Working Hours and Overtime in Pakistan

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Pakistan?

An employee whose age is 14 or younger has a maximum of 5 hours per day and 30 hours per week. An employee whose age is 15 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 9:00 to 17:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Pakistan

Under the Factories Act 1934 and Shops and Establishments laws in most provinces, adult workers may not work more than 9 hours per day and 48 hours per week in Pakistan. You must also ensure that total spread-over of the working day, including rest intervals, generally does not exceed 10.5 to 12 hours depending on the applicable provincial rules. Any work beyond these daily or weekly limits is treated as overtime and must be compensated at the statutory premium rate.

Collective agreements or individual contracts can arrange different daily schedules, such as compressed weeks or split shifts, but they cannot waive the 48-hour weekly ceiling for normal hours. You are responsible for maintaining accurate time records and scheduling staff so that weekly limits are respected across all locations and group entities. When using flexible or shift-based arrangements, you should monitor average hours over several weeks to avoid systematic overwork and related health and safety risks.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

Companies hiring in sectors like healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, or hospitality may be subject to special scheduling rules. In factories and continuous-process industries, provincial rules may allow longer daily hours or different spread-over limits, provided that the weekly 48-hour standard is maintained and overtime is paid at 2x the ordinary rate. In commercial establishments such as retail and hospitality, shops laws may cap daily hours at 8 to 9 but allow extended opening hours through staggered shifts.

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 document any special shift patterns in written policies and contracts so employees clearly understand their schedules. Where provincial rules require prior approval for exceptional hours, obtain and retain the necessary permissions from the labour authorities.

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managerial and supervisory employees in Pakistan are often excluded from certain provisions of the Factories Act and Shops and Establishments laws, particularly those relating to overtime limits and premium pay. However, this does not give employers unlimited discretion to impose excessive hours, and general health and safety duties still apply. You should define managerial or exempt status clearly in employment contracts and job descriptions, and ensure that the role genuinely involves authority over hiring, firing, or significant decision-making.

For non-exempt staff, you must apply the statutory 9-hour daily and 48-hour weekly limits and pay overtime at 2x the ordinary rate for hours beyond these thresholds. Where you offer higher-level roles that are borderline between supervisory and non-supervisory, it is prudent to treat them as non-exempt for working-time compliance. Transparent classification and consistent application of policies reduce the risk of disputes and back-pay claims.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Pakistan

In Pakistan, statutory full-time work for adult employees is generally understood as 48 hours per week, usually spread over 6 days at 8 hours per day or 5 days at up to 9 hours per day. Many white-collar employers voluntarily adopt a 40 to 45-hour workweek, but this is a contractual choice rather than a change to the legal maximum. Any hours worked beyond the agreed full-time schedule but within the 48-hour legal ceiling should still be managed carefully to avoid fatigue and turnover.

Part-time arrangements can be agreed contractually with proportionate pay and benefits, provided that minimum wage and social security obligations are met. You should specify in writing the normal weekly hours, daily schedule, and any flexibility clauses so that both parties understand when overtime begins. Clear documentation also helps you demonstrate compliance during inspections or audits by labour authorities.

Overtime Regulations In Pakistan

Overtime in Pakistan is tightly regulated, and you must ensure that any hours worked beyond the normal 9 hours per day or 48 hours per week are properly authorized and compensated at the statutory premium rate of 2x the ordinary wage. You are required to maintain accurate daily and weekly attendance and overtime registers, including start and end times, to demonstrate compliance. Failure to keep proper records or to pay the correct overtime rate can lead to back-pay orders, fines, and potential criminal liability under labour laws.

What Counts As Overtime In Pakistan?

For most adult workers, overtime is any time worked beyond 9 hours in a day or 48 hours in a week in factories and similar establishments in Pakistan. In shops and commercial establishments, provincial laws may define normal daily hours as 8 to 9, with any additional time treated as overtime once the weekly total exceeds 48 hours. Work performed on the weekly rest day or on a public holiday is also treated as overtime and must be paid at 2x the ordinary rate.

You should implement a clear approval process so that supervisors authorize overtime in advance except in emergencies. Where employees work irregular hours or shifts, define in writing what constitutes their normal schedule and when overtime begins. This helps avoid disputes over whether extended availability, on-call time, or travel time should be counted as paid overtime.

Maximum Overtime In Pakistan

Under the Factories Act 1934, overtime for adult workers is capped so that total hours, including overtime, do not exceed 60 hours in any week and 624 overtime hours in a year in Pakistan. This effectively limits overtime to 12 hours per week on top of the 48-hour normal maximum, and an average of 12 overtime hours per week over a 52-week year. Some provincial rules and sector-specific regulations may impose stricter caps, so you should always check the local statute that applies to your establishment.

In addition, daily hours including overtime should not exceed 10 to 10.5 hours in many provinces, even though the weekly cap is 60 hours. If you need to approach these upper limits for seasonal or peak-demand reasons, you should plan staffing in advance and consider hiring temporary workers rather than relying on continuous overtime. Exceeding statutory caps without proper authority can result in penalties and orders to reduce hours.

Overtime Payout Rates In Pakistan

Pakistan’s labour laws require that overtime be paid at a minimum of 2x the employee’s ordinary hourly rate for all qualifying overtime hours. This 2x rate applies to overtime worked beyond 9 hours per day or 48 hours per week, as well as to work performed on the weekly rest day or on gazetted public holidays. You must calculate the ordinary hourly rate by dividing the monthly basic wage plus any regular allowances by the standard monthly hours, typically 208 hours for a 48-hour week.

Some employers choose to offer higher contractual premiums, such as 2.5x for public holidays or 1.5x for overtime within certain internal thresholds, but these cannot fall below the statutory 2x minimum where the law applies. You should state all overtime rates clearly in employment contracts and payroll policies and ensure that payroll systems correctly apply the 2x multiplier to the relevant hours. Transparent payslips that show normal hours, overtime hours, and the applicable rate help employees verify their pay and reduce disputes.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Pakistan

In Pakistan, employees commonly work up to 9 hours per day and 48 hours per week, and rest periods are designed to protect health and safety within these limits. The law requires meal and rest breaks once a shift exceeds 6 hours, as well as daily and weekly rest intervals between working days. You must structure schedules so that these breaks are actually taken and not merely recorded on paper.

• Meal Break: Under the Factories Act, workers who work more than 6 hours in a day must receive at least a 30-minute uninterrupted meal break, and many provincial shops laws mirror this standard. You should schedule this break roughly in the middle of the shift and ensure it is free from work duties.
• Daily Rest: Employees must generally have at least 11 consecutive hours of rest between the end of one workday and the start of the next, based on spread-over and maximum-hours rules. Organizing back-to-back late and early shifts that cut into this rest can be considered non-compliant.
• Weekly Rest: Workers are entitled to at least one full day of rest each week, typically Friday or Sunday depending on the establishment and provincial rules. If you require work on the scheduled rest day, you must provide a substitute rest day and pay overtime at 2x the ordinary rate.
• Minors: Adolescent workers face stricter limits, including shorter daily hours and more frequent rest intervals, and they may not work at night. You must verify age documentation and avoid scheduling minors in long or late shifts.
• Employer Duty: You are responsible for designing rosters that respect all statutory breaks and rest periods and for keeping attendance records that show when breaks are taken. Labour inspectors may review these records, and failure to provide proper rest can lead to fines and orders to adjust schedules.

Night Shifts And Weekend Regulations In Pakistan

Night and weekend work are legal in Pakistan but subject to additional employer responsibilities and employee protections. You must pay close attention to working-time limits, overtime rules, and special protections for women and young workers when designing night and weekend rosters. Proper documentation and risk assessments are essential to demonstrate compliance.

Night work in Pakistan is generally understood as work performed between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., although specific statutes may define slightly different windows for certain sectors. In factories, women and minors are heavily restricted or prohibited from working during this night period, and any exceptions require strict safeguards. You should apply a consistent internal definition of night work across roles and locations and reflect it in contracts and policies.

• Premium Pay: Pakistan’s federal labour laws do not mandate a specific numerical night work premium, so there is no statutory requirement for a 1.25x or 1.5x rate solely for night hours. In practice, many employers compensate night shifts through shift allowances or higher hourly rates, commonly adding a 10% to 25% night allowance on top of the base wage, but this remains a contractual rather than statutory obligation.
• Health Monitoring: While there is no detailed nationwide regime for mandatory medical checks for night workers, general occupational safety and health duties require you to assess fatigue, sleep disruption, and related risks. Many larger employers offer periodic health assessments and access to medical support for regular night staff as a best practice.
• Workplace Restrictions: Minors are generally prohibited from night work in industrial establishments, and women face restrictions on night work in factories unless specific conditions and approvals are met. Pregnant workers should not be assigned to night shifts where this could endanger their health, and reasonable accommodations or schedule changes are expected.

Weekend work in Pakistan is permitted, but employees must receive at least one full weekly rest day, typically Friday or Sunday depending on the establishment and provincial rules. When employees work on their designated weekly rest day, those hours are treated as overtime and must be paid at 2x the ordinary rate, and you must grant a substitute rest day within the prescribed period.