Working Hours and Overtime in Sudan

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Sudan?

An employee whose age is 15 or younger has a maximum of 6 hours per day and 36 hours per week. An employee whose age is 16 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 consecutive hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 8:00 to 16:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Sudan

In Sudan, the general statutory limit for adult employees is 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week, excluding designated rest breaks. You must organize schedules so that employees do not routinely exceed these limits except under clearly defined overtime arrangements. Any variation through internal policies or collective agreements must still respect the overall weekly ceiling of 48 hours as ordinary time.

Where work is organized in shifts, you may distribute hours unevenly across the week, provided the average does not exceed 48 ordinary hours over the applicable reference period. You should document shift patterns in writing and communicate them to employees in advance. Keep accurate daily and weekly time records to demonstrate compliance in the event of inspection or dispute.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

Companies hiring in sectors like healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, or hospitality may be subject to special scheduling rules that allow for longer daily hours but require compensatory rest. In Sudan, such sectors often rely on shift systems where a single shift can extend up to 10 or 12 hours, provided that the total weekly ordinary hours remain at or below 48 and overtime rules are respected. You must ensure that any extended shifts are justified by the nature of the work and supported by appropriate risk assessments.

• 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 also monitor fatigue, provide adequate breaks, and ensure that overtime beyond the standard 48 hours per week is voluntary and properly compensated. Written policies and clear rosters are essential to demonstrate that you are managing these exceptions responsibly.

Managerial And Exempt Employees

In Sudan, senior managerial staff and certain supervisory roles may be treated as partially exempt from some working-time limitations, particularly regarding overtime eligibility. However, you cannot simply label an employee as “managerial” to avoid the 48-hour weekly framework or to deny all overtime pay. The actual duties, level of autonomy, and decision-making authority will be examined if a dispute arises.

Employment contracts for managerial and exempt employees should clearly state expected working hours, availability requirements, and whether the salary is deemed to cover a reasonable amount of additional time. Where managers regularly work beyond 48 hours per week, you should either provide a higher base salary that clearly reflects this or agree on specific overtime or allowance structures. Transparent documentation reduces the risk of claims for unpaid overtime or excessive working hours.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Sudan

Full-time work in Sudan is generally understood as 48 hours per week for adult employees, usually spread over 6 working days of 8 hours each or 5 longer days with an adjusted schedule. You may adopt shorter contractual hours, such as 40 or 42 hours per week, but these become your internal full-time standard for pay and benefits. Any hours worked beyond your contractual full-time threshold should be clearly classified as overtime or additional hours.

Part-time and flexible arrangements are permitted as long as they are documented in writing and do not exceed the statutory daily and weekly limits when aggregated across multiple employers. You should ensure that part-time employees’ hours, including any overtime, are tracked with the same rigor as full-time staff. Aligning internal policies with the 48-hour statutory benchmark helps maintain consistency and legal compliance.

Overtime Regulations In Sudan

Overtime in Sudan must be carefully controlled, documented, and compensated according to statutory rules and any applicable collective agreements. You are responsible for authorizing overtime in advance, keeping accurate records of hours worked beyond the normal schedule, and ensuring that employees do not exceed legal limits. Failure to manage overtime properly can lead to wage claims, administrative penalties, and reputational damage.

What Counts As Overtime In Sudan?

In Sudan, overtime for adult employees generally means any hours worked beyond 8 hours in a day or 48 hours in a week, whichever threshold is triggered first. Work performed on the employee’s weekly rest day or on an official public holiday is also treated as overtime, even if the 48-hour weekly limit has not been reached. You should define normal working hours in each contract so that any additional time can be clearly identified as overtime.

Overtime must normally be requested or approved by the employer, and employees should not be pressured to work excessive hours. In practice, you should implement a written overtime authorization process and require line managers to justify the need for extra hours. This helps you control costs and demonstrate that you are respecting health and safety considerations linked to long working days.

Maximum Overtime In Sudan

Sudanese labour rules generally limit overtime to a maximum of 4 hours per day, so that the total daily working time does not exceed 12 hours. On a weekly basis, overtime should not push total working hours beyond 60 hours, meaning a practical overtime cap of 12 hours per week above the 48-hour ordinary limit. You should avoid scheduling employees at or near these limits on a continuous basis, as this may be considered abusive or unsafe.

Over a longer reference period, many employers in Sudan apply an internal cap of 120 overtime hours per year per employee to manage fatigue and cost, even where the law is less explicit. If you need to exceed your internal cap or approach the daily 4-hour overtime ceiling for operational reasons, you should obtain written consent from the employee and, where applicable, consult worker representatives. Keeping a clear log of daily, weekly, and annual overtime totals is essential to show that you are staying within these numerical boundaries.

Overtime Payout Rates In Sudan

In Sudan, the standard statutory overtime pay rate for work performed beyond normal hours on a regular working day is at least 150% of the employee’s ordinary hourly wage, equivalent to 1.5x. For work performed during the weekly rest day, overtime must be paid at a minimum of 200% of the normal hourly wage, equivalent to 2.0x. When employees work on an official public holiday, the premium is typically at least 250% of the normal hourly wage, or 2.5x.

You should calculate overtime pay based on the employee’s basic wage plus any fixed allowances that are treated as part of regular remuneration. The calculation must be transparent on payslips, showing the number of overtime hours at each rate, such as 1.5x, 2.0x, or 2.5x. Where a collective agreement or company policy provides higher rates, such as 175% on weekdays or 225% on rest days, you must apply the more favorable terms consistently.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Sudan

In Sudan, employees typically work up to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week, and rest periods are designed to protect health and productivity within this framework. During the working day, employees who work more than 6 consecutive hours must receive at least a 30-minute meal break, which is not usually counted as working time. Daily and weekly rest rules complement these breaks by ensuring sufficient time away from work between shifts and across the week.

• Meal Break: In Sudan, employees who work more than 6 consecutive hours must receive a meal break of at least 30 minutes, which should be scheduled so that no one works excessively long without rest. You should clearly indicate whether this break is paid or unpaid in the employment contract or internal policy.
• Daily Rest: Employees in Sudan are generally entitled to a minimum uninterrupted daily rest period of 11 hours between the end of one workday and the start of the next. When shift work requires shorter gaps, you should provide compensatory rest so that the average daily rest remains at or near 11 hours.
• Weekly Rest: Sudanese labour practice provides at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest, commonly aligned with Friday as the main rest day. If operational needs require employees to work on their usual rest day, you must grant a substitute rest day and pay overtime premiums where applicable.
• Minors: Workers under 16 in Sudan are subject to stricter limits, including a maximum of 6 hours per day and enhanced rest protections. You should avoid scheduling minors for night work or split shifts that reduce their daily or weekly rest below adult standards.
• Employer Duty: As an employer in Sudan, you must design rosters that respect statutory breaks and rest periods and keep records that show compliance. Failure to provide required rest can be treated as a breach of labour law and may also increase your liability in the event of workplace accidents.

Night Shifts And Weekend Regulations In Sudan

Night and weekend work are legal in Sudan but subject to additional employer responsibilities and employee protections. You must ensure that staffing levels, supervision, and safety measures are appropriate for work performed outside normal daytime hours. Contracts and policies should clearly state when night or weekend work is expected and how it will be compensated.

Night work in Sudan is generally understood as work performed between 22:00 and 06:00, although some sectors may define a slightly different window in collective agreements. This definition applies across most roles, including manufacturing, healthcare, security, and services, unless a specific regulation provides otherwise. You should identify night workers whose schedules regularly fall within this window and apply the relevant protections consistently.

• Premium Pay: Sudanese practice commonly provides a night work premium of at least 25% above the normal hourly wage, equivalent to 1.25x, for hours worked between 22:00 and 06:00. If your collective agreement or company policy sets a higher premium, such as 30% or 1.3x, you must apply that higher rate.
• Health Monitoring: For employees who regularly perform night work in Sudan, you should offer periodic health assessments to monitor fatigue, sleep disorders, and other risks associated with irregular hours. These assessments help you adjust schedules or reassign workers if night work is found to be detrimental to their health.
• Workplace Restrictions: Minors in Sudan are generally prohibited from night work, particularly between 20:00 and 06:00, to protect their development and education. Pregnant workers should be exempted from night shifts upon medical recommendation, and you should consider reassigning them to daytime duties without loss of basic pay.

Weekend work in Sudan often falls on Friday, which is commonly treated as the weekly rest day, though some employers also operate on a Sunday–Thursday schedule. When employees are required to work on their designated weekly rest day, you must provide a substitute rest day and pay at least 200% of the normal hourly wage, equivalent to 2.0x, for those hours. For work performed on both the weekly rest day and an official public holiday, many employers apply a combined premium of 250% or 2.5x to reflect the additional burden.