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Working Hours & Overtime in Qatar: An Employer's Guide (2025-2026)
Under Qatar's Labour Law No. 14 of 2004 (Article 73), standard private-sector working hours are capped at 8 hours/day and 48 hours/week, cut to 6 hours/day and 36 hours/week during Ramadan - a reduction the Ministry of Labour reconfirms every year by circular (most recently issued 14 February 2026 ahead of Ramadan). Article 74 limits overtime to 2 extra hours/day (total daily hours generally capped at 10, except to prevent serious loss or accident), paid at not less than the basic wage plus 25% for ordinary overtime and, for non-shift workers specifically, plus 50% for hours worked between 9pm and 6am. Article 75 guarantees a weekly paid rest of at least 24 consecutive hours (defaulting to Friday for non-shift workers) and requires a substitute rest day plus pay of at least basic wage +150% if a worker is required to work that day. Article 76 exempts senior/managerial staff with real authority over other workers from Articles 73, 74 and 75 together, but exempts named categories such as guards, cleaners, and preparatory/wind-down workers (plus any further categories the Minister designates by order) only from Article 73's standard-hours cap - those workers remain entitled to overtime pay and weekly rest under Articles 74 and 75. Entities registered with the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) instead follow the separate QFC Employment Regulations, which set the same 6-hour Ramadan cap for fasting employees (Article 29) but sit outside the Ministry of Labour's mainland Labour Law regime.
Steps
- Fix standard hours in the contract - Set daily/weekly hours at or below 8 hrs/day and 48 hrs/week per Labour Law Article 73, and reflect this in the employment contract and payroll records.
- Apply the Ramadan reduction automatically - Cut daily hours to 6 (36/week) for every employee - regardless of religion or fasting status - for the duration of Ramadan each year, without reducing pay, per the Ministry of Labour's annual circular.
- Cap and log overtime - Keep total daily hours (regular + overtime) at or under 10 - i.e. a maximum of 2 overtime hours/day - except in genuine loss- or accident-prevention situations allowed under Article 74.
- Pay the statutory overtime premium - Pay at least basic wage +25% for ordinary overtime hours. For non-shift workers, pay at least basic wage +50% for hours worked between 9pm and 6am (Article 74 carves shift workers out of this specific night-premium clause), or a higher rate if agreed in the contract.
- Honor the weekly rest day - including if you have to cancel it - Give at least 24 consecutive hours of paid rest per week, defaulting to Friday for non-shift workers under Article 75. If work circumstances require a worker to work on their rest day, provide a substitute rest day plus pay of at least basic wage +150% for that day's work.
- Check Article 76 exemptions - and how far each one reaches - Confirm whether a role is exempt, and from what: senior/managerial staff with real authority over other workers are exempt from Articles 73, 74, and 75 together, while guards, cleaning staff, and preparatory/wind-down workers - named directly in Article 76, plus any further categories added by ministerial order - are exempt only from Article 73's standard-hours cap and remain entitled to overtime pay and weekly rest.
- Confirm which regime applies - Determine whether the entity is registered onshore (Ministry of Labour / Labour Law No. 14 of 2004) or within the QFC (QFC Employment Regulations, Article 29), since the two regulators set overlapping but separately enforced rules.
Timeline
Not a one-time filing - these are ongoing payroll and scheduling obligations. The Ramadan reduction applies for the roughly 29-30 day lunar month each year (the Ministry of Labour issued its 2026 circular on 14 February, ahead of Ramadan's expected 18 February 2026 start), while the standard-hours and overtime-pay rules apply continuously to every pay cycle.
Cost & fees
No government fee for complying with the working-hours/overtime rules themselves; the employer's real cost is the statutory wage premium (basic wage +25% for ordinary overtime, +50% for non-shift workers' 9pm-6am hours, and +150% for work performed on a worker's weekly rest day). Non-compliance risks fines and worker complaints filed via the Ministry of Labour's official complaints channels; the exact current name of that platform and the formal body that adjudicates unresolved individual disputes (see 'unverified') were not independently confirmed this session.
Some figures on this page vary by jurisdiction, zone or nationality, or could not be independently confirmed from a public source at time of writing - confirm the current figure with the regulator before relying on it.
Sources
- Al Meezan (Qatar Legal Portal) - Law No. 14 of 2004 on the Promulgation of the Labour Law
- Al Meezan - Labour Law Article 76 (exemptions from working-hours provisions; scope differs by category - Arts. 73/74/75 for senior/managerial staff, Art. 73 only for named categories like guards/cleaners/prep-wind-down workers)
- The Peninsula Qatar - Ministry of Labour announces Ramadan working hours for private sector (14 Feb 2026)
- Qatar News Agency (QNA) - Qatar Sets Reduced Working Hours for Public Sector During Ramadan (2026) - covers a separate Cabinet circular for public-sector/civil-service Ramadan hours (5 hrs/day, 9am-2pm), a different regime from the private-sector 6hr/36hr rule under Labour Law Article 73 that this guide focuses on; included here for context only, not as support for a private-sector figure
- QFC Rulebook - Article 29, Reduced Hours During Ramadan (QFC Employment Regulations)
- Ministry of Labour (mol.gov.qa) - official Labour Complaint Form
Frequently asked
Do Qatar's reduced Ramadan hours apply to non-Muslim employees too?
Yes. The Ministry of Labour's Ramadan circular and Labour Law No. 14/2004 reduce hours to 6/day (36/week) for all private-sector employees regardless of religion or fasting status. QFC-registered entities follow QFC Employment Regulations Article 29, which is framed around 'fasting' employees but is applied on a non-discriminatory basis to avoid breaching the Regulations' own anti-discrimination rule.
How many hours of overtime can an employer require, and at what rate?
Under Article 74, total daily hours (regular plus overtime) generally may not exceed 10 - a cap of 2 extra hours/day - paid at not less than the basic wage plus 25%. For non-shift workers, hours worked between 9pm and 6am must be paid at not less than the basic wage plus 50%; Article 74 explicitly excludes shift workers from this particular night-premium clause.
Is Friday always the paid weekly rest day?
Article 75 sets Friday as the default weekly rest day with a minimum of 24 consecutive hours off, but shift workers can be rostered on a different day as long as they still receive a full 24-hour weekly rest period. If an employer needs a worker to work on their rest day, Article 75 requires giving a substitute rest day and paying at least basic wage +150% for that day's work.
Which staff are exempt from the standard working-hours rules?
Article 76 exempts senior/managerial employees who hold real authority over other workers from the standard-hours (Art. 73), overtime-pay (Art. 74), and weekly-rest (Art. 75) rules together. Separately, it names guards, cleaning staff, and workers doing preparatory or wind-down tasks - plus any further categories the Minister adds by order - as exempt, but only from the Article 73 standard-hours cap; those categories must still be paid overtime and given weekly rest under Articles 74 and 75.