Working Hours and Overtime in Kazakhstan

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Kazakhstan?

An employee whose age is 16 or younger has a maximum of 5 hours per day and 24 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 4 hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 9:00 to 18:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Kazakhstan

The Labour Code of Kazakhstan sets the standard working time for adult employees at no more than 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. Employers may introduce reduced weekly hours, such as 36 or 30 hours, through employment contracts or collective agreements, but they cannot exceed the 40-hour statutory ceiling. Any schedule that regularly goes beyond these limits will generally be treated as overtime and must follow overtime rules.

For employees aged 16–18, the maximum is 7 hours per day and 36 hours per week, while those aged 14–16 working under permitted light-work arrangements are limited to 5 hours per day and 24 hours per week. When using summarized working time accounting, you may vary daily and weekly hours, but the average over the reference period must not exceed 40 hours per week. You must document working-time arrangements in internal regulations and individual contracts and keep accurate time records for each employee.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

Companies hiring in sectors like healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, or hospitality may be subject to special scheduling rules, including longer shifts combined with extended rest periods. In Kazakhstan, summarized working time accounting is common in these sectors, allowing 10–12 hour shifts as long as the average does not exceed 40 hours per week over the chosen reference period. You must ensure that daily and weekly rest requirements are still respected even when shifts are extended.

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 Kazakhstan, the reference period for summarized accounting is typically up to 1 year, but many employers use 1–3 months for easier control. You should formalize sector-specific schedules in collective agreements or internal policies and communicate them clearly to staff.

Managerial And Exempt Employees

In Kazakhstan, certain managerial employees and employees with irregular working hours may be classified so that their working time is not strictly limited by the standard daily schedule. However, even for such staff, the general 40-hour weekly standard remains the benchmark for determining when overtime arises. Employment contracts should clearly describe the nature of irregular hours and how compensation is structured.

Senior managers may agree to a fixed salary that already factors in a reasonable amount of additional work beyond the normal schedule, but this does not remove your obligation to respect health and safety limits. If these employees are required to work beyond the standard 40-hour week on a sustained basis, you should either pay overtime at statutory rates or adjust their salary and workload to remain compliant. Transparent documentation of expectations and time-keeping practices will help you manage disputes.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Kazakhstan

Statutory full-time work in Kazakhstan is defined as up to 40 hours per week for adult employees. Full-time schedules are usually spread over five working days at 8 hours per day, but six-day weeks with shorter daily hours are also permitted if the total does not exceed 40 hours. Any reduction below 40 hours, such as 36 hours per week, is considered reduced working time but still treated as full-time for many employment benefits if agreed in contracts or collective agreements.

Part-time work is allowed when the weekly hours are set below the full-time standard, for example 20 or 30 hours per week. In such cases, pay and some entitlements are typically prorated according to actual working time, while core labour protections still apply. You should clearly specify in writing whether an employee is full-time or part-time and the exact number of hours expected per week.

Overtime Regulations In Kazakhstan

Overtime in Kazakhstan is tightly regulated, and employers are responsible for ensuring that any work beyond the established daily or weekly norm is properly authorized and compensated. You must maintain accurate records of hours worked, including overtime, night work, and work on weekends or public holidays. Failure to document and pay overtime correctly can lead to administrative fines, back-pay orders, and potential litigation from employees or labour inspectors.

What Counts As Overtime In Kazakhstan?

Overtime in Kazakhstan generally means any hours worked above the employee’s established daily schedule or above the 40-hour weekly standard for full-time employees. Work performed beyond the limits set in a summarized working time schedule over the reference period is also treated as overtime. You must obtain the employee’s written consent for overtime in most cases, except in emergencies defined by law.

Work performed on weekly rest days or public holidays is treated as overtime even if the total weekly hours do not exceed 40. Such hours must be compensated at enhanced rates or offset with time off according to statutory rules. You should clearly distinguish in your records between regular overtime, rest-day work, and holiday work because different pay multipliers apply.

Maximum Overtime In Kazakhstan

The Labour Code of Kazakhstan limits overtime to no more than 2 hours per day for most employees, or 1 hour per day for workers in hazardous or harmful conditions. In addition, an employee may not work more than 12 hours of overtime per month and 120 hours of overtime per year. These caps are designed to protect employee health and cannot be waived by contract.

Certain categories of workers, such as pregnant women and employees under 18, are prohibited from working overtime altogether. For employees with disabilities or those with young children, overtime is allowed only with their written consent and subject to medical and social protections. You should implement internal approval procedures so that line managers cannot assign overtime that would cause an employee to exceed the 12-hour monthly or 120-hour annual limits.

Overtime Payout Rates In Kazakhstan

In Kazakhstan, overtime hours worked on a normal working day must be paid at a rate of at least 1.5x the employee’s regular hourly wage for the first 2 hours and at least 2.0x for each subsequent overtime hour. Work performed on weekends or weekly rest days must be paid at a minimum of 2.0x the regular hourly rate if no compensatory rest day is provided. If you grant a substitute rest day for weekend work, you must still pay at least 1.5x for the hours worked.

Work on official public holidays must be compensated at not less than 2.0x the regular hourly rate, regardless of whether the day falls on a normal working day or a rest day. Collective agreements or company policies may provide higher multipliers, such as 2.5x for public holidays or 1.75x for regular overtime, but they cannot go below the statutory minimums. You should clearly describe all overtime and premium rates in employment contracts and payroll policies to avoid disputes.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Kazakhstan

In Kazakhstan, employees typically work up to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, and rest periods are structured around these standard limits to protect health and productivity. The Labour Code requires employers to provide meal breaks during the working day and to ensure minimum daily and weekly rest between shifts. When designing schedules, you must align break arrangements with the actual daily and weekly hours your employees work.

• Meal Break: In Kazakhstan, employees who work more than 4 hours in a day must receive a meal break of at least 30 minutes, and this break is usually unpaid. You should specify the exact duration and timing of meal breaks in internal rules and ensure that employees are free from work duties during this period.
• Daily Rest: Employees are entitled to a minimum uninterrupted daily rest period of at least 12 hours between the end of one workday and the start of the next. When using extended shifts or summarized working time, you must still respect this 12-hour rest window unless a specific legal exception applies.
• Weekly Rest: Kazakhstan requires at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest, typically provided as Sunday or another agreed day off. Many employers provide a 5-day workweek with 2 consecutive rest days, but if employees work on their rest day you must grant a substitute rest day and pay the applicable premium.
• Minors: Employees under 18 benefit from enhanced rest protections, including shorter daily working hours and stricter limits on overtime and night work. You must schedule minors so that they receive longer rest periods and are not exposed to harmful or hazardous conditions.
• Employer Duty: Employers in Kazakhstan are responsible for organizing work so that statutory breaks and rest periods are actually taken, not just written into policies. Labour inspectors may review schedules and time sheets, and failure to provide required rest can result in fines and orders to correct violations.

Night Shifts And Weekend Regulations In Kazakhstan

Night and weekend work are legal in Kazakhstan but subject to additional employer responsibilities and employee protections. You must pay statutory premiums where required, limit the use of vulnerable categories of workers, and ensure that health and safety risks are properly managed.

Night work in Kazakhstan is generally defined as work performed between 22:00 and 06:00, although internal rules may specify a slightly different window within this period. Any hours worked within this night interval trigger special restrictions for certain categories of employees and may attract premium pay under the Labour Code or collective agreements.

• Premium Pay: In Kazakhstan, night work must be paid at a rate of at least 1.5x the employee’s regular hourly wage for each hour worked between 22:00 and 06:00. Collective agreements or company policies may increase this premium to 1.75x or 2.0x, but you cannot go below the statutory minimum of 1.5x.
• Health Monitoring: Regular night workers in Kazakhstan should receive periodic medical examinations, especially in sectors with higher physical or psychological load. You are expected to adapt schedules or reassign employees if medical assessments show that night work is harmful to their health.
• Workplace Restrictions: Pregnant women and employees under 18 are prohibited from night work in Kazakhstan, and women with children under a certain age or employees with disabilities may work nights only with their written consent. You must verify eligibility before assigning night shifts and keep documentation of any consents obtained.

Weekend work, including work on the weekly rest day, is allowed in Kazakhstan but must be justified by production needs or emergencies and usually requires the employee’s consent. Hours worked on weekends or weekly rest days must be paid at not less than 2.0x the regular hourly rate if no substitute rest day is given, or at least 1.5x plus a compensatory rest day when time off in lieu is provided.