Working Hours, Overtime and Wage Rules in Bangladesh 2026: Hours, Deductions, Worker Classes and Zones

Working hours overtime Bangladesh rules: the 2026 position

Working hours overtime Bangladesh rules sit at the centre of every payroll and every factory audit. The Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 caps the ordinary day at eight hours and the ordinary week at 48, allows up to ten hours a day and 60 a week only with overtime, and requires every extra hour to be paid at twice the ordinary rate.[1] Those rules survived the Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act 2026, Act No 43 of 2026, untouched, while the reforms around them changed leave, wage claims and penalties.[2]

This guide covers hours, overtime calculation, rest and leave, wage payment, lawful salary deductions and fines, temporary and outsourced staff, employees in mergers, the position of foreign investors in export processing and economic zones, and an annotated employment contract checklist. Our hub on labour law in Bangladesh explains the wider 2026 reforms.

Summary: An adult worker in Bangladesh ordinarily works eight hours a day and 48 hours a week. With overtime the day may run to ten hours and the week to 60, averaging no more than 56 over a year, and overtime pay is double the ordinary rate of basic wage, dearness allowance and any ad hoc or interim wage. Wages must be paid within seven working days of the wage period, deductions are limited to the heads in section 125, and fines are capped at one-tenth of a wage period's wages. Export processing zones follow the separate EPZ Labour Act 2019.

Key point: Act No 43 of 2026 did not change sections 100 to 108 on hours and overtime or sections 125 to 131 on deductions, but it raised festival holidays to 13 days, let inspectors file wage claims on a worker's behalf and set a minimum fine of Tk 25,000 for any breach without a specific penalty. Breaking the old rules now costs considerably more.[2]

At a glance

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Table of Contents

Working hours overtime Bangladesh law after the 2026 amendments

The working hours overtime Bangladesh framework sits in Chapter IX of the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, on working hours and leave, and Chapter X, on wages and their payment.[1] The Bangladesh Labour Rules 2015 supply the forms, registers and calculation methods, including the overtime formula and register.[4] Act No 43 of 2026, dated 10 April 2026, is the latest amending statute.[2]

What changed in 2026 and what did not

The 2026 Act lists every section it touches. None of sections 100 to 108, on daily hours, rest, weekly hours, weekly holidays, spread-over, night shifts and overtime, is in that list, nor are sections 125 to 131 on deductions.[2] The changes are around the edges: festival holidays rise from eleven to 13 days, maternity leave of up to 120 days counts as continuous service, and section 132 now allows an inspector, as well as the worker, to apply to the Labour Court for unpaid or wrongly deducted wages.[1] [2]

Who the hours rules protect

The limits apply to a "worker". The 2026 Act rewrote that definition to cover any person, including a trainee, employed directly or through a contractor for wages in skilled, unskilled, manual, technical, business development or clerical work, excluding only those employed in a managerial, administrative or supervisory capacity.[1] [2] Sales and outsourced staff are therefore inside the working hours overtime Bangladesh regime unless their real duties are managerial.

Daily and weekly working hours limits

Section 100 provides that an adult worker shall not ordinarily work more than eight hours a day, with a proviso allowing up to ten hours subject to section 108 on overtime.[1] Section 102 sets the ordinary weekly limit at 48 hours and allows more only under section 108, provided total hours do not exceed 60 in any week or average more than 56 a week over a year.[1]

Sector caps and temporary exemptions

In road transport, total overtime may not exceed 150 hours a year. For particular industries, the government may relax or exempt the weekly limits by written order for up to six months at a time, in the public interest or for economic development.[1] Rule 99 adds that workers in construction, re-rolling, steel mills, ship-breaking and other listed dangerous work may not be required to work more than ten hours a day including overtime.[4]

Spread-over and night shifts

Section 105 requires hours to be arranged so that, excluding rest and meal intervals, the working day does not spread over more than ten hours, unless the government grants a general, sector-wise or establishment-specific exception.[1] Where a shift runs past midnight, section 106 counts the hours after midnight with the previous day, and that worker's weekly holiday means 24 consecutive hours from the end of the shift.[1]

Women, adolescents and double employment

A woman worker may not be required to work between 10 pm and 6 am without her consent, and rule 103 requires that consent in writing in Form 35, valid for twelve months unless withdrawn.[1] [4] Adolescents may work no more than five hours a day and 30 a week in a factory or mine, or seven hours a day and 42 a week elsewhere, and never between 7 pm and 7 am.[1] Section 110 bars an adult worker from working in more than one establishment on the same day without the inspectorate's permission.[1]

The hours notice and the register

Section 111 requires a written notice of working hours, fixed in advance so that no worker breaches sections 100 to 103 or 105. Two copies go to the inspector for approval before work begins, and no change in the system of work may take effect without fresh approval.[1] Section 113 prohibits work otherwise than in accordance with the notice and the worker register.[1]

Overtime pay: the double rate and how to calculate it

Section 108(1) entitles a worker who works beyond the statutory hours on any day or in any week to an allowance at twice the ordinary rate of basic wage and dearness allowance, plus ad hoc or interim wage if any.[1] The double rate is the floor of every working hours overtime Bangladesh calculation; a contract may pay more, never less.

What goes into the rate

House rent, medical, transport and food allowances are excluded unless the contract or service rules say otherwise. Rule 102 converts the base into an hourly rate, absent a different agreement: one-eighth of the daily wage for daily-rated workers, one-forty-eighth of the weekly wage for weekly-rated workers and one-208th of the monthly wage for monthly-rated workers, because a month is treated as 52 weeks divided by twelve, multiplied by 48 hours.[4]

A worked example

Take an entry-level garment worker on the minimum wage of Tk 12,500 a month, of which basic wage is Tk 6,700.[10] The hourly overtime rate is Tk 6,700 multiplied by two and divided by 208, or about Tk 64.42. A worker who does two hours of overtime on each of 26 working days, 52 hours in all, earns Tk 3,350 in overtime pay for the month, exactly half of basic wage.

Consent, slips and the overtime register

Rule 99 requires the worker's consent to overtime and notice at least two hours before it begins, and preserves any more favourable contract, settlement or custom.[4] Under rule 102, the employer must sign a card or slip recording the overtime, must not set production targets that force breaches of section 100, and must keep the overtime register in Form 34.[4] Overtime that appears on the floor but not in Form 34 is the most common working hours overtime Bangladesh finding we see in buyer audits.

Piece-rated workers and officers

Section 108(2) disapplies the double rate for piece-rated workers.[1] They remain subject to the hours limits, and rule 111 requires their pay to be topped up to the grade minimum where piece earnings fall short.[4] Managers outside the definition of worker have no statutory overtime pay, so their contracts should say whether salary covers extra hours. An "all-inclusive" salary for someone who is a worker in law is unenforceable to the extent it undercuts section 108.

Rest intervals, weekly holidays and leave

Breaks and holidays are part of the working hours overtime Bangladesh limits, not an afterthought.

Rest and meal intervals

Under section 101, a worker cannot be required to work more than six hours a day without a one-hour interval for rest or meals, more than five hours without a half-hour interval, or more than eight hours without one one-hour or two half-hour intervals.[1] Rule 99 adds a half-hour rest after every two hours in listed dangerous work, with no deduction from wages.[4]

Weekly holidays and compensatory holidays

Section 103 gives one day's weekly holiday in factories and industries, one and a half days in shops and establishments, and 24 consecutive hours in road transport, with no wage deduction.[1] Where an exemption removes a weekly holiday, section 104 requires an equal number of compensatory holidays; rule 101 requires them within three working days, bars more than ten consecutive days without a weekly holiday and requires payment for unused compensatory holidays on termination.[4]

A 2018 proviso to section 104 lets workers, by their own choice and after discussion with the collective bargaining agent or participation committee, work a weekly holiday and add it to a festival holiday, in which case no overtime is payable for that day.[1]

Casual, sick and annual leave

Every worker receives ten days' casual leave and fourteen days' sick leave a calendar year on full wages; neither carries forward.[1] After a year's continuous service, adult workers in shops, commercial and industrial establishments, factories and road transport earn annual leave at one day for every eighteen days worked, accumulating up to 40 days in factories and road transport and 60 days in shops and commercial establishments.[1]

Festival holidays

Festival holidays are now 13 days a year on full wages.[2] A worker asked to work on a festival holiday must receive one alternative day off and two days' compensatory wages under section 118(3).[1] Bonuses and other benefits are covered in our guide to employee benefits in Bangladesh.

Wage payment and salary deduction under labour law

Working hours overtime Bangladesh compliance fails if overtime is paid late or clawed back through deductions. For Chapter X, "wages" includes contractual bonus, pay for leave, holidays and overtime, and sums payable on termination or lay-off.[1]

Wage period and payment deadlines

The wage period may not exceed one month, and wages must be paid within seven working days after it ends. On any termination, all wages due must be paid within thirty working days. Payment must be made on a working day, in cash, by cheque or, at the worker's request, by electronic transfer.[1] Section 121 makes the employer liable for all wages and, for directly engaged workers, also the chief executive, manager or person responsible for supervision and control.[1]

The permissible deductions in section 125

Section 125(1) is absolute: no deduction may be made except as the Act authorises. Deductions may be taken only from basic wage, and only under these heads:[1]

• fines imposed under section 25;
• unauthorised absence from duty;
• damage to or loss of goods or money entrusted to the worker, where directly caused by the worker's neglect or default;
• housing supplied by the employer;
• government-approved amenities and services, other than raw materials and tools needed for the work;
• recovery of advances or loans, or adjustment of overpaid wages;
• income tax payable by the worker;
• an order of a court or other competent authority;
• provident fund subscriptions and advance repayments;
• payments to a government-approved co-operative society or to a postal or government insurance scheme;
• with written consent, contributions to a government-approved workers' welfare fund or scheme; and
• union subscriptions to the collective bargaining agent under check-off.

Deductions for uniforms, recruitment fees or cash shortages without an enquiry are unlawful however the contract is worded.

Absence, damage, housing and advances

An absence deduction may not exceed the wages for the period of absence; if ten or more workers stay away together without notice or reasonable cause, up to eight days' wages in lieu of notice may be added.[1] Rule 115 fixes the daily rate at basic wage, dearness allowance and any ad hoc or interim wage divided by 30.[4] A damage deduction may not exceed the actual loss and may be made only after the worker is found responsible in an enquiry that follows natural justice.[1]

Housing and amenity deductions need the worker's acceptance and may not exceed the value supplied.[1] Under rule 117, an advance of unearned wages may not exceed two months' wages and is recovered within twelve months in instalments of no more than one-third of wages.[4]

Fines under section 25

A fine is a disciplinary penalty, not a cost-recovery tool. Section 25 caps any fine at one-tenth of the wages for the wage period, prohibits fines on workers under fifteen, bars recovery by instalments or after sixty days, and requires a register, with proceeds spent only on workers' welfare.[1] Rule 30 prescribes the register in Form 12.[4]

Recovering unpaid wages and unlawful deductions

A worker may seek mediation through the Inspector General under section 124A, with action required within twenty days and a unanimous outcome binding on both sides.[1] Under section 132 the worker, an heir or, since 2026, an inspector may apply to the Labour Court within twelve months. The court may order repayment plus compensation of up to 25 per cent, and only summons fees are payable.[1] [2] See our guide to the Labour Court in Bangladesh.

Worker classifications and temporary employment in Bangladesh

Classification drives notice, lay-off pay and even whether a service book is required. Section 4 recognises seven classes of worker.[1] [3]

The seventh class, the seasonal worker, is engaged for the duration of a season, and seasonal factories must give priority to the previous season's workers.[1] Since 2026 the Act's apprenticeship chapter applies expressly to apprentices.[2]

Probation and deemed permanence

Probation is six months for clerical work and three months for other work, extendable by three months for a skilled worker. If no confirmation letter is issued at the end, the worker is nonetheless deemed permanent.[1] Silence after the probation date is therefore a decision to confirm.

Temporary, casual and fixed-term staff

A temporary worker is engaged for work that is essentially temporary and likely to finish within a limited period; a casual worker for work of a casual nature.[1] An employer may end a temporary worker's employment on thirty days' written notice if monthly-rated or fourteen days otherwise, or pay in lieu, unless the temporary work itself has ended, and the temporary worker may resign on the same notice.[1] Lay-off compensation is not payable to substitute or casual workers.[2]

Since the 2022 amendments to the Labour Rules, work lasting beyond six months is treated as permanent work and contractual engagement is confined to temporary work.[5] Rolling a temporary worker from contract to contract on a continuing production line is the classic misclassification. Exit routes are covered in our guide to terminating employees in Bangladesh.

Contract and outsourced labour

Section 3A prohibits any contractor agency that supplies workers from operating without government registration, and treats the supplied workers as the contractor's workers under the labour law.[1] If the contractor fails to pay them, section 121 requires the establishment's owner to pay and recover from the contractor.[1] Rule 16 applies the Act's hours, rest, overtime and leave rules to supplied workers and bars using contractor staff against a permanent post.[4] Since 2022, contractors must also pay supplied staff the same as directly employed workers.[5]

Mergers, acquisitions and continuity of service

In a transaction the key questions are whose service records carry across and whether the buyer inherits unpaid overtime. Our guides to merger procedure and the acquisition process cover the corporate steps; the points below concern employees.

Share deals and court-sanctioned amalgamations

In a share purchase the employer does not change, so every accrued entitlement and historic liability, including unpaid overtime and unlawful deductions, stays with the company the buyer now owns. In an amalgamation under section 229 of the Companies Act 1994, liabilities transfer with the undertaking and generally include employees, unless the parties agree otherwise and the court so orders.[9] The Labour Act defines an employer to include a successor in assignment, and Labour Court settlements and awards bind the employer's heirs or successors.[3]

Asset and business transfers

An itemised asset sale does not move employment automatically; employee consent is required, usually through a joint letter from transferor and transferee or a simultaneous resignation and re-engagement.[9] There is no statutory duty to consult unless a collective agreement requires it, but employees generally expect accrued benefits to be settled or carried over before control changes.[9]

Protecting continuous service

A worker who has actually worked 240 days in the preceding twelve months, or 120 days in six months, has one year's or six months' continuous service, counting lay-off, sick or accident leave, legal strikes and up to 120 days' maternity leave.[1] [2] A transfer letter that resets the start date invites claims from the whole workforce.

Harmonising hours and redundancies

Harmonising shifts after a merger is a change in the system of work that needs a fresh hours notice approved under section 111.[1] A merger is not itself a ground for dismissal. Surplus roles go through retrenchment under section 20: one month's written notice stating the reason or wages in lieu, copies to the Inspector General and the collective bargaining agent, thirty days' wages per year of service or gratuity, whichever is higher, and last in, first out within the affected class absent agreement.[1]

Labour law for foreign investors: EPZs, economic zones and wage boards

One labour code does not apply across Bangladesh, so the first working hours overtime Bangladesh question for any project is which statute governs the site.

Which statute applies

Industrial units in export processing zones follow the EPZ Labour Act 2019, section 3 of which gives it effect notwithstanding any other law.[6] In September 2019 a government order applied the EPZ Labour Act to industrial units in all economic zones then under the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority.[7]

The Invest Bangladesh Act 2026, Act No 104 of 2026, has since repealed the Bangladesh Economic Zones Act 2010 and dissolved that Authority, saving actions taken under the repealed law, and it contains its own section on labour law, workers' rights and social security.[8] Investors in former BEZA zones should confirm, site by site, which labour statute applies before finalising policies.

How the EPZ regime differs

The EPZ Labour Act mirrors the core rules: eight hours a day and up to ten, 48 a week and up to 60 averaging 56, the same rest pattern, a weekly holiday, and overtime at double the ordinary rate.[6] The differences are in the detail. EPZ workers receive eleven festival holidays, deductions from basic wage are limited to provident fund, welfare association subscriptions and unauthorised absence, and separation dues are payable within fifteen working days.[6] The 2026 Labour Act amendments do not by themselves change those figures.

Minimum wage boards

Outside the zones, the Minimum Wage Board recommends sector rates under section 139, which since 2026 must be revisited every three years rather than five.[1] [2] The garment minimum of Tk 12,500 took effect on 1 December 2023.[10] EPZ rates come from the EPZ Minimum Wage Board under section 65 of the EPZ Labour Act, which fixed Tk 12,800 a month, with basic wage of Tk 6,950, from the same date.[6] [11]

In October 2026 the government sought nominations for a new garment wage board while workers protested for a Tk 30,000 minimum, and the Labour Secretary said a gazette notification was expected within the month.[12] [13] Because overtime pay is calculated on basic wage, every revision raises overtime cost too. Current rates are tracked in our minimum wage guide.

Compliance exposure for investors

Paying below a declared minimum wage carries up to one year's imprisonment or a fine of Tk 20,000 to Tk 50,000, or both.[1] Breaches of the hours, overtime and deduction rules fall under replaced section 307: up to three months' imprisonment or a fine of Tk 25,000 to Tk 50,000, or both.[2] Expatriate managers have their own permit and tax issues, covered in our guide to employment law for expatriates, and registers and inspections are covered in our labour law compliance checklist.

Employment contract template: an annotated checklist

Our analysis of employment contracts in Bangladesh explains enforceability. This outline focuses on the clauses that carry the rules in this guide.

Mandatory content of the appointment letter

Section 5 prohibits employment without an appointment letter and a photo identity card.[1] Rule 19 lists the minimum contents: name, parents' and spouse's names, addresses, designation, type of work and joining date, class of worker, wages or pay scale with any increment, other financial benefits such as house rent, medical, food, transport, festival and attendance allowances and gratuity, and a statement that the terms follow the service rules and the Labour Act.[4]

Clause-by-clause template outline

1. Parties and start date: the legal employer and the date continuous service begins, including recognised prior service.
2. Class and probation: the section 4 class and a probation period within the statutory limits.
3. Duties and status: real duties and, for officers, the managerial authority that takes them outside the definition of worker.
4. Hours: ordinary hours, shift pattern, weekly holiday and a reference to the approved hours notice.
5. Overtime: consent, the double-rate formula and the Form 34 record.
6. Pay: wage period, payment within seven working days, method and the split between basic wage and allowances.
7. Deductions: only the section 125 heads, with written consent where required.
8. Leave: casual, sick, annual, festival and maternity entitlements at no less than the statutory minima.
9. Termination and final pay: notice by class, compensation and dues within thirty working days.
10. Optional clauses: confidentiality, intellectual property, data protection, group transfers and governing language.

Common drafting errors

• "Salary inclusive of overtime" for workers: unenforceable against section 108.[1]
• Penalty deductions: deductions for lateness, damage or short notice beyond the section 125 heads and limits.[1]
• Post-employment non-competes: section 27 of the Contract Act 1872 makes any agreement restraining a lawful profession, trade or business void to that extent, save on a sale of goodwill.[14]
• Stale figures: templates still showing eleven festival holidays or sixteen weeks' maternity leave.[2]
• Endless fixed terms: successive temporary contracts for work continuing beyond six months.[5]
• Unapproved service rules: relying on company rules not approved by the inspectorate under section 3.[1]

Working hours overtime Bangladesh compliance steps

An audit tests whether the paper system and the floor match. We repeat this sequence whenever a wage declaration, shift change or transaction alters the inputs.

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What to watch in 2026 and 2027

Three developments will shape working hours overtime Bangladesh compliance over the next year. A new garment wage board is being formed, and any rise in basic wage lifts overtime cost automatically.[12] New labour rules under the 2026 Act remain under tripartite discussion, with a National Tripartite Consultative Council meeting set for 27 October 2026 on the wage board and the rules.[13] And investors in former economic zones should track how the Invest Bangladesh Act's labour provisions are applied to zone enterprises.[8]

TRW's employment law compliance practice audits hours and payroll and redrafts appointment letters and service rules, and our compensation and benefits practice designs pay structures that keep overtime pay predictable. To review your exposure, contact TRW.

Frequently asked questions

What are the legal working hours in Bangladesh?

Eight hours a day and 48 hours a week ordinarily. With overtime, up to ten hours a day and 60 a week, averaging no more than 56 a week over a year.[1]

How is overtime pay calculated in Bangladesh?

At twice the ordinary hourly rate of basic wage, dearness allowance and any ad hoc or interim wage. For a monthly-rated worker, that monthly amount is multiplied by two and divided by 208 to give the hourly overtime rate.[1] [4]

Did the 2026 labour amendment change working hours or overtime?

No. Act No 43 of 2026 did not amend sections 100 to 108. It did raise festival holidays to 13 days, allow inspectors to file wage claims and raise the general fine to Tk 25,000 to Tk 50,000.[2]

Can a worker refuse overtime?

The Labour Rules require the worker's consent and at least two hours' notice before overtime starts, and women may not be required to work between 10 pm and 6 am without consent.[1] [4]

What deductions can an employer make from salary?

Only the twelve heads listed in section 125, taken from basic wage, including fines, absence, proven damage, advances, income tax, provident fund and union check-off.[1]

How much can an employer fine a worker?

No more than one-tenth of the wages for the wage period, never on a worker under fifteen, recovered in one sum within sixty days and spent only on workers' welfare.[1]

When must wages be paid?

Within seven working days after a wage period of no more than one month, and all dues on termination within thirty working days. EPZ enterprises must pay separation dues within fifteen working days.[1] [6]

When does a temporary worker become permanent?

A probationer who completes probation is deemed permanent even without a confirmation letter, and the Labour Rules treat work lasting more than six months as permanent work.[1] [5]

Do employees transfer automatically in a merger?

In a court-sanctioned amalgamation employees generally transfer with the undertaking unless otherwise agreed and ordered. In an itemised asset sale, employee consent is required.[9]

Does the Labour Act apply in export processing zones?

No. EPZ enterprises follow the EPZ Labour Act 2019, which overrides other laws and has similar hours and overtime rules but different leave, deduction and final-pay provisions.[6]