Qatar’s Labour Law limits normal working hours to 48 a week and 8 a day, or 36 and 6 in Ramadan. Overtime is allowed until total work reaches 10 hours in a day. It is paid at the basic wage plus at least 25%, or at least 50% for hours between 9 pm and 3 am, except for shift workers.
Working hours in Qatar’s Labour Law
- Normal working week, 8 hours a day
- 48 hours
- Normal week in Ramadan, 6 hours a day
- 36 hours
- Most a day, overtime included
- 10 hours
- Least overtime pay on the basic wage
- +25%
From Labour Law No. 14 of 2004, Articles 73 and 74 (Arabic text on Al Meezan), checked 26 Oct 2026.
Article 73 sets the ceiling for normal hours: 48 a week at 8 hours a day, in every month except Ramadan. Time spent travelling between home and work does not count.
The working day needs one or more breaks for prayer, rest and meals, between one and three hours in total. Breaks are not working time, and they have to be placed so that nobody works more than five hours in a row.
The Minister of Labour may name jobs where the work can carry on without stopping for breaks. We did not find that list on an official page, so check with the labour department before you rely on it.
Every employer posts a table of the rest day, working hours and breaks for each group of workers at the main entrances and somewhere visible at work, and sends a copy to the labour department (Article 77). Breaking Articles 73 to 75 or 77 is fined QAR 2,000 to 5,000 under Article 144, in its 2026 text, and Article 143 multiplies the fine by the number of workers affected.
Ramadan working hours
In Ramadan the ceiling drops to 36 hours a week and 6 hours a day. The same article sets both limits, so the rules on breaks, travel time and the posted table still apply.
| Worker | Normal months | Ramadan | Article |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult worker | 48 a week, 8 a day | 36 a week, 6 a day | 73 |
| Minor, aged 16 to 18 | 36 a week, 6 a day | 24 a week, 4 a day | 90 |
Overtime: the daily limit and the rate
Article 74 allows overtime on top of the normal hours, with one limit: actual work in a day may not go above 10 hours in total. The exception is work needed to prevent a serious loss or a serious accident, or to repair or reduce its effects. The article sets no weekly or yearly cap beyond the daily one.
| When the extra work is done | Least the worker is paid | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Overtime on a normal day | Basic wage for the hours, plus at least 25% | 74 |
| Between 9 pm and 3 am | Basic wage for the hours, plus at least 50% (not for shift workers) | 74 |
| On the weekly rest day | Another rest day and the normal rest-day pay, or the basic wage plus at least 150% | 75 |
| On a public holiday | The overtime rules of Article 74 apply | 78 |
Two readings are worth settling with a labour lawyer before you write them into a policy.
The two readings
Night work: the 50% rate for hours between 9 pm and 3 am sits in the overtime article. Most guides apply it to overtime at night; check whether your night shifts are affected.
Rest-day work: the Arabic adds an increase of at least 150% to the basic wage. Several guides state the rate as 150% in total, which is lower. Use the official text, not a summary.
Overtime is part of the wage, so it is paid with the month’s salary through the Wage Protection System: by transfer to the worker’s account in Qatar, with monthly wages due on the first of the month and transferred within seven days. The wages register under Article 48 records each worker’s overtime, deductions and net pay.
The weekly rest day and Friday work
At least 24 hours, paid
Article 75 gives every worker a paid weekly rest of at least 24 hours in a row.
Friday is the normal rest day
For all workers except those on shifts.
Two Fridays in a row at most
Apart from shift workers, nobody may be made to work more than two consecutive Fridays.
When the work needs someone on the rest day, the employer gives another day off and pays what a normal rest day pays, or pays the basic wage plus at least 150%. Record which option you used for each worker, because it shows on the payslip and in the wages register.
Who the hour limits do not cover
- Senior staff who hold the employer’s powers over other workers: Articles 73 to 75 on hours, overtime and the rest day do not apply to them (Article 76).
- Preparatory and finishing work done before or after the working day, guards and cleaners, and groups named by the Minister: the 48-hour ceiling in Article 73 does not apply, and the Minister sets their maximum hours (Article 76).
- Minors aged 16 to 18: stricter rules. No work between sunset and sunrise, on rest days or holidays, no overtime, and no more than seven hours in a row at the workplace (Article 89).
- Workers outside the Labour Law since Law No. 9 of 2026, among them part-time and self-employed workers, domestic workers and casual workers (Article 3).
- Companies in the Qatar Financial Centre: the QFC Employment Regulations have their own hours and overtime rules, with the same 10-hour daily limit.
Summer working hours: the midday outdoor work ban
From 1 June to 15 September every year, Ministerial Decision No. 17 of 2021 stops work between 10:00 and 15:30 in the sun and in open workplaces that are not shaded and ventilated. Work indoors, or in places that are both shaded and ventilated, carries on as normal.
Each employer sets a daily hours schedule that follows the decision and posts it where every worker can read it and inspectors can check it. The Ministry of Labour confirmed the same dates and hours when it opened its 2026 heat stress campaign on 1 June 2026.
- A heat stress risk plan made with the workers, kept on site.
- All workers trained on heat stress by May each year.
- Work stopped wherever the WBGT heat reading passes 32.1 degrees.
The rest of the employer’s duties
Article 4 also requires free cool drinking water through the working day, shaded rest areas close to the work, light and loose protective clothing, and free yearly medical checks for conditions that raise the risk, with records kept.
First aiders and safety supervisors on site are trained to guide workers. Where several employers share a site, the main contractor follows up with the others. A worker with good reason to fear for their health may stop work and complain to the ministry, and may not be dismissed or penalised for it.
The Minister may close a workplace that breaks the decision, in part or in full. The decision does not apply to companies working on oil and gas projects.
The summer rule
- Dates
- 1 June to 15 September
- No outdoor work
- 10:00 to 15:30
- Where
- In the sun, or open places without shade and ventilation
- Rule
- Ministerial Decision No. 17 of 2021
- Not covered
- Oil and gas project companies
How we help
We help you set working hours, shifts and rest days that fit the Labour Law, and prepare the hours table you post at work and the summer schedule for outdoor teams. We write the overtime, holiday and rest-day pay rules into your HR policy, and we work each month’s overtime into payroll before the WPS transfer. You approve every step; the Ministry of Labour inspects, and a labour lawyer advises on any disputed claim.
