You finish work at 9 pm instead of 5 pm. The employer says it is part of the job. No extra money. Is that allowed in Pakistan?
The short answer is no. Pakistani law sets a limit on working hours. Every hour beyond that limit is overtime, and overtime must be paid at double your normal rate. The sections below are the ones that protect you.
What are the legal working hours in Pakistan?
Two main laws set the hours. The Factories Act 1934 covers factories. The provincial Shops and Establishments laws cover shops, offices, restaurants, clinics and similar workplaces.
A factory is a place where 10 or more people work in a manufacturing process, or worked on any day in the last 12 months (section 2(j) of the Factories Act). Under the same Act, an adult worker cannot work more than 48 hours in a week (section 34) or more than 9 hours in a day (section 36). A seasonal factory may run 50 hours a week, and a continuous process factory 56.
Shops and establishments have the same basic limit. In Punjab, no adult employee can work more than 9 hours a day or 48 hours a week (section 8 of the Shops and Establishments Ordinance 1969). The Sindh Shops and Commercial Establishments Act 2015 says the same in its section 8.
When does overtime start and how much do you get?
Overtime starts the moment you cross the limit. In a factory, work beyond 9 hours in a day or 48 hours in a week is overtime (section 47 of the Factories Act). In a seasonal factory, the weekly trigger is 50 hours.
In shops and establishments, overtime is allowed only in special situations, like stock taking or settlement of accounts (proviso to section 8 of the Punjab Ordinance). The yearly ceiling is 624 hours for an adult and 468 hours for a young person, a worker between 14 and 17.
There is also a daily spread over limit. Spread over is the total time from entering the workplace to leaving it, breaks included. In a factory it cannot go beyond 12 hours a day (section 38). In Punjab shops it is also 12 hours (section 10). In Sindh shops it is 10 hours in winter and 11 in summer (section 10 of the Sindh Act).
For the extra hours you get double pay. Section 47 of the Factories Act entitles a worker who crosses the limit to pay at twice his ordinary rate. Section 9 of the Punjab Shops Ordinance and section 9 of the Sindh Act say the same: double the ordinary rate of wages.
Ordinary rate means your normal wages. If your normal hourly rate is Rs 500, one hour of overtime is Rs 1,000.
Two exceptions exist. Railway workers get one and a quarter times their rate, not double (Railways Act 1890). In Punjab, a contract worker paid on piece rate gets no overtime (proviso to section 9, added in 2014).
Who is covered by the overtime law?
The Factories Act covers people who work in a factory, but not a person who does only clerical work in a room where no manufacturing process runs (section 2(h)). That person is still protected, because offices and commercial establishments fall under the Shops and Establishments laws.
So a shop assistant, a waiter, a receptionist and an office clerk are all covered. Managers and executive staff are generally outside these laws. Mine workers get 8 hours a day and 48 a week (Mines Act 1923), with no overtime below ground. Road transport workers get the same (Road Transport Workers Ordinance 1961).
Women get extra protection. In a factory, no woman can work except between 6 am and 7 pm (section 45 of the Factories Act). She may work up to 10 pm only if the employer arranges transport and she agrees. In Punjab shops, women and young persons work only between 9 am and 7 pm (section 7 of the Ordinance).
What can you do if overtime is not paid?
First, keep a record. Note the dates, the hours and what you were asked to do. Keep rosters, attendance slips and messages from the employer.
Second, complain to the labour department. Every province has labour inspectors who enforce these laws. In Punjab, a prosecution under the Shops Ordinance needs the sanction of an Inspector (section 28).
The employer can be fined. Under the Factories Act, when extra pay under section 47 is not paid, the manager and occupier can each be fined up to Rs 500, with higher fines for repeat offences (sections 60 and 61). Under the Punjab Shops Ordinance, the fine goes up to Rs 3,000 for a first offence and Rs 5,000 for a later one (section 27).
Third, you can take the dispute to the labour court of your province. An unpaid overtime claim is a wage claim, and that is exactly what labour courts hear. Do not resign quietly and walk away.
Things people get wrong about overtime
Overtime is not voluntary. If the employer asks and you are able, you work. You can refuse with a genuine reason, like illness (see the WageIndicator guide for Pakistan).
Breaks are unpaid. Lunch and prayer time do not count as working hours. You also get rest during the day: no worker works more than 6 hours without an interval of at least one hour (section 37 of the Factories Act).
A promise does not replace pay. Section 21 of the Punjab Shops Ordinance says any contract where a worker gives up a right under the law is void. "We will adjust it later" has no legal force.
Working on your weekly holiday does not cancel overtime. If you work on Sunday, the employer must give you a whole day holiday on one of the three days before or after (section 35 of the Factories Act). Lost holidays come back as compensatory holidays (section 35A).
Overtime sits on top of the minimum wage. Your ordinary wages cannot go below the minimum wage. See our guide to the minimum wage in Pakistan 2026 for the current numbers.
Ramazan changes the hours. Working hours are reduced by two hours during Ramazan, and provincial governments issue notifications for it every year.
What this means for you
If you work more than 9 hours in a day or 48 hours in a week, you are owed double pay for every extra hour. That is not a favour from the employer. It is the law.
Keep your records. Ask for your overtime in writing. If the employer refuses, go to the labour department or the labour court. The law protects factory workers, shop workers, waiters, clerks and drivers, and it protects you too.
You can also read how the workplace harassment law protects you at work, or what the maternity leave law gives a working mother. More guides are on the Lexiber blog, and you can ask Lexiber anything at lexiber.com.
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