Working Hours and Overtime in Malawi

In Malawi, 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 you plan workforce needs through 2026, you should expect closer scrutiny of working-time practices, better enforcement of record-keeping obligations, and growing expectations from employees for predictable schedules and fair overtime compensation. Embedding compliant working-hour rules into contracts, policies, and scheduling systems now will reduce the risk of disputes, inspections, and financial penalties in the coming years.

• 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 Malawi?

An employee whose age is 18 or younger has a maximum of 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week. An employee whose age is 19 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 5 hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 08:00 to 17:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Malawi

Under Malawi’s Employment Act, the general limit for most employees is 48 hours per week, usually spread over six days, with a typical daily cap of 8 hours. As an employer, you should structure work schedules so that ordinary hours do not exceed these limits, except where a lawful overtime arrangement is in place. Daily hours should be recorded accurately, including start and finish times and any breaks, to demonstrate compliance in the event of an inspection or dispute.

Where work is organized on a five-day week, you may distribute the 48 hours across Monday to Friday, provided that daily hours remain reasonable and do not undermine health and safety. Any work beyond the agreed normal daily or weekly hours should be treated as overtime and compensated at the applicable premium rate. You should also ensure that employees are not scheduled for excessively long shifts that could compromise safety, particularly in higher-risk environments such as transport, construction, or manufacturing.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Agriculture And Plantation Operations
• Hospitality, Hotels, And Restaurants
• Security, Guarding, And Surveillance Services
• Transport, Logistics, And Driving Roles
• Healthcare, Hospitals, And Emergency Services
• Mining, Construction, And Heavy Industry

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managerial and supervisory employees in Malawi often have greater flexibility in their working hours and may not be subject to the same strict overtime entitlements as rank-and-file staff, particularly where their remuneration is structured to reflect this responsibility. However, you should not assume that all managers are automatically exempt from hour limits or overtime. The actual duties, level of autonomy, and pay structure are relevant when assessing whether overtime premiums apply.

To reduce risk, clearly define in employment contracts whether a role is managerial or supervisory, specify expected working hours, and state whether the salary is deemed to cover reasonable additional hours. Even where overtime premiums are not legally required, you still have a duty to protect health and safety by avoiding excessive hours and ensuring adequate rest. Transparent policies on availability, after-hours work, and time off in lieu help manage expectations and reduce the likelihood of disputes.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Malawi

In practice, full-time employment in Malawi is generally based on the statutory maximum of 48 hours per week. Many employers implement a five-day schedule of around 40 to 45 hours per week, with the remaining hours reserved for overtime when business needs arise. When defining full-time status in your contracts and policies, you should specify the normal weekly hours, the standard working days, and the daily start and end times.

Clearly distinguishing between normal hours and overtime is essential for payroll accuracy and compliance. You should also address how work on weekends, public holidays, and at night will be handled, including any premium rates or time off in lieu. Maintaining written records of agreed schedules, changes to shifts, and employee consent to work beyond normal hours will help you demonstrate that your full-time arrangements comply with Malawi’s employment legislation.

Overtime Regulations In Malawi

What Counts As Overtime In Malawi?

In Malawi, overtime generally refers to any time an employee works beyond their agreed normal daily or weekly hours, typically beyond 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week for full-time staff. Overtime can also arise when employees work on weekly rest days or public holidays, or when they are required to work at night outside the usual daytime schedule. As an employer, you should define normal hours clearly in contracts and internal policies so that any excess time can be identified and compensated correctly.

Overtime should normally be requested or approved in advance by a supervisor or manager, except in genuine emergencies. You should implement a system for recording overtime – such as timesheets, electronic clocking, or digital workforce management tools – and ensure that employees sign off on their hours. This documentation is critical if there is a dispute about pay or if labour authorities review your practices. Unauthorised overtime should be managed through policy and supervision, but if you knowingly allow employees to work extra hours, you may still be required to pay the applicable overtime premium.

Maximum Overtime In Malawi

While Malawi’s legislation focuses primarily on the 48-hour weekly limit for normal working time, employers are expected to ensure that overtime does not result in excessive total hours that could endanger employee health and safety. As a best practice, you should cap overtime so that total weekly hours rarely exceed 56 to 60 hours, and only in exceptional, short-term circumstances. Regularly scheduling employees for very long weeks can be viewed as an abuse of overtime and may attract scrutiny from labour authorities.

To manage risk, adopt internal rules that limit overtime per day and per week, require managerial approval for any overtime, and provide compensatory rest where employees have worked long or irregular hours. You should pay particular attention to vulnerable groups, such as young workers, pregnant employees, and night workers, who may require stricter limits. Monitoring overtime trends across departments will help you identify chronic understaffing or workload issues that need structural solutions rather than ongoing excessive overtime.

Overtime Payout Rates In Malawi

In Malawi, overtime is generally paid at a premium rate above the employee’s normal hourly wage. A common approach is to pay at least 150 percent of the basic hourly rate for overtime worked on ordinary working days, with higher rates – for example, 200 percent – for work performed on weekly rest days or public holidays. You should check any applicable collective agreements, sectoral arrangements, or company policies that may set more generous rates than the statutory minimums.

To calculate overtime pay, determine the employee’s normal hourly rate by dividing their basic monthly wage by the standard monthly hours, then apply the relevant multiplier to the overtime hours worked. Ensure that payroll systems are configured to distinguish between normal hours, weekday overtime, weekend overtime, and public holiday work. Clearly communicate overtime rates and calculation methods in employment contracts and employee handbooks, and provide itemised payslips that show overtime hours and amounts separately to maintain transparency and reduce disputes.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Malawi

In Malawi, employees typically work up to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week, and rest periods and breaks are designed to protect their health and safety within these limits. As an employer, you must ensure that workers who exceed a set number of continuous hours receive a proper meal break, that there is sufficient daily rest between shifts, and that each employee enjoys at least one full day of weekly rest. These requirements apply alongside any sector-specific rules and should be built into your scheduling, timekeeping, and overtime practices so that total working time and rest remain balanced.

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

For meal breaks, you should provide at least a 30-minute uninterrupted break when an employee works more than 5 consecutive hours in a day. This break should be scheduled so that employees are not required to work excessively long stretches without rest, and it should not be unreasonably delayed due to workload or staffing issues. Where operational needs require staggered breaks, plan staffing levels so that employees can still take their full entitlement without pressure to work through their break.

Daily rest should normally ensure that employees have a continuous rest period of at least 11 hours between the end of one working day and the start of the next. Avoid scheduling back-to-back shifts or split shifts that erode this rest period, especially where work is physically demanding or safety-critical. If exceptional circumstances require shorter daily rest, you should provide compensatory rest as soon as possible and document the reasons for the deviation.

Weekly rest in Malawi generally means at least one full day off every seven-day period, commonly on Sunday, although you may agree on a different rest day where business operations require it. Employees should not be routinely required to work all seven days of the week, and any work performed on the designated weekly rest day should be treated as overtime and compensated at the appropriate premium rate or with equivalent time off in lieu. Plan rosters in advance so that each employee’s weekly rest day is clear and predictable.

For minors, you must apply stricter protections. Young workers should not be scheduled for the maximum adult hours and should receive more frequent breaks and longer rest periods, reflecting their age and vulnerability. They should not be employed in night work or hazardous roles, and any deviation from standard protections can expose your organisation to significant legal and reputational risk.

Employer duties include designing work schedules that respect statutory rest periods, keeping accurate records of hours worked and breaks taken, and training supervisors to enforce break and rest rules consistently. You should also implement policies that discourage employees from voluntarily skipping breaks or working through rest periods to earn more overtime, as this can undermine health and safety and may still create liability for you. Regular audits of timekeeping data and employee feedback will help you identify and correct any systemic issues with rest and break compliance.