Staff Working Hours
Basic Conditions of Employment laws set maximum working hours and minimum rest and break periods for workers.
The section of the Act that regulate working hours does not apply to:
- workers in senior management
- sales staff who travel and regulate their own working hours
- workers who work less than 24 hours in a month
- workers who earn more than R115 572 per year
- workers engaged in emergency work are excluded from certain provisions.
The maximum ordinary hours per day for someone who works one to five days per week is nine, the maximum amount of hours per week is 45.
For those who work more than five day per week should work a maximum of eight hours per day and 45 hours per week. Workers may agree, in writing, to work up to 12 hours a day without getting overtime pay.
However, these workers may not work more than:
- 45 ordinary hours a week
- 10 hours’ overtime a week
- five days a week
Workers must have a meal break of 60 minutes after five hours’ work. A written agreement may:
- reduce meal intervals to 30 minutes
- eliminate meal intervals for workers who work less than 6 hours a day
Workers must have a rest period of 12 hours each day; and 36 consecutive hours each week (must include Sunday, unless otherwise agreed).
Workers working between 18h00 and 06h00 must:
- get an allowance, or
- work reduced hours, and
- have transport available to them.