Overtime is one of the most common sources of dispute between employers and employees in Oman. The Labour Law promulgated by Royal Decree 53/2023 sets out exactly when a worker can be asked to work beyond normal hours, how much extra pay is owed, and the narrow circumstances in which consent isn’t required at all. Here’s what employers and employees both need to know.
Normal Working Hours
Before overtime can even be discussed, it helps to know the baseline. Under article 70, a worker may not be made to work more than 8 actual hours a day or 40 hours a week, excluding rest and meal breaks, and no continuous stretch of work may exceed 6 hours. During Ramadan, working hours for Muslims drop to 6 a day or 30 a week. Any time worked beyond this baseline is what the law treats as overtime.
Consent
Article 71 makes clear that overtime is, in principle, voluntary. The employer may only require additional hours “if the interest of the work so requires,” and the employee’s written consent is needed. The combined total of regular and overtime hours can never exceed 12 hours in a single day, regardless of an agreement between the employer and employee.
Overtime Pay
Where the employee agrees, article 71 sets clear minimum rates:
- Daytime overtime: basic wage for the extra hours, plus at least 25%.
- Night-time overtime: basic wage plus at least 50%.
- Work on the weekly rest day or an official holiday: a cash amount equal to 100% of the employee’s daily basic wage, in addition to the pay for that day itself.
As an alternative to cash, the employer may instead grant time off in lieu, one day of compensatory leave for each day worked on a rest day or holiday.
When Consent Isn’t Needed
Article 72 carves out two narrow exceptions where an employer can require overtime without the employee’s consent:
- Routine business necessities: annual stocktaking, budget preparation, closing accounts, or discount sale preparation, but this is capped at 15 days a year unless the authorities approve more.
- Emergencies: preventing or repairing damage from an accident, avoiding the loss of perishable goods, or coping with an unusual surge in work, provided the employer notifies the relevant authority within 24 hours.
These exceptions revoke the employee of the right to refuse, so the trade-off is higher pay: 50% extra for daytime hours instead of 25%, 75% instead of 50% for night hours, and 200% of the basic wage plus the day’s own pay for rest days or holidays instead of 100% or two compensatory rest days per day worked rather than one.
Case Law in Practice
A useful clarification comes from Omani case law. In Supreme Court (Labour Circuit) Contestation 766/2017, an employee argued that his daily rest hour should count toward his overtime claim. The court disagreed, confirming that rest and meal periods are excluded from working hours by definition and cannot be counted as overtime.
You can read the Labour law in full in English at the link below:
