Working Hours and Overtime in Seychelles

In Seychelles, 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 schedules through 2026, you should expect closer scrutiny of working time records, stronger enforcement of rest and night work protections, and growing expectations from employees for predictable hours and transparent overtime rules. Establish clear written policies, align contracts with statutory limits, and regularly audit timesheets and rosters to ensure that actual practice matches your documented procedures.

• 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 Seychelles?

An employee whose age is 15 or younger has a maximum of 6 hours per day and 30 hours per week. An employee whose age is 16 or older is allowed to work 60 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 8:00 to 16:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Seychelles

Under Seychelles employment law, the normal limit for adult employees is generally 8 hours per day and 60 hours per week, inclusive of authorized overtime, unless a more favorable limit is set by contract or collective agreement. For most office and non-shift roles, employers should structure standard hours around 40–45 hours per week and treat any work beyond the agreed normal hours as overtime. You should clearly define ordinary working hours in the employment contract, including start and finish times, any shift patterns, and how breaks are scheduled.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Tourism And Hospitality Establishments
• Hotels, Guesthouses, And Resorts
• Fisheries And Maritime Operations
• Health Care And Emergency Services
• Security, Guarding, And Surveillance Services
• Transport, Aviation, And Port Services

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managerial and executive employees in Seychelles often have broader flexibility in their working hours and may not be subject to the same strict daily scheduling rules as rank-and-file staff. However, they are still protected by overarching health and safety principles, and you should avoid imposing excessive hours that could endanger their wellbeing. Employment contracts for managers should specify whether the salary is deemed to compensate for reasonable additional hours and whether they are entitled to overtime pay or time off in lieu. Even where managers are treated as exempt from overtime, you remain responsible for monitoring workloads, ensuring adequate rest, and documenting any agreed opt-outs or flexible arrangements.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Seychelles

In practice, full-time employment in Seychelles is commonly based on 40–45 hours per week, typically spread over 5 or 6 days, with standard office roles running Monday to Friday. While the law allows up to 60 hours per week including overtime, you should treat this as an upper ceiling rather than a target. To remain competitive and compliant with best practice, define full-time hours clearly in contracts, specify how weekend or public holiday work is handled, and ensure that any variation in hours is agreed in writing and communicated in advance to employees.

Overtime Regulations In Seychelles

What Counts As Overtime In Seychelles?

Overtime in Seychelles generally refers to any time an employee works beyond their contracted normal hours or beyond the statutory daily or weekly limits set for their category of work. For most full-time employees, hours worked in excess of the agreed ordinary hours in the employment contract, or beyond 8 hours in a day or 60 hours in a week, should be treated as overtime. Overtime must be expressly requested or approved by the employer, and you should avoid relying on informal or unrecorded extra hours. Work performed on weekly rest days or public holidays is also typically treated as overtime or premium work and must be compensated at enhanced rates or with equivalent time off.

Maximum Overtime In Seychelles

Employers in Seychelles should limit overtime so that total working time, including overtime, does not exceed 60 hours per week for adult employees. Overtime should be used only to meet temporary or seasonal peaks in workload, not as a permanent staffing solution. You should implement internal caps on daily and weekly overtime, require prior managerial authorization, and maintain accurate records of all additional hours worked. For young workers and pregnant or medically restricted employees, you should apply stricter limits and avoid night or excessive overtime work in line with occupational health and safety obligations.

Overtime Payout Rates In Seychelles

Overtime pay in Seychelles is typically calculated as a premium on the employee’s normal hourly rate. For work performed beyond normal daily or weekly hours on ordinary working days, employers commonly apply at least 1.25 times the basic hourly rate, while work on weekly rest days, night shifts, or public holidays is often paid at higher multipliers, such as 1.5 or 2 times the normal rate, depending on the sector and any applicable collective agreements. You should set out the exact overtime rates in the employment contract or company policy, explain how the hourly rate is derived from monthly or weekly salaries, and specify whether time off in lieu can be used instead of cash payment, ensuring that any such arrangements are agreed in writing and do not disadvantage the employee.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Seychelles

Employees in Seychelles typically work around 8 hours per day and 40–45 hours per week within the broader statutory ceiling of 60 hours, so you must structure rest periods and breaks to protect health and safety within these limits. This includes providing a minimum uninterrupted meal break once a shift exceeds a set number of hours, ensuring sufficient daily rest between the end of one workday and the start of the next, and guaranteeing at least one full day of weekly rest. Your internal policies should link these breaks directly to the actual working patterns in your business, including shift work, split shifts, and weekend operations.

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