Working Hours and Overtime in Pakistan

In Pakistan, 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, employers should expect closer scrutiny of working-time records, stronger enforcement of overtime and night-work protections, and potential updates at the provincial level that refine daily and weekly limits or expand coverage to more categories of workers. Proactively aligning your policies, timekeeping systems, and manager training with these rules will reduce legal risk, support employee wellbeing, and make it easier to adapt to future reforms.

• 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 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 Pakistan’s labour legislation, the standard limit for adult workers is 8 to 9 hours per day and 48 hours per week, excluding authorized breaks. Daily hours are usually capped at 9 where a shorter workday on another day of the week balances the total weekly hours. Any work beyond these limits – or beyond the hours set in the employment contract or factory/shop schedule – is treated as overtime and must be compensated at the statutory premium rate. Employers should clearly document daily and weekly schedules, including start and end times, to demonstrate compliance during inspections.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Continuous Process Industries – Such As Power Generation And Certain Manufacturing Plants
• Seasonal Industries – Including Sugar, Cotton Ginning, And Certain Agricultural Processing
• Transport And Logistics – Road Transport, Ports, And Warehousing Operations
• Healthcare Services – Hospitals, Emergency Clinics, And Essential Medical Facilities
• Hospitality And Retail – Hotels, Restaurants, And Shops With Extended Opening Hours

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Certain categories of employees in Pakistan – such as managers, supervisors, and persons employed in a confidential or decision-making capacity – may be partially or fully exempt from standard working-hour and overtime provisions under applicable Shops and Establishments or Factories legislation. However, simply giving an employee a managerial job title is not enough to treat them as exempt. Authorities will look at the actual nature of the work, level of autonomy, power to hire and fire, and control over working time. Employers should define exempt roles carefully in contracts, keep job descriptions up to date, and avoid scheduling patterns that could be interpreted as abusive or inconsistent with the spirit of the law.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Pakistan

For most adult employees in Pakistan, full-time work is based on a statutory maximum of 48 hours per week, typically spread over 6 working days of 8 hours each or 5 longer days balanced with a shorter day. Many employers adopt a 40 to 45-hour contractual week to remain competitive and support work–life balance, but any arrangement must stay within the legal ceiling. When designing full-time schedules, employers should also factor in weekly rest, public holidays, and any sectoral rules that may further restrict night work, shift work, or work performed by women and young persons.

Overtime Regulations In Pakistan

What Counts As Overtime In Pakistan?

In Pakistan, overtime generally means any hours worked by an adult employee in excess of the statutory daily or weekly limits – usually more than 8 to 9 hours in a day or more than 48 hours in a week – or beyond the normal hours fixed in the employment contract or establishment’s standing orders, whichever is lower. Overtime must be expressly requested or approved by the employer, recorded accurately in attendance and wage registers, and paid at the legally mandated premium rate. Employers should avoid informal or off-the-clock work, as unrecorded extra hours can still be claimed as overtime during inspections or disputes.

Maximum Overtime In Pakistan

Pakistan’s labour laws place caps on how much overtime an employee can perform to protect health and safety. While specific limits can vary by statute and sector, a common framework is that total working time – regular hours plus overtime – should not exceed 60 hours in any week, and overtime should not exceed 2 to 4 hours on any given day or a prescribed number of hours over a quarter or year. Employers should check the rules that apply to their province and industry, maintain overtime registers, and implement approval workflows so that supervisors cannot schedule overtime beyond the legal ceiling.

Overtime Payout Rates In Pakistan

For most eligible workers in Pakistan, overtime must be paid at a premium of at least twice the employee’s ordinary rate of pay for each overtime hour worked. The ordinary rate typically includes basic wages plus any regular allowances that form part of normal earnings, but excludes discretionary bonuses and certain reimbursements. Employers should calculate the hourly rate consistently – for example, by dividing the monthly wage by the standard monthly hours – and apply the 2x multiplier to all qualifying overtime hours. Overtime payments must be itemized clearly on payslips, paid within the normal wage period, and supported by accurate time records in case of audits or employee claims.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Pakistan

Employees in Pakistan typically work up to 8 to 9 hours per day and 48 hours per week, and the law links these standard hours to mandatory rest periods – including meal breaks during the workday, daily rest between shifts, and weekly rest days – to protect employee health and safety. As an employer, you must structure rosters so that these breaks are built into the working schedule, not traded away for extra pay or overtime.

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