Working Hours and Overtime in Tanzania

In Tanzania, 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 needs through 2026, you should expect closer scrutiny of working-time records, enforcement of overtime pay rules, and a stronger focus on employee wellbeing. Clear contracts, accurate timekeeping systems, and transparent overtime policies will help you demonstrate compliance, manage labour costs, and respond quickly if regulations or inspection practices are updated.

• 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 Tanzania?

An employee whose age is 17 or younger has a maximum of 6 hours per day and 36 hours per week. An employee whose age is 18 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 Tanzania

Under Tanzanian labour law, the standard limit for adult employees is 9 hours per day and 45 hours per week, usually spread over 5 or 6 days. These hours include any authorized short rest pauses but exclude the main meal interval. You should structure work schedules so that employees do not routinely exceed these limits, except where overtime is lawfully agreed and recorded. For shift operations, you may distribute the 45 hours unevenly across the week, provided the average does not exceed 45 hours over the agreed work cycle and daily limits are respected.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Hospital And Health Care Services
• Hospitality, Tourism, And Catering
• Agriculture, Forestry, And Fishing
• Mining, Oil, And Gas Operations
• Security, Guarding, And Emergency Services
• Transport, Logistics, And Port Services

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managerial and highly autonomous employees in Tanzania often have greater flexibility in their working patterns, but they are not automatically exempt from working time protections. Employment contracts for managers commonly provide for longer or irregular hours, including the need to work beyond the normal 45-hour week without additional overtime pay, provided the overall remuneration reflects these expectations and the arrangement complies with health and safety standards. You should clearly define managerial status, responsibilities, and expected availability in the contract, ensure that working hours remain reasonable, and monitor workloads to avoid excessive fatigue or constructive dismissal risks.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Tanzania

For most sectors, full-time employment in Tanzania is based on 45 ordinary hours per week, typically 9 hours per day over 5 days or 8 hours per day over 5.5 or 6 days. Any hours worked beyond the agreed ordinary hours on a given day or beyond 45 hours in a week are generally treated as overtime and must follow the statutory rules on consent, limits, and premium pay. When designing full-time roles, you should specify the normal daily and weekly hours, the pattern of workdays, and how overtime will be authorized and compensated, while ensuring that employees still receive their daily and weekly rest entitlements.

Overtime Regulations In Tanzania

What Counts As Overtime In Tanzania?

In Tanzania, overtime is generally any time worked by an employee beyond the ordinary hours stated in the employment contract, provided those hours do not exceed the statutory ceiling of 9 hours per day and 45 hours per week. Once an employee works more than 9 hours on a normal working day or more than 45 hours in a week, the additional hours are treated as overtime and must be compensated at premium rates. Work performed on weekly rest days or public holidays is also treated as overtime or special work and attracts higher pay, unless the employee’s shift pattern legitimately includes those days as ordinary working days.

Maximum Overtime In Tanzania

Tanzanian law restricts the amount of overtime an employee may work to protect health and safety. In practice, employees should not work more than 12 hours in any one day, including overtime, and overtime should not exceed 50 hours in any four-week period, except in narrowly defined exceptional circumstances such as emergencies or seasonal peaks in certain industries. Overtime must be based on the employee’s prior consent, either in the employment contract or in a separate written agreement, and you should maintain accurate records of all overtime hours worked to demonstrate compliance during inspections or disputes.

Overtime Payout Rates In Tanzania

Overtime in Tanzania is typically paid at a premium on the employee’s normal hourly rate. For overtime worked on ordinary working days, the common statutory minimum is 150 percent of the basic hourly wage. Work performed on weekly rest days or public holidays is usually paid at 200 percent of the basic hourly wage or compensated with equivalent paid time off, depending on the applicable law, collective agreement, or contract. You should clearly set out overtime rates and calculation methods in employment contracts and payroll policies, ensure that allowances and regular bonuses are treated consistently with local law when determining the overtime base, and pay overtime in the same pay period in which it is worked whenever possible.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Tanzania

Employees in Tanzania typically work up to 9 hours per day and 45 hours per week, and the law links rest periods and breaks directly to these limits to safeguard health and productivity. During a working day that exceeds 5 hours, employees must receive at least a 60-minute meal break, which should not be scheduled at the very beginning or end of the shift. In addition to this meal interval, employees are entitled to daily and weekly rest periods that separate blocks of working time, and you must design rosters so that these breaks are respected even when overtime, shift work, or weekend operations are required.

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