Working Hours and Overtime in Tunisia

In Tunisia, 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, stronger enforcement of rest and overtime rules, and growing employee expectations for predictable schedules. This means formalising working-time policies, aligning contracts and collective agreements, and ensuring that managers understand when overtime is allowed, how it must be authorised, and how it should be compensated or balanced with time off.

• 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 Tunisia?

An employee whose age is 16 or younger has a maximum of 7 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

Under Tunisian labour law, the general statutory limit for adult employees is 48 hours per week, usually spread over 6 days, with a common pattern of 8 hours per day. In many sectors – especially services and office-based roles – collective agreements or company policies reduce this to 40–44 hours per week while keeping within the legal maximum. Employers must structure schedules so that daily and weekly limits are respected, including when employees work split shifts or rotating schedules.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Agriculture And Seasonal Activities
• Hotels, Tourism, And Catering
• Transport And Logistics Operations
• Healthcare And Emergency Services
• Security, Surveillance, And Guarding
• Continuous Process Manufacturing And Energy

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managerial staff and certain employees with significant autonomy over their working time may be treated differently from standard hourly workers. While they are still protected by fundamental health and safety rules, their schedules are often governed by individual employment contracts or collective agreements rather than strict hourly tracking. Employers should clearly define in writing which roles are considered managerial or exempt, specify expected availability and workload, and ensure that these employees still benefit from reasonable rest periods and weekly time off to avoid excessive working hours.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Tunisia

For most sectors, full-time employment in Tunisia is based on a legal maximum of 48 hours per week, with many collective agreements setting a standard of 40–44 hours. Any reduction below the statutory ceiling should be documented in internal regulations or collective agreements so that employees understand what constitutes full-time status in your organisation. When designing work schedules, employers should align contractual hours, actual practice, and payroll systems to ensure that any work beyond the agreed full-time schedule is correctly identified and, where applicable, treated as overtime.

Overtime Regulations In Tunisia

What Counts As Overtime In Tunisia?

Overtime in Tunisia generally refers to any working time performed beyond the employee’s normal contractual schedule, up to the statutory ceiling of 48 hours per week, and in some cases beyond that ceiling where the law or a collective agreement expressly allows it. For employees whose standard schedule is 40–44 hours per week under a collective agreement, hours worked above that agreed threshold are typically treated as overtime for pay purposes, even if the total remains below 48 hours. Employers must obtain prior authorisation where required, record overtime accurately, and ensure that overtime is exceptional rather than a permanent substitute for proper staffing.

Maximum Overtime In Tunisia

Tunisian law places limits on the amount of overtime that can be performed to protect employee health and safety. While specific caps can vary by sector and collective agreement, employers should assume that overtime must remain occasional and that weekly working time, including overtime, should not regularly exceed 48 hours except in narrowly defined circumstances such as seasonal peaks or urgent work. Many sectoral rules also impose annual caps on overtime hours per employee and require consultation with employee representatives when extended hours are planned. Employers should implement internal approval procedures so that managers cannot schedule overtime that would breach legal or collectively agreed limits.

Overtime Payout Rates In Tunisia

Overtime hours in Tunisia are generally compensated at premium rates above the employee’s normal hourly wage. Common practice, often reflected in collective agreements, is to apply higher percentages for overtime performed beyond the standard weekly schedule, for night work, and for work performed on weekly rest days or public holidays. For example, overtime on ordinary working days may attract a moderate percentage increase, while work on weekly rest days or public holidays may be paid at significantly higher rates or combined with compensatory rest. Employers should review the applicable collective agreement for their sector, define the exact multipliers in contracts or policies, and configure payroll systems so that overtime, night work, and work on rest days are calculated and itemised correctly on payslips.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Tunisia

In Tunisia, employees typically work around 8 hours per day within a framework of up to 48 hours per week, and rest periods are designed to protect health and productivity within these limits. Employers must organise work so that employees receive meal breaks during longer shifts, daily rest between working days, and at least one weekly rest day, while paying particular attention to the needs of minors and night workers. Proper planning of rosters and break times helps ensure that the legal limits on daily and weekly working hours are respected in practice.

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