Working Hours and Overtime in Namibia

In Namibia, 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 your workforce strategy through 2026, you should expect closer scrutiny of working‑time records, overtime practices, and rest‑period arrangements, particularly in high‑risk sectors such as mining, construction, agriculture, and security. Regulators are likely to focus on excessive hours, unpaid or underpaid overtime, and inadequate rest, so it is essential to formalise your policies, train managers on scheduling rules, and implement reliable time‑tracking systems that capture all hours worked, including remote and off‑site work.

• 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 Namibia?

An employee whose age is 16 or younger has a maximum of 6 hours per day and 30 hours per week. An employee whose age is 17 or older is allowed to work 45 hours per week. A minimum meal interval of 60 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 Namibia

Under Namibia’s Labour Act, the general limit for adult employees is 45 ordinary hours per week, usually structured as 9 hours per day over a 5‑day week or 8 hours per day over a 5½‑ or 6‑day week. Ordinary hours exclude overtime and must be clearly defined in the employment contract or company policies. You should schedule hours in a predictable pattern, avoid split shifts unless operationally necessary, and ensure that any variation from the standard pattern is agreed in writing with the employee or their representative structures.

For employees working on a Sunday or public holiday as part of their ordinary schedule, you must ensure that the total ordinary hours for the week still do not exceed 45 and that any additional hours beyond the agreed schedule are treated and compensated as overtime. Night work and shift work arrangements must also respect the 45‑hour weekly cap on ordinary hours, even if the pattern is compressed or rotated across days.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Mining, Construction, And Heavy Industry Operations
• Agriculture, Farming, And Seasonal Harvest Work
• Hospitality, Tourism, And 24‑Hour Service Operations
• Security, Guarding, And Protective Services
• Transport, Logistics, And Long‑Distance Driving

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managerial employees in Namibia often have broader flexibility in their working hours and may not be subject to every detailed rule that applies to rank‑and‑file staff, particularly where they have genuine decision‑making authority, control their own schedules, and earn significantly higher remuneration. However, you should not assume that all managers are automatically exempt from working‑time protections. If a person’s role is managerial in title only, but their duties and autonomy are similar to other employees, they are likely to remain covered by the standard working‑time and overtime rules.

To manage risk, clearly define in the employment contract whether the role is treated as managerial or non‑managerial for working‑time purposes, describe the expected working‑time pattern, and specify whether the salary is intended to compensate for reasonable additional hours. Even where the law allows some flexibility for senior staff, you still have a duty to prevent excessive hours that could endanger health and safety, and you should monitor workloads, travel demands, and after‑hours availability expectations.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Namibia

In Namibia, full‑time employment is generally based on the statutory benchmark of 45 ordinary hours per week. Most employers structure this as 9 hours per day from Monday to Friday, or 8 hours per day from Monday to Friday plus a half‑day on Saturday. Any hours worked beyond the agreed ordinary schedule on a given day or beyond 45 hours in a week are typically treated as overtime and must be compensated at the applicable premium rates.

When designing full‑time roles, you should document the normal daily start and end times, the weekly total of ordinary hours, and how meal and rest breaks are integrated into the schedule. If you operate shifts, specify the shift cycles and how they average out to 45 hours per week over the reference period you use. This clarity helps you demonstrate compliance during inspections and reduces disputes about whether particular hours should be paid as ordinary time or overtime.

Overtime Regulations In Namibia

What Counts As Overtime In Namibia?

In Namibia, overtime is any time that an employee works in excess of their agreed ordinary hours, subject to the statutory ceiling of 45 ordinary hours per week. This includes hours beyond the normal daily limit in the contract, hours that push the weekly total above 45, and additional hours worked on rest days, Sundays, or public holidays that are not part of the employee’s ordinary schedule. Overtime must always be requested or approved by the employer – employees should not be allowed to work unapproved extra hours without clear rules on how those hours will be treated.

For shift workers and employees with irregular schedules, you should define in writing what constitutes ordinary hours for each shift pattern and how you will calculate overtime when shifts are swapped, extended, or compressed. Time spent on mandatory training, meetings, or handovers outside the normal shift is generally considered working time and may count as overtime if it exceeds the daily or weekly limits. Travel that is part of the job – such as driving between sites during the workday – is also working time and must be included in overtime calculations.

Maximum Overtime In Namibia

Namibian law places limits on how much overtime an employee may work to protect health and safety. In practice, you should ensure that overtime does not cause the total working time to exceed 10 hours on any day where the employee ordinarily works 8 hours, or 12 hours on a day where the ordinary schedule is 9 hours, and that weekly totals remain within a reasonable ceiling when overtime is added to ordinary hours. Overtime should be used to cover short‑term operational peaks, emergencies, or seasonal demands, not as a permanent staffing strategy.

To remain compliant, implement internal caps on overtime per day, per week, and per month, and require prior written approval from a supervisor or manager before overtime is worked. Keep accurate records of all overtime hours, including the reason for the overtime and the rate at which it was paid. Where employees regularly approach your internal limits, consider hiring additional staff, reorganising shifts, or introducing staggered working hours to reduce reliance on overtime.

Overtime Payout Rates In Namibia

Overtime in Namibia must be compensated at premium rates above the employee’s normal hourly remuneration. As a baseline, overtime worked on ordinary working days is typically paid at 1.5 times the employee’s normal hourly rate, while overtime worked on Sundays or public holidays is generally paid at 2 times the normal hourly rate, subject to any more favourable terms in a collective agreement or individual contract. You may also agree with employees to grant paid time off in lieu of overtime pay, provided the time off is equivalent in value to the premium pay that would otherwise have been due and the arrangement is properly documented.

To calculate overtime pay, determine the employee’s normal hourly rate by dividing their regular weekly or monthly remuneration by the corresponding number of ordinary hours. Apply the correct multiplier to the overtime hours worked in each category – weekday, night, Sunday, or public holiday – and itemise these amounts clearly on the payslip. Maintain detailed overtime records for at least the statutory retention period so you can demonstrate compliance in the event of an inspection, audit, or dispute.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Namibia

In Namibia, most full‑time employees work up to 9 hours per day and 45 hours per week, and the law requires that these working hours be balanced with adequate rest periods and breaks to protect employee health and safety. You must build meal breaks, daily rest, and weekly rest into your schedules so that employees who work close to the daily and weekly limits still have sufficient uninterrupted time away from work, and you should pay particular attention to minors and night workers, who benefit from additional protections.

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