Overtime work is any hour worked beyond eight hours a day or forty hours a week. It is not freely required, because the Labor Code limits it by contract, prohibits it after fifty hours per week, and in urgent cases makes it subject to authorization by the Inspectorate. Night work, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., has its own rules and special restrictions for certain categories of employees.
This page shows when overtime work may be required, what the limits are, who is protected from night work, and how it is compensated with time off instead of pay.
Read also: Schedule, breaks and leaves: the complete guide
Article 88 defines overtime as any hour of work performed beyond the normal daily working time or beyond the maximum weekly working time.
So the threshold is twofold: eight hours a day under Article 78 and forty hours a week under Article 83. Exceeding either one is sufficient.
| Rule | Content | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Daily threshold | Over 8 hours | seventy-eight and eighty-eight |
| Weekly threshold | Over 40 hours | eighty-three and eighty-eight |
| Demand limit | No more than 50 hours of work per week is required. | 90/2 |
| Maximum | To be determined in the collective or individual contract. | 90/1 |
| Emergency cases | Authorization from the Labor Inspectorate | 90/4 |
| Payment | No less than 25%, and 50% during a weekly or holiday break. | 91 |
Article 90, paragraph 1, requires that the maximum number of overtime hours be specified in the collective bargaining agreement or in the individual employment contract. If neither contains such a provision, the employer has no basis on which to support the request.
Read also: Work schedule, daily and weekly limits
The code sets three constraints that operate together.
Article 90, paragraph 2, states clearly: No additional weekly hours may be required when the employee has worked 50 hours in a week.
This is a prohibition on the request, not on the work. The employee may agree, but the employer may not require it.
Article 90, paragraph 4, places it under the Labor Inspectorate. For work outside normal hours in cases of force majeure or urgent work, authorization is granted by it.
This is a special service and must be requested in advance, not after the work is completed.
Article 84 allows the Council of Ministers to set a reduced weekly working time for jobs that are arduous or harmful to health. Where this applies, the threshold for overtime hours is lowered in line with the standard working schedule.
Article 91, paragraph 2, allows it, but with two non-negotiable conditions.
Rest time must be at least 25 percent longer than the hours worked. Four hours off duty entitle you to at least five hours of rest.
It must be paid within two months from the date the work is completed. After that deadline, the right reverts to payment.
Compensation requires an agreement with the employee. It is not unilaterally determined by the employer.
An employee works 6 hours of overtime during the week. The employer proposes compensating with time off and the employee agrees in writing. The time off must be at least 7½ hours and taken within two months. If only 6 hours are granted, or if it is granted in the fourth month, the compensation does not apply and the hours must be paid.
Article 87 applies when work is performed on a weekly rest day or a public holiday. In that case, the compensatory rest is equal to the hours worked plus 25 percent additional time, and it must be taken within one week before or one week after.
Read also: Pay raises, percentages for each case.
Article 80 defines night work as work performed from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
The duration of night work must not exceed eight consecutive hours, and it must be immediately preceded or followed by a daily rest period of at least eleven hours.
Article 81 establishes two levels that are constantly confused.
These supplements do not require the hour to be an extra one. They apply even within normal hours, as long as the hour falls within the interval.
Article 108 establishes special protection. The employer may not order night work for pregnant women and women who have given birth until the child reaches one year of age when it is harmful to their safety and health, as evidenced by a medical report.
When a woman becomes unfit for night work but not for day work, she is transferred to a similar day-time job. If the transfer is not feasible, she receives benefits under social security legislation.
For employees under 18 years of age, the daily working period does not exceed six hours under Article 78, paragraph 3, and special rules for them are established by a decision of the Council of Ministers.
Read also: Employment of minors and age-based schedules
This is the step most often missing and the most costly to control.
Overtime hours are recorded in a monthly log, indicating the date, the hours worked, the reason, and the method of compensation—either pay or time off. The log is signed by the employee and kept in his personnel file.
Without this evidence, an inspection cannot establish either that the hours were paid or that they were compensated with leave within the required timeframe.
Caution: When the contract contains no limit on overtime hours and there is no record, the violation is deemed to be ongoing. Article 202(2) punishes violations of Articles 90 and 91 with a fine of up to thirty times the monthly minimum wage, i.e., up to 1,500,000 lek.
Read also: Employee file and mandatory records
Any hour worked beyond the normal daily duration of eight hours or beyond the maximum weekly total of forty hours, pursuant to Article 88.
The maximum is set out in the contract. In any event, they are not required once the employee has already worked 50 hours that week.
In cases of force majeure or urgent work, authorization is granted by the Labor Inspectorate pursuant to Article 90, paragraph 4.
From 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., pursuant to Article 80. The surcharge for this interval is no less than 50 percent.
Yes, no less than 20 percent, according to Article 81. This also applies when the time is within normal working hours.
Yes, by agreement. The leave must be at least 25 percent longer than the hours worked and granted within two months.
The employer cannot require it when it is harmful to health, as confirmed by a medical report. In that case, she is transferred to day work.
At least 11 hours without interruption, according to Article 78, paragraph 4.
Read also: Contributions on gross pay and allowances
