Working Hours and Overtime in Kosovo

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Kosovo?

An employee whose age is 18 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 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 08:00 to 16:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Kosovo

Under Kosovo law, standard full-time working hours are limited to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week for adult employees. You must organize schedules so that employees do not regularly exceed these limits except under clearly defined overtime arrangements. Collective agreements or individual contracts may provide for shorter standard hours, but they cannot lawfully increase the statutory maximums.

When you introduce flexible or shift-based schedules, you must still ensure that the average working time does not exceed 40 hours per week over the applicable reference period. Any work beyond the agreed normal schedule must be treated as overtime and compensated accordingly. You are required to keep accurate records of daily and weekly hours to demonstrate compliance during inspections.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

Companies hiring in sectors like healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, or hospitality may be subject to special scheduling rules. These rules can allow for longer daily shifts, split shifts, or irregular patterns, provided that weekly averages and mandatory rest periods are respected. You should always check whether a sectoral collective agreement or special regulation applies to your industry before designing rosters.

• 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 monitor cumulative hours closely when using compressed workweeks or long shifts, especially where safety-sensitive tasks are involved. Written policies and clear communication with staff are essential to avoid breaching working-time rules.

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managers and certain high-level decision-makers may enjoy more flexibility in how they organize their working time, but they are not completely exempt from Kosovo’s health and safety protections. Their contracts should clearly define expected working hours, availability outside normal hours, and whether overtime premiums apply or are deemed included in a higher base salary. You should avoid open-ended clauses that imply unlimited working time without clear compensation.

Even where overtime premiums are contractually included, you must still respect daily and weekly limits and ensure adequate rest. Excessive hours for managers can expose your business to claims of overwork, health risks, and potential administrative sanctions. Transparent documentation of expectations and workloads helps demonstrate that managerial staff are not being pushed beyond legal or reasonable limits.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Kosovo

In Kosovo, statutory full-time work is generally defined as 40 hours per week, usually spread over five 8-hour days. You may agree on shorter full-time hours, such as 37.5 hours per week, through contracts or collective agreements, but you cannot set a higher full-time norm than the statutory ceiling. Any hours worked beyond the agreed full-time schedule must be treated as overtime and paid at the applicable premium rates.

Part-time arrangements are permitted where employees work fewer than 40 hours per week, and these employees are entitled to pro-rated rights and benefits. You should clearly specify in writing whether a role is full-time or part-time, the exact weekly hours, and the distribution of those hours across days. This clarity reduces disputes about when overtime begins and how it should be compensated.

Overtime Regulations In Kosovo

As an employer in Kosovo, you may require employees to work beyond their normal schedule only within the limits set by the Labour Law. You must obtain employee consent where required, keep precise records of all overtime hours, and ensure that overtime does not push total working time beyond legal caps. Failure to manage overtime correctly can lead to fines, back-pay claims, and reputational risk with both employees and labour inspectors.

What Counts As Overtime In Kosovo?

Overtime in Kosovo is generally any time worked beyond the employee’s contracted normal hours, up to the statutory maximum of 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. Work performed beyond these statutory limits is also considered overtime and must be compensated at premium rates. Work on weekly rest days or public holidays is treated as overtime even if the total weekly hours remain at or below 40.

If you operate flexible schedules or reference periods, overtime is assessed against the agreed normal hours averaged over that period. You should define in writing what constitutes normal working hours for each role so that overtime can be clearly identified. Any on-call time that is deemed working time under Kosovo law must also be counted when determining whether overtime thresholds are exceeded.

Maximum Overtime In Kosovo

Under Kosovo labour legislation, overtime is generally limited to a maximum of 8 hours per week per employee, meaning total weekly working time should not exceed 48 hours. On an annual basis, overtime is typically capped at 200 hours per employee, unless a collective agreement provides a different but still reasonable limit. You should track overtime cumulatively to ensure that individual employees do not exceed these thresholds over the course of the year.

In exceptional circumstances, such as urgent repairs or force majeure, temporary deviations may be allowed, but you must still respect health and safety obligations and restore normal schedules as soon as possible. Any extension beyond the usual caps should be documented, justified, and, where required, agreed with employee representatives or authorities. Systematic reliance on overtime to cover regular staffing needs can be viewed by inspectors as a breach of working-time rules.

Overtime Payout Rates In Kosovo

In Kosovo, statutory overtime for hours worked beyond the normal schedule is typically paid at a minimum of 125% of the employee’s regular hourly rate, equivalent to 1.25x pay. Work performed on weekly rest days or Saturdays is commonly compensated at 130% of the regular rate, or 1.3x, under collective or contractual arrangements. You should ensure that your internal policies and payroll systems apply at least these minimum multipliers whenever overtime is worked.

For work performed on official public holidays, employees are generally entitled to at least 150% of their regular hourly rate, or 1.5x pay, in addition to any separate entitlement to a substitute rest day where applicable. Night-time overtime can be subject to cumulative premiums, for example 125% for overtime plus an additional 20% night supplement, resulting in a combined rate of 145% or 1.45x. All applicable rates and calculation methods should be clearly set out in employment contracts or company policies to avoid disputes.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Kosovo

In Kosovo, employees typically work up to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, and rest periods are designed to protect their health within this framework. During the working day, employees who work more than 6 hours are entitled to a meal break, and they must also receive daily and weekly rest away from work. You must plan schedules so that these breaks and rest periods are built into the normal pattern of work rather than treated as optional.

• Meal Break: Employees who work more than 6 consecutive hours in a day are entitled to at least a 30-minute paid or unpaid meal break, as defined by contract or collective agreement. You should schedule this break so it falls roughly in the middle of the working period and does not reduce the minimum daily rest.
• Daily Rest: Adult employees must receive a minimum of 12 consecutive hours of rest between the end of one working day and the start of the next. This daily rest requirement applies even when you use shift work or overtime, and you should avoid rosters that compress rest below this threshold.
• Weekly Rest: Employees are entitled to at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest, typically on Sunday, in addition to the daily rest. If business needs require Sunday work, you must provide a substitute rest day during the same week or reference period.
• Minors: Workers under 18 benefit from stricter protections, including shorter daily hours and longer rest periods between shifts. You must not schedule minors for night work or excessive overtime that would compromise their education or health.
• Employer Duty: You are responsible for organizing work so that statutory breaks and rest periods are actually taken, not just theoretically available. Timekeeping systems, clear policies, and supervisor training are essential to demonstrate compliance during inspections.

Night Shifts And Weekend Regulations In Kosovo

Night and weekend work are legal in Kosovo but subject to additional employer responsibilities and employee protections. You must pay attention to working-time limits, health and safety considerations, and any applicable collective agreements when scheduling such work. Proper planning and documentation help ensure that these non-standard hours do not lead to legal or operational risks.

Night work in Kosovo is generally defined as work performed between 22:00 and 06:00, although collective agreements may refine this window for specific sectors. Employees who regularly perform at least three hours of work during this period, or whose schedule normally includes night hours, are considered night workers. You should identify night workers in your records and apply the relevant protections and premiums consistently across comparable roles.

• Premium Pay: Night work in Kosovo is commonly compensated with a supplement of at least 20% of the regular hourly wage, meaning a minimum rate of 120% or 1.2x for hours worked between 22:00 and 06:00. If night work coincides with overtime, weekly rest days, or public holidays, the night supplement is typically added on top of the applicable overtime or holiday premium.
• Health Monitoring: Regular night workers should be offered periodic health assessments to identify any adverse effects of working at night. Where medical advice indicates that night work is unsuitable, you should consider transferring the employee to a suitable day role where reasonably possible.
• Workplace Restrictions: Minors under 18 are prohibited from performing night work, and pregnant or breastfeeding employees must not be required to work night shifts if a medical certificate indicates risk. In such cases, you should adjust schedules or reassign duties without reducing the employee’s basic pay entitlements.

Weekend work, particularly on Sunday, is generally treated as work on a weekly rest day and should be minimized where possible. When employees are required to work on Sunday, you must provide a substitute rest day and typically pay a premium of at least 130% or 1.3x of the regular hourly rate, with higher rates such as 150% or 1.5x often applied by collective agreement or company policy.