There are three basic categories of working time:
In case of force majeure, an extraordinary increase in the scope of work or other similar cases of urgency, the worker must work longer than the full or part-time work duration (overtime) at the employer’s request; however, the total duration of work must not exceed fifty hours per week. Overtime work for a worker may not exceed one hundred and eighty hours per year, unless there is agreement in the form of a collective agreement, in which case it may not, nonetheless, exceed two hundred and fifty hours per year. For performed overtime work, the worker is entitled to an increased salary.
Rest and leave
The Labour Act stipulates a minimum break of 30 minutes during working hours for employment which includes at least 6 hours of work per day, unless otherwise stipulated by special law. During any period of twenty-four hours, the worker is entitled to a period of daily rest to last at least twelve hours continuously.
An exception to the above mentioned is when the employer is obliged to provide an adult worker for seasonal jobs, which is performing twice during the working day, and to ensure the right to a daily rest period of at least eight hours continuously.
The law further stipulates a weekly rest period of at least twenty-four hours and annual leave of at least 4 weeks.
The law, also, prescribes an exceptional right to have paid leave with compensation when important personal needs arise, especially in regard to marriage, wife giving birth to a child, serious illness or death of close family member. At the worker’s request, employer may grant unpaid leave, during which time all rights and obligations arising from or in connection with the employment are temporarily suspended.
