around 40 hours per week over a 4–13 week reference period, unless a clearly justified business need requires a different pattern. Any departure from standard patterns should be risk-assessed and, where appropriate, discussed with employee representatives.

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managers and certain professional staff in Jersey are often engaged on a salaried basis with an expectation of flexibility rather than a fixed hourly schedule. Their contracts may state that the salary covers all hours reasonably required to perform the role, meaning they are not paid separate overtime premiums. Even so, you remain responsible for ensuring that workloads are sustainable and that these employees receive adequate rest.

Where you classify employees as managerial or exempt from overtime, this should be clearly defined in the employment contract and aligned with their actual duties and level of autonomy. Misclassifying staff to avoid paying overtime or to impose excessive hours can expose you to contractual claims and reputational risk. Regularly review working patterns for these groups to ensure they do not consistently exceed 48–50 hours per week without appropriate safeguards.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Jersey

In practice, full-time work in Jersey is generally understood to mean around 35–40 hours per week, most commonly 40 hours. Many employers use a standard pattern of 8 hours per day over five days, excluding an unpaid meal break. Part-time, compressed hours, and flexible arrangements are permitted as long as they are clearly documented and comply with rest and leave rules.

When defining full-time hours in contracts, specify the weekly total, the normal working days, and the usual start and finish times. You should also explain how any additional hours will be treated, including whether they are paid at the basic rate or at an agreed overtime premium such as 1.25x or 1.5x. Clear drafting reduces disputes and helps employees understand their expected availability and earning potential.

Overtime Regulations In Jersey

Overtime in Jersey is primarily governed by contract rather than detailed statute, so you must set out clear rules on when overtime is required and how it is paid. You are expected to keep accurate records of hours worked, including any time beyond the employee’s normal schedule, to evidence compliance with minimum wage and rest requirements. Failure to document and control overtime can lead to underpayment claims, breaches of health and safety duties, and scrutiny from regulators.

What Counts As Overtime In Jersey?

In Jersey, overtime is generally any time worked beyond the employee’s contracted weekly hours, for example beyond 40 hours per week for a standard full-time contract. Work performed on rest days, Sundays, or public holidays can also be treated as overtime if this is specified in the contract or collective agreement. You should define in writing whether overtime is calculated daily, weekly, or over another reference period, and how part-time staff accrue overtime once they exceed their contracted hours.

Where employees are required to be on call, you must distinguish between active working time and standby periods that do not count as hours worked unless the employee is actually called out. If you treat certain hours, such as evening or weekend work, as overtime regardless of weekly totals, state this explicitly and apply the agreed premium, such as 1.25x or 1.5x, consistently. Clear definitions reduce disputes and help ensure that total hours, including overtime, remain within safe limits.

Maximum Overtime In Jersey

There is no specific statutory overtime cap in Jersey expressed as a fixed number of hours per week or year for adult workers. In practice, many employers limit total working time, including overtime, to an average of 48 hours per week over a 17-week reference period, mirroring common international standards. You should avoid patterns where employees regularly exceed 55 hours per week, as this significantly increases fatigue and health risks.

Where business needs require temporary peaks, you can agree additional overtime provided that employees still receive at least 11 consecutive hours of daily rest and one full day of weekly rest. As a good practice cap, you might restrict overtime to no more than 10 additional hours per week above a 40-hour contract, resulting in a 50-hour weekly maximum during peak periods. You should monitor overtime reports and intervene if individuals consistently exceed these levels without a clear and time-limited justification.

Overtime Payout Rates In Jersey

Jersey law does not set a statutory overtime premium rate, so there is no mandatory multiplier such as 1.25x or 1.5x in legislation. Instead, you must ensure that the total pay for all hours worked, including overtime, does not fall below the applicable minimum wage per hour. Most employers choose to offer contractual overtime premiums to attract and retain staff and to compensate for less desirable hours.

Common market practice in Jersey is to pay weekday overtime at 1.25x the employee’s basic hourly rate once they exceed their contracted weekly hours, for example beyond 40 hours. Saturday or Sunday overtime is often paid at 1.5x, and work on public holidays is frequently paid at 2.0x the basic rate or combined with a paid day off in lieu. Whatever structure you adopt, you should specify the exact multipliers in the contract or handbook and apply them consistently across comparable roles.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Jersey

In Jersey, employees commonly work around 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, and rest periods are designed to ensure these hours are worked safely. You must schedule meal and rest breaks so that employees are not required to work more than 6 consecutive hours without a break. Daily and weekly rest entitlements must be built into rosters so that overall working time patterns remain sustainable.

• Meal Break: In Jersey, employees who work more than 6 hours in a day should receive at least a 30-minute uninterrupted meal break. You should schedule this break away from the workstation wherever possible and make clear whether it is paid or unpaid.
• Daily Rest: As a good practice benchmark, employees should have at least 11 consecutive hours of rest between the end of one working day and the start of the next. You should avoid split shifts or extended opening hours that routinely reduce this daily rest below 11 hours.
• Weekly Rest: Employees should normally receive at least 24 consecutive hours of rest each week, often provided as a Sunday or another full day off. In continuous operations, you may provide 48 consecutive hours of rest over a 14-day period instead, but this should be clearly rostered.
• Minors: Young workers in Jersey require more protective rest arrangements, including shorter maximum daily hours and more frequent breaks. You should avoid scheduling minors for night work or long consecutive days and obtain any required parental or guardian consents.
• Employer Duty: Employers in Jersey are responsible for planning work so that statutory and contractual rest periods are actually taken. You should keep rosters and time records that demonstrate compliance and intervene if staff regularly skip or shorten breaks.

Night Shifts And Weekend Regulations In Jersey

Night and weekend work are legal in Jersey but they come with additional responsibilities for employers to manage fatigue, safety, and fairness. You must ensure that employees working these patterns still receive adequate daily and weekly rest and that their total hours, including overtime, remain reasonable. Particular care is needed in safety-critical roles where night work can increase the risk of accidents.

Night work in Jersey is commonly defined in contracts as work performed between 22:00 and 06:00, although you may adopt a slightly different window such as 21:00 to 07:00 if agreed. This definition should be clearly stated in the employment contract or handbook and applied consistently across comparable roles. Employees who regularly work at least 3 hours during this night period on a significant number of their shifts are typically treated as night workers for policy purposes.

• Premium Pay: There is no statutory night work premium in Jersey, so the law does not mandate a specific percentage or multiplier such as 1.25x. In practice, many employers pay a contractual night premium of 1.25x to 1.5x the basic hourly rate for hours worked between 22:00 and 06:00 to reflect the unsocial nature of the work.
• Health Monitoring: While there is no detailed statutory scheme for night worker health assessments, you should assess risks and offer periodic health checks for regular night staff. This is particularly important in sectors such as healthcare, security, and transport where fatigue can have serious safety consequences.
• Workplace Restrictions: You should not normally employ minors on night shifts, especially between 22:00 and 06:00, except in tightly controlled training situations. Pregnant workers and new mothers should be offered alternative day work or adjusted duties if night or weekend work poses a health risk, based on medical advice.

Weekend work, including Sunday work, is permitted in Jersey and is common in retail, hospitality, and essential services. There is no statutory weekend premium, but many employers pay 1.25x for Saturday work and 1.5x for Sunday work or provide a paid day off in lieu when staff work on their usual rest day. You must ensure that employees who work weekends still receive at least one full day of weekly rest, either on the weekend itself or on a substitute weekday.