Working Hours and Overtime in Trinidad & Tobago

In Trinidad & Tobago, 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.

To remain compliant, you should define normal working hours in every contract, apply consistent rules on overtime authorisation and pay, and provide adequate daily and weekly rest. Maintain accurate time and payroll records, consult collective agreements where applicable, and regularly review your policies to ensure they reflect current legal standards and best practice. Looking ahead to 2026, employers should expect closer scrutiny of working-time arrangements, stronger enforcement of health and safety obligations linked to fatigue, and potential reforms that further clarify maximum hours, rest entitlements, and protections for vulnerable workers.

• 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 Trinidad & Tobago?

An employee whose age is 16 or younger has a maximum of 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. An employee whose age is 18 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 5 hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 8:00 to 16:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Trinidad & Tobago

In Trinidad & Tobago, the generally accepted standard for adult employees is 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week in many sectors, with some collective agreements and contracts allowing up to 48 hours per week as the outer limit before overtime becomes payable. You should clearly define the normal working day and week in each employee’s contract, including start and end times, paid breaks if any, and whether Saturday work is part of the ordinary workweek. Any hours worked beyond the agreed normal hours should be treated as overtime or additional hours and compensated accordingly, subject to applicable legislation and collective agreements.

For minors, you must apply stricter limits. Employees under 18 should not be scheduled for excessively long shifts, night work, or hazardous work, and you should ensure that their total weekly hours remain below adult limits. Keep accurate records of hours worked for all employees, including part-time and shift workers, to demonstrate compliance in the event of an inspection or dispute.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Oil And Gas Operations
• Manufacturing And Continuous Process Plants
• Hospitality, Tourism, And Catering
• Security And Protective Services
• Healthcare And Emergency Services
• Transportation And Port Services

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managerial and certain professional employees in Trinidad & Tobago are often treated as exempt from some of the standard working-hour and overtime rules, particularly where they exercise genuine management authority, make independent decisions, and control their own schedules. Their remuneration is typically structured on a salary basis that is intended to compensate for the longer or irregular hours inherent in their roles, rather than on an hourly basis.

As an employer, you should not assume that every salaried employee is automatically exempt. Clearly define managerial status in employment contracts and job descriptions, and ensure that the employee’s actual duties match the classification. Where there is doubt, it is safer to treat the employee as non-exempt and apply normal working-hour and overtime protections. Even for exempt staff, you should monitor workload and working time to prevent fatigue, health and safety risks, and potential constructive dismissal or occupational safety claims.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Trinidad & Tobago

In practice, full-time employment in Trinidad & Tobago is commonly based on a 40-hour workweek, usually spread over 5 days at 8 hours per day, although some sectors use a 45- or 48-hour week under collective agreements or shift systems. You should specify in writing what constitutes full-time hours in your organisation, including whether Saturday is a normal working day and how shift rotations are structured.

Defining full-time hours is important for determining eligibility for benefits, overtime, and leave entitlements. Part-time employees should have their hours and entitlements pro-rated in a transparent manner. Review your policies regularly to ensure they remain aligned with evolving labour standards, sectoral agreements, and any future statutory reforms that may further standardise full-time working hours in Trinidad & Tobago.

Overtime Regulations In Trinidad & Tobago

What Counts As Overtime In Trinidad & Tobago?

Overtime in Trinidad & Tobago generally refers to any hours worked in excess of an employee’s normal daily or weekly working hours as defined in their contract, collective agreement, or applicable sectoral rules. For many employees, this means work beyond 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week, or work performed on rest days and public holidays. You should clearly state in your policies when overtime begins, how it is authorised, and how it is recorded.

Overtime should normally be performed only with prior approval from a supervisor or manager. You are responsible for ensuring that employees do not work unrecorded or unauthorised overtime, as you may still be liable to pay for it if you knew or reasonably should have known that the work was being performed. Transparent timekeeping systems – such as electronic time clocks or digital timesheets – are essential to track overtime accurately and avoid disputes.

Maximum Overtime In Trinidad & Tobago

While there is no single universal statutory cap that applies identically across all sectors, best practice in Trinidad & Tobago is to limit overtime so that total working time does not regularly exceed 48 hours per week and does not compromise employee health and safety. Many collective agreements and workplace policies set specific limits on daily and weekly overtime, such as a maximum of 2–4 overtime hours per day and a weekly cap of 12–16 overtime hours.

As an employer, you should adopt written rules that restrict excessive overtime, require rest periods between shifts, and provide additional protections for vulnerable workers such as pregnant employees, persons with disabilities, and young workers. Regularly review overtime patterns to ensure that overtime is genuinely exceptional rather than a permanent feature of normal operations, and consider hiring additional staff or reorganising shifts if overtime levels remain consistently high.

Overtime Payout Rates In Trinidad & Tobago

Overtime pay in Trinidad & Tobago is typically calculated as a premium on the employee’s basic hourly rate. Common practice – often reflected in collective agreements – is to pay at least 150% (time and a half) of the basic hourly rate for overtime worked on normal working days, and 200% (double time) for overtime worked on rest days and public holidays. Some sectors or employers may offer higher rates as part of negotiated terms and conditions.

To calculate overtime pay, determine the employee’s basic hourly rate by dividing their regular weekly or monthly wage by the corresponding number of normal working hours, then apply the appropriate overtime multiplier to the overtime hours worked. You should clearly document overtime rates in employment contracts or policies, ensure that employees understand how their overtime is calculated, and itemise overtime payments separately on payslips. Keep detailed records of overtime hours and payments to demonstrate compliance and to resolve any future queries or claims.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Trinidad & Tobago

In Trinidad & Tobago, employees commonly work around 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, and rest periods and breaks are designed to ensure that these working hours do not compromise health, safety, or productivity. You should build meal and rest breaks into the work schedule, ensure that employees who work longer shifts receive adequate time away from their duties, and respect daily and weekly rest periods so that total working time – including overtime – remains reasonable and compliant with labour standards.

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