Working hours in Uzbekistan: limits, schedules and pay

Working time is the period when an employee must perform duties under the established schedule. The standard limit is no more than 40 hours (Art. 182 LC) per week. The employer sets the specific start and end of the day, shifts and breaks in rules, a schedule, an internal document or the employment contract, and records the hours actually worked.

In brief:

• a normal working week does not exceed 40 hours (Art. 182 LC), while certain employees have shorter hours without a reduction in pay;
• a meal break lasts from 30 minutes to 2 hours (Art. 204 LC) and, as a general rule, is not working time;
• overtime usually requires written consent and is limited to 4 hours over two days (Art. 190 LC);
• night hours are paid using a minimum coefficient of 1.5 (Art. 264 LC), while work on a public holiday is paid at no less than double rate (Art. 263 LC);
• an employee should compare the approved schedule, actual attendance in the timesheet and additional pay for every night, overtime, rest-day or public-holiday hour.

Updated: 03 September 2026

What counts as working time

Working time is the period during which an employee must perform employment duties under the internal work rules, shift schedule, another internal document or the employment contract. The Code distinguishes normal, shorter and part-time (Art. 181 LC) working time.

It includes:

• the actual performance of employment duties;
• downtime for which the employee is not at fault;
• breaks required by the technology and organization of production;
• breaks for feeding a child;
• core, preparatory and closing operations, including receiving an assignment, materials and tools, reviewing equipment and documents, preparing and cleaning the workplace, and handing over finished products;
• other periods that employment legislation or other employment regulations expressly classify as working time.

This list of included periods (Art. 181 LC) means that time recording does not always begin with the first production operation and does not necessarily end immediately after it.

Actual work is recorded from arrival (Art. 200 LC) at the place where the work is performed until the employee is actually released from duties. It excludes travel from home to the permanent workplace or assembly point and back, movement from the entrance checkpoint to the workplace, changing clothes before and after a shift, and registering departure. This exhaustive recording rule (Art. 200 LC) applies unless a special rule classifies a particular period as working time.

How many hours are in a working week and day

Under the normal arrangement, the limit is 40 hours per week (Art. 182 LC) for both five-day and six-day working weeks. The distribution differs: daily work may not exceed 8 hours in a five-day week (Art. 185 LC) or 7 hours in a six-day week (Art. 185 LC).

On the day before a non-working public holiday, the shift is reduced by at least 1 hour (Art. 187 LC) for every employee. If continuous production or the nature of the work does not allow the shift to be shortened, the excess is compensated with additional rest time or, with the employee’s consent, paid under the overtime rules.

A schedule reading “9:00 to 18:00” does not itself mean nine paid hours. If the period includes a one-hour meal break (Art. 204 LC) that is excluded from working time, the actual working time is eight hours. The result differs where food is provided during working time in operations that cannot be stopped for a normal break.

Who is entitled to shorter working hours

Shorter working hours are a lower statutory limit with full pay preserved (Art. 183 LC). The Code makes them mandatory for minors, employees with Group I or II disabilities, employees exposed to harmful or hazardous working conditions, medical and teaching staff, and one parent or guardian of a young child who works in a publicly funded organization.

The daily limits for minors also depend on the type of working week. For employees aged fifteen to sixteen, the limits are 5 or 4 hours (Art. 416 LC); for those aged sixteen to eighteen, they are 7 hours 30 minutes (Art. 416 LC) or 6 hours. Students who combine study with work during the academic year are limited to half the applicable limit.

For employees exposed to harmful or hazardous factors, the specific shorter limit is determined from workplace certification results. If a 30-hour week applies, a shift is limited to 6 hours in a five-day week (Art. 478 LC) and 5 hours in a six-day week; for a 24-hour week, the respective limits are 5 and 4 hours.

The special limit for teachers (Art. 501 LC) and the separate limit for medical staff (Art. 502 LC) also do not exceed thirty-six hours. The Cabinet of Ministers sets the specific limits for particular positions. Where working time is lawfully shortened, wages are paid in full (Art. 258 LC). The exception is students under eighteen who work outside study time: they are paid in proportion to time worked or output.

How part-time work differs from shorter working hours

Part-time work means a part day, shift or week, or a combination of these, established by agreement of the parties (Art. 186 LC) for an agreed term or indefinitely. Unlike shorter working hours, pay is proportionate to the hours worked or actual output.

The employer must establish part-time work at the request of:

• a pregnant woman;
• one parent, or a person acting in place of a parent, of a child under fourteen;
• one parent, or a person acting in place of a parent, of a child with a disability under sixteen;
• a person caring for an ill family member under a medical opinion;
• a person with a disability, if that arrangement is recommended by the medical and social expert commission.

For these employees, the arrangement is established for the term they choose, but not beyond the period during which the relevant circumstances exist. Their preferences about starting time, finishing time and breaks are considered together with the employer’s operating conditions. The commission’s recommendations on part-time work and a reduced workload are binding on the employer (Art. 424 LC).

Part-time work does not reduce basic leave, exclude the period worked from length of service or restrict other employment rights. These consequences and proportionate pay (Art. 186 LC) must be distinguished from shorter working hours with full pay.

How schedules are established and hours recorded

The working-time arrangement determines the type of working week, the start, end and duration of a shift, breaks, alternation of working and non-working days, the number of shifts and the order in which employees rotate. It is established in rules, a schedule or a contract (Art. 191 LC). An individual arrangement in an employment contract may differ from the organization’s general arrangement.

The internal work rules regulate working arrangements and rest time and are approved by the employer in agreement with the trade union committee (Art. 296 LC).

Time may be recorded daily, weekly or on an aggregated basis. Under daily recording, the limit is met each day. Under weekly recording, daily hours may differ within the daily maximum. Under aggregated recording, individual weeks may differ, but the total for the reference period must equal the applicable limit. For part-time work, the limit is reduced accordingly (Art. 198 LC).

Aggregated recording is permitted when production conditions do not allow the normal daily or weekly duration to be observed. Its procedure is established by a collective agreement or, if none exists, by the employer in agreement with the trade union committee. It is expressly prohibited (Art. 480 LC) for work under particularly harmful or particularly hazardous conditions.

The employer must record arrivals and departures in the prescribed timesheet, another document, or a hardware or software system. Overtime, time-based work by piece-rate employees, business trips and internal secondary employment must be recorded under separate indicators (Art. 200 LC).

What breaks and rest days an employee receives

Rest time includes breaks within a shift, rest between shifts, weekly rest, public holidays, leave and separate compensatory days. This list of rest periods (Art. 201 LC) distinguishes an ordinary unpaid meal break from special breaks included in working time.

A break for rest and meals lasts from 30 minutes to 2 hours (Art. 204 LC) and is not working time. For a shift of no more than four hours, the rules or contract may provide no such break. If a shift exceeds eight hours under aggregated recording, the employee receives two breaks. Where operations cannot be stopped, the employer provides rest and meals during working time (Art. 204 LC).

Additional technological breaks, special breaks for work in heat or cold and for loading and unloading, and breaks for feeding a child are included in working time (Art. 205 LC).

One parent or guardian of a child under two receives feeding breaks at least every 3 hours (Art. 407 LC), each lasting at least thirty minutes. If there are two or more children, a break lasts at least one hour. It is included in working time and paid at average wages; at the employee’s request, it may be added to the meal break or moved to the beginning or end of the shift.

Daily rest between the end of one shift and the start of the next, including the meal break, must be at least 12 hours (Art. 206 LC). A five-day week provides two rest days (Art. 207 LC), while a six-day week provides one. The common rest day is Sunday; at continuous operations, for continuous public services and in rotational work, rest days are allocated by the schedule.

How night work is paid

Night time is the period from 22:00 to 06:00 (Art. 188 LC). If at least half of a shift falls at night, the shift is reduced by one hour without the employee later making up that hour. The reduction does not apply to employees who already have shorter working hours or those hired specifically for night work, unless a collective agreement provides otherwise. Where operationally necessary, and in shift work under a six-day week, night and day shifts may be made equal in accordance with the prescribed procedure.

Pregnant women and one parent, or a person acting in place of a parent, of a child under fourteen or a child with a disability under sixteen may work at night only with written consent. A pregnant woman and a woman with a child under three also need a medical opinion confirming that the work does not threaten health (Art. 396 LC).

Employees under eighteen are prohibited (Art. 417 LC) from night work, except for creative workers and athletes on the prescribed list. An employee with a disability may work at night only with consent (Art. 428 LC) and if the medical and social expert commission’s recommendations do not prohibit it.

Time-based night work is paid using a coefficient of at least 1.5 (Art. 264 LC) for each hour. A piece-rate employee receives full piece-rate earnings plus at least fifty percent of the hourly tariff rate for an employee of the corresponding grade. A collective agreement, an internal document agreed with the trade union committee, or the employment contract may establish a higher supplement.

Example. For an employee hired specifically for night work whose shift is not shortened, a full shift from 22:00 to 06:00 (Art. 188 LC) contains eight night hours. At an hourly rate of S, the minimum pay is eight × 1.5 × S (Art. 264 LC), or twelve S. A higher coefficient established by an internal document applies instead.

When work is overtime

Overtime is work performed at the employer’s initiative beyond the limit established for the particular employee. Under daily recording, the shift duration is compared; under weekly recording, the weekly limit; and under aggregated recording, the limit for the entire reference period. These three calculation methods (Art. 189 LC) prevent every long shift within a properly established aggregated system from automatically being treated as overtime.

Additional duties within an established shift are not overtime. Combining positions, expanding a service area or replacing an absent employee is performed with consent and extra pay (Art. 116 LC), but remains within ordinary working time.

Overtime without the employee’s consent is permitted only:

1. To prevent or eliminate a natural or technological disaster, industrial accident, occupational accident, fire, flood, earthquake, epidemic, epizootic or another extraordinary threat to life or normal living conditions.
2. For socially necessary work to remedy an unexpected disruption of water supply, sewerage, gas or heat supply, lighting, transport or communications.
3. To continue uninterrupted work when the replacement employee fails to arrive; the employer must arrange an immediate replacement.

In all other circumstances, written consent (Art. 189 LC) is required. Overtime is prohibited during a twelve-hour shift and in work under particularly harmful or particularly hazardous conditions.

The general limit is 4 hours over two consecutive days (Art. 190 LC). Employees in harmful or hazardous work have a special maximum of 2 hours per day and 120 (Art. 479 LC) hours per year. The employer must keep an accurate record of overtime hours.

The first two overtime hours are paid at no less than one and a half times the rate, and subsequent hours at no less than twice the rate. In harmful or hazardous work, every overtime hour is paid at no less than twice the rate. At the employee’s request, increased pay may be replaced by equal rest time: the work is paid at the single rate and the rest is unpaid. These compensation options (Art. 262 LC) do not allow the employer to choose time off in place of the employee.

Example. If an employee with hourly rate S works the permitted 4 hours over two days (Art. 190 LC), the minimum payment is: the first 2 hours × 1.5 (Art. 262 LC) = three S; the next two hours × two = four S. Total overtime pay is seven S.

Where consent is required, a lawful refusal to work overtime, at night or on a rest day is not a breach of duties. The Plenum of the Supreme Court expressly states that such a refusal is not grounds for disciplinary action.

This section covers supplements specifically for working time. The article on pay explains wage systems, payment deadlines and deductions. It is relevant when the hourly tariff rate to which an increasing coefficient applies must first be determined.

Can an employee work on rest days and public holidays

As a general rule, work on these days is prohibited. The following are non-working public holidays:

• 1 January (Art. 208 LC) — New Year;
• 8 March (Art. 208 LC) — Women’s Day;
• 21 March (Art. 208 LC) — Navruz;
• 9 May (Art. 208 LC) — Day of Remembrance and Honor;
• 1 September (Art. 208 LC) — Independence Day;
• 1 October (Art. 208 LC) — Teachers and Mentors Day;
• 8 December (Art. 208 LC) — Constitution Day of the Republic of Uzbekistan;
• the first day of Ruza Hayit (Art. 208 LC), Eid al-Fitr;
• the first day of Kurban Hayit (Art. 208 LC), Eid al-Adha.

If a rest day coincides with a public holiday, it is transferred to the next working day. The transfer does not apply to continuous production, continuous public services or rotational work that cannot be stopped. The President may also transfer rest days (Art. 208 LC) for the efficient use of rest time.

With the employee’s written consent, work on a rest day or public holiday is permitted for urgent and previously unforeseen work on which the normal operation of the organization or a division depends. A collective agreement or, if none exists, an internal document agreed with the trade union committee determines the list of such work. Continuous work, public services, urgent repairs, and loading and unloading on public holidays are permitted by their nature (Art. 209 LC).

An employee may be required to work without consent only to:

1. Prevent or eliminate a disaster, accident, occupational accident, fire, flood, earthquake, epidemic, epizootic or another extraordinary threat.
2. Prevent accidents.
3. Remedy unexpected failures in water supply, sewerage, gas, heat, lighting, transport or communications.
4. Prevent destruction of or damage to the employer’s property.

This is a closed list of exceptions (Art. 210 LC). The special restrictions (Art. 211 LC) described above continue to apply to pregnant employees and employees with family responsibilities, minors and persons with disabilities.

The employer issues an order for the work. Consent is confirmed by the employee’s application or signature on the order; if consent is not required, the order must state the specific extraordinary ground. This documentation procedure (Art. 212 LC) is required separately from the general schedule.

Work on a rest day or public holiday is paid at no less than double rate (Art. 263 LC). At the employee’s request, another rest day is provided instead of double pay: the work is paid at least at the single rate and the rest day is unpaid. If Saturday or Sunday was a scheduled working day and the rest day fell on another weekday, the single rate applies. A public holiday is paid at least at double rate regardless of the schedule, or at the single rate with another rest day.

A special rule applies to an employee with an employment contract for up to 2 months (Art. 497 LC): the employee may work with written consent and must receive monetary compensation of no less than double rate.

How hours are recorded for secondary, remote and rotational work

The Code’s general limits and additional recording rules apply to special forms of work.

Employees under eighteen, pregnant women, one parent or guardian of a child under three, and persons with medical contraindications may not be assigned to rotational work. This list of restrictions (Art. 466 LC) applies regardless of the employee’s consent.

A normal rotation lasts no more than 1 month (Art. 467 LC). In specified cases, a collective agreement may extend it to three months. The employer approves the work and rest schedule in agreement with the trade union committee and informs employees no later than 2 months (Art. 469 LC) before it takes effect. Work on rotation is limited to twelve hours per day, and rest between shifts, including the meal break, must be at least twelve hours.

What the employer must document

The employer must connect the arrangement, actual time records and pay in a single verifiable chain of documents:

1. Establish the arrangement in the internal work rules, shift schedule, another internal document or the employment contract.
2. Record shift starting and finishing times, breaks, alternation of working and rest days, the number of shifts and their sequence in the document that establishes the arrangement (Art. 191 LC).
3. Maintain a timesheet or other record of arrivals and departures and separately identify overtime, business trips and internal secondary employment. The law permits hardware or software recording (Art. 200 LC).
4. Obtain written consent where it is mandatory and issue an order for work on a rest day or public holiday.
5. If consent is not required, state the extraordinary case in the order and then provide the prescribed compensation (Art. 212 LC).
6. Record the duration of overtime (Art. 190 LC) separately and accurately.

Under the Code of Administrative Liability (CAL), an official who violates employment legislation faces a fine from 2.200.000 to 4.400.000 BRV (Art. 49 CAL), where BRV is the base calculation unit. A repeated violation within one year carries a fine from 4.400.000 to 6.600.000 BRV, while a violation involving a minor carries a fine from 4.400.000 to 8.800.000 BRV. Cases involving this offence are heard by state labor inspectors (Art. 255 CAL). The State Labor Inspectorate monitors employers’ compliance with employment legislation (Art. 535 LC).

What changed in 2025–2026

• Presidential Decree UP-257 of 24 December 2025 established 2 January, 28 and 29 May, and 31 August 2026 as additional non-working days for all employees; for a six-day week, it also added 3 January, 30 May and 31 December. For a five-day week, the rest day was transferred from 12 to 31 December. As of the update date, the upcoming 31 December 2026 non-working day applies under this Decree.
• Presidential Resolution PP-336 of 9 November 2025 moved state medical institutions to a five-day working week from 1 April 2026. Duty rosters maintain continuous service on rest days and public holidays.
• Presidential Resolution PP-106 of 13 March 2026 designated 20 March 2026 as the first day of Ramazan Hayit. That day was a non-working public holiday under the Labor Code list.

How an employee can check recorded time and pay

First compare the employment contract and current schedule with each day’s actual starting time, finishing time and breaks. Then separately mark night hours, work beyond the applicable reference-period limit, rest days and public holidays. The employer must record arrivals and departures and record special time separately (Art. 200 LC).

Check whether time is recorded daily, weekly or on an aggregated basis. Under aggregated recording, excess hours are determined after the reference period ends, not from one long shift. The comparison must use the limit applicable to that employee: normal, shorter or part-time.

If the amount is unclear, the employee may request details of accruals and deductions, and the employer must provide the information (Art. 253 LC). For verification, retain the schedule, work order, consent, pay statement and a personal record of actual hours. These documents allow the ordinary rate, night coefficient, overtime and public-holiday work to be recalculated separately.

Frequently asked questions

Is a meal break included in working time?

As a general rule, no. A break for rest and meals lasting from 30 minutes to 2 hours (Art. 204 LC) is not included in working time, and the employee may use it at their discretion. If production cannot be stopped, the employer provides an opportunity to rest and eat during working time, and the period is then recorded.

Is a 9:00 to 18:00 schedule an eight-hour day?

Yes, if it includes a one-hour meal break that is not working time: nine hours pass between the start and finish, but paid work lasts eight hours. The schedule must state the start, finish and break, and the normal daily limit for a five-day week is 8 hours (Art. 185 LC).

Can an employer require overtime?

Without consent, only in three groups of extraordinary cases: preventing or eliminating disasters and other threats, remedying failures in essential systems, or continuing uninterrupted work when a replacement employee does not arrive. In all other cases, written consent (Art. 189 LC) is required. Additional prohibitions apply to minors, certain harmful work and protected categories.

How is work paid when it is both at night and on a rest day?

Work on a public holiday is paid at no less than double rate (Art. 263 LC), while night work uses a coefficient of at least 1.5 (Art. 264 LC). The Code establishes the two guarantees on different grounds. The specific calculation depends on the pay system, tariff rate and provisions of a collective agreement or internal document.

Does part-time work reduce leave or length of service?

No. Part-time work affects pay, which is calculated in proportion to time worked or output. It does not restrict leave or service (Art. 186 LC) or other employment rights. This distinguishes part-time work from absence without a ground provided by legislation or the contract.