Countries › Uruguay › Guide › 16. What is normal abroad but not here › Working hours and overtime: eight hour days, double pay and an eight hour weekly cap

Working hours and overtime: eight hour days, double pay and an eight hour weekly cap

Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Stable

Uruguay has had a statutory eight hour day since 1915, and overtime is paid at double the hourly wage on working days and at 2.5 times on rest days and holidays. Overtime needs the worker's consent and is capped at eight hours a week unless the Ministry or the Executive authorises an exception. A 24 hour rest after six days of work is compulsory, and overtime averages also feed into leave pay and the vacation bonus.

USD figures use UYU 40.210 per US dollar, the BCU quotation for DLS. USA BILLETE on 27 October 2026; UI amounts use UYU 6.6803 per UI (BCU, 28 October 2026), except cash limits, which the law converts at the first day of the month: UYU 6.6516 per UI on 1 October 2026 (BCU). Retrieved from the BCU quotations service on 2026-10-28; conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Maximum ordinary working day	8 hoursLey 5.350, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum ordinary hours per six days of work	48 hoursLey 5.350, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Overtime surcharge on working days	100 %Ley 15.996 art. 1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Overtime surcharge on holidays and rest days	150 %Ley 15.996 art. 1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum overtime per week without an exception	8 hoursLey 15.996 art. 5, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minimum weekly rest after six days of work	24 hoursLey 7.318 art. 1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Eight hours a day, 48 hours per six days. The law fixes the working day at eight hours across the country for the workers it covers, with daily work of adults never exceeding 48 hours for each six days worked; the Executive regulates mandatory daily rest breaks by trade. The eight hour day was expressly restored for commerce employees in 1944.
Cost to do it: Hours above the applicable limit are overtime and must be paid as such.
Example: A shop employee scheduled nine hours on a weekday works one hour of overtime. / Not applicable.Ley Nº 5.350 (eight hour law); Ley Nº 10.489, Ley 5.350 (IMPO summary of the law); Ley 10.489 art. 2, 1915-11-17 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. Overtime is paid at 100 percent extra, 150 percent on rest days. Where the daily working time is limited by law or agreement, hours beyond the worker's limit are overtime, paid with a 100 percent surcharge on the hourly wage on working days and a 150 percent surcharge (on the working day hourly value) on holidays or weekly rest days. Fractions under 30 minutes count as half an hour and longer fractions as a full hour. Overtime pay is salary for all purposes, the law is of public order and more favourable rules in laws, awards or collective agreements prevail.
Cost to do it: Double pay per overtime hour on working days, 2.5 times on rest days and holidays.
Example: A worker paid UYU 600 an hour earns UYU 1,200 per overtime hour on a weekday and UYU 1,500 on a rest day; 40 minutes of extra work is paid as one full overtime hour. / About US$30 and US$37 per overtime hour.Ley Nº 15.996 (overtime), art. 1, 2, 3, 7 and 9, 1988-11-17 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. At most eight overtime hours a week, and only with consent. The employer may require at most eight overtime hours a week, with the worker's prior consent. The Ministry of Labour may authorise temporary exceptions for an industry, business, activity or company after consulting employers and workers, and the Executive may set permanent exceptions by the same procedure. Breaches are sanctioned under Ley 15.903 art. 289.
Cost to do it: Above eight overtime hours a week requires an MTSS or Executive exception; otherwise a labor inspection fine applies.
Example: A plant needing 12 extra hours per worker in a peak week must hire temporary staff or obtain a ministerial exception for the extra four. / At UYU 1,200 per hour, eight overtime hours cost UYU 9,600 a week, about US$239.Ley Nº 15.996, art. 5, 6 and 8, 1988-11-17 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. A full day of rest after six days of work. A rest day of at least 24 hours after six days of work, or every six days, is compulsory for everyone working in an industrial or commercial establishment of any kind.
Cost to do it: Work on the rest day is paid at the 150 percent surcharge under Ley 15.996 art. 1.
Example: A restaurant open seven days a week must roster each employee with at least one 24 hour rest every six working days. / Not applicable.Ley Nº 7.318 (weekly rest), art. 1, 1920-12-10 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Overtime worked	Surcharge	UYU per hour	USD per hour
Working day	100%	1,200	30
Holiday or weekly rest day	150%	1,500	37

Overtime pay at an hourly wage of UYU 600

Worked example

A logistics company in Canelones pays a warehouse worker UYU 600 an hour (US$15). In a peak week the worker does six overtime hours on weekdays and four on Saturday, the worker's rest day. Pay: 6 x 1,200 + 4 x 1,500 = UYU 13,200 (US$328). Total overtime is ten hours, so the employer needed an MTSS exception for the two hours above the weekly cap of eight.

Step by step

Record daily start and end times for every worker; fractions are rounded to half or full hours.
Obtain and document each worker's consent before scheduling overtime.
Track the weekly overtime total per worker against the eight hour cap and request an MTSS exception before peaks.
Check laws, Wage Council awards and collective agreements for your group for more favourable overtime rates, which prevail (Ley 15.996 art. 7).
Average each worker's overtime in the year to compute leave pay and the vacation bonus.

Common traps

Paying overtime at time and a half as in many countries: the Uruguayan floor is double time on working days (Ley 15.996 art. 1).
Ignoring short overruns: 20 minutes is paid as half an hour of overtime (Ley 15.996 art. 2).
Treating overtime as a non salary bonus: it is salary for contributions, aguinaldo and leave (Ley 15.996 art. 3 and 4).
Exceeding eight overtime hours a week without an exception (Ley 15.996 art. 5 and 6).

Sources

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