What Are the Maximum Working Hour Limits Under Bhutanese Labour Law?

Working-hour limits are an important part of payroll and workforce compliance in Bhutan. Employers need to understand the difference between standard working hours, overtime hours, night work and work performed on public holidays when preparing employee schedules and payroll.

The main framework is the Labour and Employment Act of Bhutan 2007, supplemented by the Regulation on Working Conditions 2022. The Department of Labour currently lists both the Act and the 2022 Working Conditions Regulation among its labour legislation and regulations.

What Are the Standard Working Hours in Bhutan?

Under Chapter 9 of the Regulation on Working Conditions 2022, standard working hours must not exceed:

• 8 hours per day
• 48 hours per week

These limits apply to standard working time, excluding additional hours treated as overtime.

Standard Working Hour Limits

Working-time category	Limit
Standard working hours per day	Maximum 8 hours
Standard working hours per week	Maximum 48 hours
Overtime	Additional hours subject to applicable limits
Overtime limit	Maximum 12 hours per week

Therefore, a normal employee schedule should generally remain within 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week, unless additional work qualifies as overtime under the applicable rules.

How Is Overtime Defined?

Work performed beyond the standard working hours specified by the Regulation is treated as overtime.

The Regulation on Working Conditions 2022 states that overtime hours must not exceed 12 hours per week. It also provides that overtime should be performed by mutual agreement between the employee and employer.

For example, if an employee works:

• 8 hours per day × 6 days = 48 standard hours
• Additional 2 hours on two days = 4 overtime hours

The employee has therefore worked 52 hours during the week, consisting of 48 standard hours and 4 overtime hours.

Is There a Daily Overtime Limit?

The current 2022 Regulation states an overtime ceiling of 12 hours per week. Earlier Department of Labour guidance also described overtime as not exceeding 2 hours per day or 12 hours per week and explained that prior approval from the Chief Labour Administrator was required when an employer needed an employee to work beyond those limits.

For payroll and scheduling purposes, employers should therefore review both the current Regulation and applicable Department of Labour directions before scheduling overtime beyond the ordinary limits.

Is Overtime Pay Mandatory?

Yes. Employees working additional hours as overtime are entitled to overtime payment.

The Regulation provides that overtime payment should be not less than the employee's normal rate of pay.

Example

Suppose an employee's normal hourly rate is:

Nu. 100 per hour

If the employee works:

3 hours of qualifying overtime

The minimum overtime payment based on the Regulation would be:

Nu. 100 × 3 = Nu. 300

The applicable employment arrangement and current rules should be checked when calculating the employee's actual payroll entitlement.

What About Night Work?

Night work receives additional protection under Bhutan's labour framework.

The 2022 Regulation provides that where an employee is required to work between 10:00 PM and 8:00 AM in addition to their normal day shift, the employer must pay an additional 50% of the employee's normal rate for those overtime hours.

For example:

Normal hourly rate = Nu. 100
Night overtime hours = 2 hours
Additional 50% = Nu. 50 per hour
Additional night-work amount = Nu. 100

The exact payroll treatment should be based on whether the hours qualify as overtime and the employee falls within the relevant category under the Regulation.

What Happens When Employees Work on Public Holidays?

The Regulation also addresses work performed on public holidays.

An employee required to work during a public holiday is entitled to an additional 50% of the normal rate of pay under the Regulation.

This means employers should separately track public-holiday work when calculating payroll.

Are Breaks Included in Working Hours?

The Department of Labour's worker handbook explains the 8-hour daily and 48-hour weekly limits as applying excluding breaks.

Employers should therefore distinguish between:

• Actual working time
• Meal breaks
• Rest periods
• Overtime
• Night work
• Public-holiday work

Accurate attendance records make these distinctions easier to manage.

Why Accurate Time Records Matter

Employers need reliable records to determine whether an employee has exceeded standard working hours.

A proper attendance or time-management system can track:

• Employee check-in and check-out times
• Daily working hours
• Weekly working hours
• Overtime hours
• Night shifts
• Public-holiday work
• Shift schedules
• Approved overtime
• Overtime payments

This is particularly important for businesses operating multiple shifts, construction sites, hotels, restaurants, healthcare facilities and other workplaces where employees may work outside conventional office hours.

Example of a Weekly Working Schedule

Consider an employee working six days a week:

Day	Standard hours	Overtime
Monday	8	1
Tuesday	8	0
Wednesday	8	2
Thursday	8	0
Friday	8	2
Saturday	8	1
Total	48	6

The employee has completed 48 standard hours and 6 overtime hours, for a total of 54 hours.

The 6 overtime hours remain below the 12-hour weekly overtime ceiling stated in the 2022 Regulation.

Employer Compliance Checklist

Employers can use the following checklist when managing working hours:

• Maintain employee attendance records.
• Keep standard working hours within 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week.
• Identify hours worked beyond the standard schedule as overtime where applicable.
• Monitor the 12-hour weekly overtime limit.
• Obtain the required agreement for overtime work.
• Calculate overtime payments correctly.
• Apply the additional payment for qualifying night overtime.
• Apply the additional payment for public-holiday work.
• Keep overtime approvals and supporting records.
• Configure payroll to distinguish normal hours from overtime.
• Review current Department of Labour regulations and notifications regularly.

The Department of Labour continues to publish the Labour and Employment Act 2007 and the Regulation on Working Conditions 2022 as part of its labour-law resources.

Working Hours and Payroll Software

Managing working-hour limits manually can become difficult when an organisation has multiple shifts, locations or large numbers of employees.

Payroll and attendance software can help employers:

• Capture daily attendance automatically
• Calculate total weekly working hours
• Identify overtime
• Track night shifts
• Record public-holiday work
• Route overtime for approval
• Calculate overtime payments
• Transfer approved hours into payroll
• Maintain attendance records for compliance

This can reduce manual calculations and help HR teams identify employees approaching their applicable working-hour limits.

Conclusion

Under Bhutan's Regulation on Working Conditions 2022, standard working hours are limited to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week. Overtime is additional working time and is subject to a 12-hour-per-week limit under the Regulation. Overtime must be mutually agreed upon and paid at no less than the normal rate, while qualifying night overtime and public-holiday work attract an additional 50% payment.

For employers, the key to compliance is maintaining accurate attendance and overtime records, applying the correct payroll treatment and checking the latest Department of Labour requirements when scheduling employees.

This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Employers should verify specific working-hour, overtime and approval requirements against the latest Bhutanese legislation, regulations and Department of Labour notifications.