Working Hours and Overtime in Libya

In Libya, your company must comply with working hour and overtime laws – including daily limits, overtime thresholds, and rest requirements – to stay compliant and build a strong employee experience.

As regulations continue to evolve toward 2026, authorities are placing greater emphasis on transparent scheduling, accurate timekeeping, and protection against excessive working hours. Employers should formalize working-time policies, ensure contracts reflect lawful daily and weekly limits, and implement reliable systems to record hours, overtime, and rest periods. Proactive compliance – including regular audits, manager training, and clear communication with employees – will help you adapt to any future updates to Libyan labour standards and avoid disputes or sanctions.

• Standard Working Hours
• Overtime Thresholds
• Overtime Pay Rates
• Daily And Weekly Rest Requirements
• Night Work Restrictions
• Penalties For Non-Compliance

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Libya?

An employee whose age is 15 or younger has a maximum of 6 hours per day and 36 hours per week. An employee whose age is 16 or older is allowed to work 48 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 8:00 to 16:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Libya

Libyan labour practice generally follows a standard of 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week for adult employees, excluding rest breaks. These limits are designed to protect employee health and safety while still allowing employers sufficient flexibility to organize shifts and workloads. You should structure work schedules so that daily hours do not regularly exceed 8 and weekly hours do not exceed 48, except where clearly justified and compensated as overtime in line with applicable rules and collective arrangements.

For operational reasons, you may distribute the 48 hours unevenly across the week, provided that the average does not exceed the statutory weekly maximum and that employees still receive the required daily and weekly rest. Any work beyond the standard daily or weekly limits should be treated as overtime and must be specifically authorized, recorded, and compensated.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Oil And Gas Exploration And Production
• Maritime And Port Operations
• Healthcare And Emergency Services
• Hospitality, Tourism, And Catering
• Security, Guarding, And Surveillance Services
• Agriculture And Seasonal Harvesting

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managers and employees in positions of trust often have broader flexibility in their working hours due to the nature of their responsibilities. In practice, these employees may not be subject to the same strict hourly tracking as rank-and-file staff, and their remuneration is typically structured to reflect the expectation of irregular or extended hours. However, you should not assume that all managers are automatically exempt from working-time protections.

To reduce legal risk, clearly define in employment contracts which roles are considered managerial or exempt, describe the expected working-time flexibility, and ensure that overall workloads remain reasonable. Even for exempt staff, it is advisable to respect general principles on maximum working hours, rest periods, and health and safety, and to avoid systematic overwork that could be considered abusive.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Libya

Full-time employment in Libya is generally based on a 48-hour workweek for adult employees, typically spread over 6 working days of 8 hours each or 5 longer days with an additional rest day, depending on the sector and internal company policy. When designing full-time roles, you should align contractual hours with this benchmark and specify the normal daily and weekly schedule in the employment contract or internal regulations.

Part-time and shift-based arrangements should be expressed as a proportion of the full-time standard, with clear indication of expected hours, days of work, and how additional hours will be treated and compensated. Maintaining accurate time records for all employees – including full-time, part-time, and shift workers – is essential to demonstrate compliance with maximum working hours and overtime rules.

Overtime Regulations In Libya

What Counts As Overtime In Libya?

Overtime in Libya is generally understood as any working time performed beyond the standard daily or weekly limits applicable to the employee, most commonly more than 8 hours in a day or 48 hours in a week for adult full-time staff. Work performed on weekly rest days or public holidays is also typically treated as overtime or premium work, even if the weekly total does not exceed 48 hours.

To manage risk, you should define in your internal policies what constitutes overtime, when it is allowed, and how it must be approved. Overtime should be pre-authorized by a supervisor, recorded accurately through timesheets or electronic systems, and compensated either through enhanced pay or time off in lieu, as permitted by law and any applicable collective agreements.

Maximum Overtime In Libya

While Libyan legislation aims to limit excessive working hours, practice in many sectors allows for a reasonable amount of overtime on top of the 48-hour weekly standard, subject to health and safety considerations. As a compliance-oriented approach, you should avoid scheduling employees so that their total working time regularly exceeds an average of 10 hours per day or 60 hours per week, including overtime, except in short-term exceptional circumstances.

It is prudent to set internal caps on monthly and annual overtime – for example, limiting overtime to a defined number of hours per month and requiring higher-level approval once an employee approaches that threshold. You should also monitor overtime distribution to ensure that it is not concentrated on a small group of employees and that minors, pregnant employees, and other protected categories are not assigned overtime contrary to protective rules.

Overtime Payout Rates In Libya

Overtime work in Libya is generally compensated at a premium rate above the employee’s normal hourly wage. Common practice is to apply a higher rate for hours worked beyond the standard daily or weekly schedule, with further enhancements for night work, work on weekly rest days, and work on public holidays. Where collective agreements or company policies specify higher rates, those more favourable terms should be applied.

As a baseline, you should calculate the employee’s regular hourly rate by dividing their monthly salary by the standard monthly hours, then apply the applicable overtime multiplier to determine the enhanced rate. Clearly document overtime rates and calculation methods in employment contracts or internal regulations, and ensure that payroll systems accurately capture and pay all overtime due, including any additional premiums for night or holiday work.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Libya

In Libya, employees typically work around 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week, and rest periods and breaks are designed to ensure that these working hours do not compromise health and safety. During the working day, employees who work more than 6 hours should receive at least a 30-minute meal break, and daily and weekly rest periods must be scheduled so that employees have sufficient uninterrupted time away from work between shifts and at least one full day of rest each week.

• Meal Break Requirements
• Daily Rest
• Weekly Rest
• Minors
• Employer Duties