Working Hours and Overtime in Tunisia

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Tunisia?

An employee whose age is 17 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 6 hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 8:00 to 17:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Tunisia

In most sectors in Tunisia, the statutory limit for adult employees is 48 hours per week, usually spread over 6 days, which equates to 8 hours per day. Employers may organize working time over 5 days with 9.6 hours per day, provided the weekly total does not exceed 48 hours and this is clearly set out in work rules or collective agreements. You must monitor hours across all sites and assignments to ensure that no employee exceeds these legal thresholds.

Collective agreements in Tunisia can reduce the weekly working time below 48 hours, for example to 40 or 44 hours, and these agreed limits then become binding for your company. Any temporary increase in hours must respect daily health and safety limits and be compensated as overtime according to statutory or collectively agreed rates. You are required to keep accurate time records for each employee to demonstrate compliance during labour inspections.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

Companies hiring in sectors like healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, or hospitality may be subject to special scheduling rules. In Tunisia, these sectors can use irregular or split shifts, extended daily hours, or rotating rosters, as long as the average weekly hours over the applicable reference period do not exceed the legal or collectively agreed limit. You should always verify whether a sectoral collective agreement imposes stricter rules than the Labour Code.

• 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. In Tunisia, labour inspectors can require you to show rosters and time sheets proving that extended shifts are balanced by compensatory rest and that weekly averages remain within 48 hours or any lower sectoral limit. Failure to do so can lead to administrative fines and orders to adjust schedules.

Managerial And Exempt Employees

In Tunisia, senior managerial staff and certain trusted employees may be treated as having a broader availability for work, but they are not completely outside the scope of working time protections. Their contracts often provide for a flat salary that is deemed to cover a certain volume of overtime, yet daily and weekly limits must still respect health and safety principles. You should clearly define working time expectations, availability windows, and any lump-sum overtime arrangements in the employment contract.

Where managers are excluded from standard overtime pay by a collective agreement, you must ensure that their level of autonomy and decision-making actually meets the legal and contractual definition of managerial status. Misclassifying employees as managers to avoid overtime obligations is a common source of disputes and back-pay claims in Tunisia. Regularly review job descriptions and actual duties to confirm that exemptions remain justified.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Tunisia

Full-time work in Tunisia is generally based on the statutory ceiling of 48 hours per week for adults, although many sectors operate on a conventional full-time schedule of 40 or 44 hours under collective agreements. Your internal policies should specify what constitutes full-time in your company, referencing the applicable sectoral agreement where one exists. Any schedule below that threshold is typically treated as part-time and should be documented as such.

Within the full-time framework, you may distribute hours unevenly across the week, provided you respect daily limits and do not exceed the weekly cap over the chosen reference period. Changes from full-time to part-time or vice versa must be agreed in writing with the employee and cannot be imposed unilaterally. When designing full-time schedules, consider how rest breaks, daily rest, and weekly rest will be integrated to remain compliant.

Overtime Regulations In Tunisia

Overtime in Tunisia must be carefully controlled, documented, and compensated according to the Labour Code and any applicable collective agreement. You are required to track actual hours worked each day and week, obtain any necessary prior authorizations, and calculate premiums based on the employee’s normal hourly wage. Non-compliance with overtime rules can result in back-pay awards, administrative fines, and potential criminal liability in serious or repeated cases.

What Counts As Overtime In Tunisia?

In Tunisia, overtime for adult employees generally begins once working time exceeds the normal weekly schedule applicable to the establishment, which is often 40, 44, or 48 hours depending on the sector. Hours worked beyond the daily schedule set in the contract or internal rules are also treated as overtime when they cause the weekly total to exceed the normal limit. Work performed on the weekly rest day or on a public holiday is considered overtime and attracts higher premium rates than ordinary extra hours.

For part-time employees, overtime is triggered when their hours exceed the part-time schedule agreed in the contract and, in any case, when they surpass the full-time weekly limit for the sector. You should define in writing how additional hours will be requested and approved, and how they will be compensated, to avoid disputes. Keep in mind that overtime must remain exceptional and cannot be used as a permanent substitute for proper staffing levels.

Maximum Overtime In Tunisia

Under Tunisian rules, overtime is subject to quantitative limits designed to protect employee health and safety. As a general benchmark, you should ensure that total working time, including overtime, does not regularly exceed 10 hours per day and 60 hours per week, meaning overtime should not normally exceed 2 hours per day and 12 hours per week for a full-time worker on a 48-hour schedule. Sectoral collective agreements may impose stricter caps, such as limiting overtime to 80–120 hours per year, and these limits become binding once applicable.

In exceptional circumstances, such as urgent work to prevent accidents or deal with production peaks, Tunisian labour authorities may authorize temporary increases beyond the usual overtime caps. In practice, this often means that annual overtime can be extended up to around 200 hours per year with prior approval from the labour inspectorate. You should document the reasons for any exceptional overtime, retain copies of authorizations, and ensure that compensatory rest is granted where required.

Overtime Payout Rates In Tunisia

In Tunisia, overtime performed on a normal working day is typically paid at a minimum premium of 125% of the normal hourly wage for the first 8 overtime hours in a week, and 150% for any additional overtime hours beyond that threshold. When overtime is worked at night on a weekday, the combined overtime and night premium commonly reaches 150%–175% of the base hourly rate, depending on the applicable collective agreement. You must always check whether your sectoral agreement sets higher percentages and apply the most favourable rate to the employee.

Work performed on the weekly rest day, usually Sunday, is generally compensated at 150% of the normal hourly wage plus the granting of a substitute rest day, effectively resulting in a combined benefit above 150%. Overtime on public holidays is often paid at 200% of the normal hourly wage, meaning employees receive double pay for those hours. Ensure that your payroll system is configured to apply at least these minimum rates and to reflect any more generous terms you have agreed contractually.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Tunisia

In Tunisia, employees who typically work up to 8 hours per day and up to 48 hours per week are entitled to specific rest periods and breaks that are integrated into these working hours. The Labour Code and collective agreements require employers to schedule meal breaks, daily rest, and weekly rest so that total working time does not compromise employee health and safety. When you design work schedules, you must align these rest entitlements with the actual daily and weekly hours worked in your establishment.

• Meal Break: In Tunisia, employees working more than 6 consecutive hours must receive a meal or rest break of at least 30 minutes, which may be unpaid depending on the collective agreement. You should schedule this break so that no employee works excessively long stretches without an opportunity to rest and eat.
• Daily Rest: Tunisian rules generally require a minimum uninterrupted daily rest period of 11 hours between the end of one workday and the start of the next. When you extend daily hours due to overtime or shift work, you must still preserve this 11-hour rest window unless an authorized derogation applies.
• Weekly Rest: Employees in Tunisia are entitled to at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest, typically on Sunday, in addition to the daily rest. If business needs require Sunday work, you must grant a substitute rest day and apply the relevant overtime premiums.
• Minors: Young workers under 18 in Tunisia benefit from stricter rest rules, including shorter maximum daily hours and longer rest periods between shifts. You should avoid scheduling minors for night work or extended overtime and verify age-related restrictions before assigning shifts.
• Employer Duty: Employers in Tunisia are responsible for organizing work so that statutory breaks and rest periods are actually taken, not just theoretically available. You must keep reliable records and ensure supervisors do not pressure staff to skip or shorten breaks to meet production targets.

Night Shifts And Weekend Regulations In Tunisia

Night and weekend work are permitted in Tunisia, but they trigger additional employer responsibilities and heightened employee protections. You must pay attention to working-time limits, premium pay rules, and specific safeguards for vulnerable categories of workers. Proper planning and documentation are essential to demonstrate compliance during inspections.

In Tunisia, night work is generally defined as work performed between 22:00 and 05:00, although some sectoral agreements may extend this window from 21:00 to 06:00. This definition applies across most roles, including manufacturing, services, and security, unless a specific derogation is granted. Employees who regularly work during this night period are considered night workers and benefit from special protections.

• Premium Pay: In Tunisia, night work is commonly compensated with a premium of at least 25% of the normal hourly wage, meaning night hours are paid at a minimum of 125% of base pay. In some sectors, collective agreements increase this premium to 30%–50%, resulting in night rates of 130%–150% of the normal hourly wage.
• Health Monitoring: Regular night workers in Tunisia should be offered periodic medical examinations to monitor the impact of night schedules on their health. Where occupational physicians identify risks, you may need to adjust schedules or reassign the employee to daytime work.
• Workplace Restrictions: Tunisian law restricts night work for minors under 18 and for pregnant workers, particularly in industrial settings. You should avoid assigning these workers to night shifts and instead provide suitable daytime duties that respect medical recommendations.

Weekend work in Tunisia is regulated through the requirement for a weekly rest day, usually Sunday, and the obligation to provide substitute rest when employees work on that day. Hours worked on Sunday or the designated weekly rest day are typically paid at 150% of the normal hourly wage, and public-holiday work can reach 200% of base pay. You must ensure that rosters guarantee at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest, even when business needs require regular weekend operations.