Standard working hours are the weekly hours a country’s law treats as a normal full-time week — sometimes a target, sometimes a legal ceiling. They range from 35 hours in France to a 52-hour statutory maximum in Kenya. Below, the standard working week for 29 countries, drawn from our country guides and checked July 2026. For the wage side of the same equation, see our guide to minimum wage by country.
Last updated July 24, 2026. Jump to: How standard hours are set · The country table · Patterns across countries · What it means for employers · Using this data · FAQ
How standard working hours are set
Every country in the table below sets some form of standard or maximum working week in law, but the number isn’t defined the same way twice. Across our country guides, it takes three shapes:
- A flat standard. A single number defines the normal full-time week — Poland, Spain, and Sweden all set it at 40 hours — with hours worked beyond it typically treated as overtime.
- A range. The number moves within a band instead of landing on one figure, usually reflecting sector or contract terms — Germany and the Netherlands both state 36–40 hours, Canada 37.5–40.
- A stated maximum. The figure is a ceiling, not a target — Kenya caps the week at 52 hours, the United Kingdom at 48 (with an opt-out available), meaning the person can be scheduled below it but not ordinarily above it.
A few entries pair a daily figure with the weekly one. India’s 40-hour week is built from a 9-hour day including a 1-hour break; Peru states either 8 hours a day or 48 a week as the maximum; Indonesia sets 7–8 hours a day up to a 40-hour week. Those daily figures matter for scheduling even where the weekly number is what gets compared across countries: a week built from a single compressed day reads very differently on a calendar than the same total spread across five standard days.
The source of the number differs too. Some countries fix it in a national labour code — Italy and Poland both write 40 hours directly into law. Others leave part of the figure to sector or workplace agreement, which is why Denmark’s 37-hour week is set by collective bargaining rather than a single statutory line. Either way, the number in the table is the baseline our guide records — the enforceable detail, including any sector exceptions, sits in the guide itself.
A handful of countries adjust the standard for religious observance. Jordan’s 48-hour week drops to 36 hours during Ramadan — a reminder that the figure in the table is the general-year standard, not necessarily what applies on every date.
Standard working hours by country
The table covers 29 countries across every region, each showing the standard or maximum weekly hours as our guide states them, checked July 2026. Open a country’s guide for the fuller employment picture — leave, notice, and termination sit alongside hours there.
| Country | Standard working hours, as our guide states it | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 48 hours per week maximum. | Argentina guide |
| Australia | 38 hours per week. | Australia guide |
| Brazil | 44 hours per week. | Brazil guide |
| Canada | 37.5–40 hours per week. | Canada guide |
| Chile | 45 hours per week. | Chile guide |
| Colombia | 44 hours per week, reducing to 42 from July 16, 2026. | Colombia guide |
| Egypt | 48 hours per week. | Egypt guide |
| France | 35 hours per week. | France guide |
| Germany | 36–40 hours per week. | Germany guide |
| India | 40 hours per week (9-hour day including a 1-hour break). | India guide |
| Indonesia | 7–8 hours a day, up to 40 hours per week. | Indonesia guide |
| Ireland | 39–40 hours per week. | Ireland guide |
| Italy | 40 hours per week. | Italy guide |
| Jordan | 48 hours per week (36 hours during Ramadan). | Jordan guide |
| Kenya | 52 hours per week maximum. | Kenya guide |
| Mexico | 40–48 hours per week. | Mexico guide |
| Morocco | 44 hours per week (standard). | Morocco guide |
| Netherlands | 36–40 hours per week. | Netherlands guide |
| New Zealand | 40 hours per week. | New Zealand guide |
| Peru | 8 hours a day, or 48 hours a week maximum. | Peru guide |
| Philippines | 40–48 hours per week. | Philippines guide |
| Poland | 40 hours per week. | Poland guide |
| Portugal | 40 hours per week. | Portugal guide |
| Singapore | 40–44 hours per week. | Singapore guide |
| South Africa | 45 hours per week. | South Africa guide |
| Spain | 40 hours per week. | Spain guide |
| Sweden | 40 hours per week. | Sweden guide |
| Turkey | 45 hours per week. | Turkey guide |
| United Kingdom | 48 hours maximum (opt-out available). | United Kingdom guide |
Source: our country guides, checked July 2026. Figures are the standard or maximum weekly hours as each guide states them; the guide sets out the fuller employment picture for that country.
One guide with full content, Bosnia and Herzegovina, does not state a distinct hours figure in this field. That does not mean no standard applies there — only that it is not summarized in this table. Open the country guides index for the complete list.
Patterns across the countries
Looking across the 29 countries, a few shapes recur:
- 40 hours is the single most common figure. India, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden all set the standard week at exactly 40 hours — the closest thing to a global default in this table.
- France sets the shortest standard week, at 35 hours. Australia (38 hours) and Ireland (39–40 hours) are the next shortest.
- Several countries state a maximum rather than a target. Argentina, Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, Peru, and the United Kingdom phrase the figure as a ceiling — 48 hours in most cases, 52 in Kenya — rather than the number staff are expected to work.
- Ranges are common where sector or contract terms move the number. Canada, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, and Singapore all state a band instead of one fixed figure.
- A mid-40s cluster sits above the 40-hour default. Brazil (44), Colombia (currently 44), Morocco (44), Chile (45), South Africa (45), and Turkey (45) all land at 44 or 45 hours — a step above the 40-hour baseline but still short of the countries that state a legal maximum in the high 40s or above.
- At least one country is legislating a shorter week right now. Colombia’s standard is reducing from 44 to 42 hours, effective July 16, 2026 — a live example of the figure moving, not a fixed historical fact.
None of this ranks one country against another. It is a reminder that “full-time” is a locally defined term, and the number attached to it changes both how a role is scheduled and what it costs.
What it means for employers hiring across borders
Standard hours aren’t just a scheduling detail — they feed into a few decisions that matter when a team spans countries:
- What “full-time” means for benefits. In several countries, the standard week is also the threshold for full-time benefits eligibility — including how annual leave accrues — so a role built around a different weekly-hours figure can change what an employer owes.
- What hours above the standard cost. Where a country states a maximum rather than a target, hours worked beyond it typically trigger overtime pay or a rest-period requirement under that country’s law. This table states the hours figure only — check the country guide for the overtime and rest-period detail.
- Whether “40 hours” means the same commitment everywhere. It doesn’t, once a daily-hours structure (India’s 9-hour day with a built-in break) or a legal ceiling (Kenya’s 52-hour maximum) is factored in.
For a distributed team, the practical effect shows up in scheduling as much as in cost. A manager coordinating meetings across a 35-hour week in France and a 44–48-hour range in Mexico is coordinating two different definitions of a normal working day, not just two time zones. Building the local standard into a team’s working agreement — not just the local public holidays — is what keeps a distributed schedule realistic.
These are details a local legal entity has to track directly in each country. An employer of record absorbs that — it is the local legal employer, so tracking working-hours law, overtime, and rest periods in each country is its responsibility, not yours. See what an employer of record is for how that works, or read how hours fit into the wider total cost of hiring abroad.
How to use this data
This table gives you the standard week. Two things it does not give you are an overtime rate and a full cost. For the full cost of a hire in a given country, run the numbers in our employment cost calculator — it turns a salary into an all-in employer cost.
Ten countries in the table also have a dedicated calculator: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Portugal, Singapore, and Spain.
For overtime rates, rest-period rules, and the rest of a country’s employment law, open its country guide — each one covers hours, leave, notice, and termination together, alongside the statutory benefits attached to the role.
Treat this table as a starting figure, not a final one. Working-hours law changes — Colombia’s reduction from 44 to 42 hours, effective July 16, 2026, is already on the books — so a number that is current in July 2026 can move by the time you plan a hire a year out. Re-check the country guide for anything you are relying on close to a hiring decision.
This page states the standard-hours figure as our guides record it. It is general information, not legal advice — confirm current thresholds against the country guide, or a local source, before you set a policy on it.
Frequently asked questions
What are "standard working hours" in this table?
They’re the weekly hours each country’s law treats as a normal full-time week, as our country guides record them. Some are a flat number (Poland’s 40 hours), some are a range reflecting sector or contract flexibility (Germany’s 36–40 hours), and some are stated as a legal maximum rather than a target (the United Kingdom’s 48-hour ceiling). The table shows each figure exactly as its guide states it.
Which country has the shortest standard working week?
Of the 29 countries in the table, France has the shortest standard week at 35 hours. Australia (38 hours) and Ireland (39–40 hours) are the next shortest. Most other countries in the table sit at or above 40 hours, and several state a legal maximum in the high 40s or low 50s rather than a fixed weekly target.
Does this table include overtime pay rates?
No. This table states each country’s standard or maximum weekly hours only — it does not include overtime multipliers or premium pay rates, which vary by country and sometimes by sector. For that detail, open the relevant country guide, where hours sit alongside leave, notice, and termination rules.
Why do some countries show a range instead of one number?
A range usually means the weekly hours move within a band set by sector, contract, or collective agreement rather than a single fixed figure. Germany and the Netherlands (36–40 hours), Canada (37.5–40 hours), and Singapore (40–44 hours) are examples — the exact number for a given role depends on the specific agreement or sector it falls under.
How do working hours affect the cost of hiring someone abroad?
Working hours feed into what "full-time" means for benefits eligibility, and into whether extra hours trigger overtime pay under local law — both of which affect the real cost of a role. Run a specific country and salary through our employment cost calculator to see the all-in employer cost.
Who tracks working-hours compliance if I hire through an employer of record?
An employer of record is the legal employer in that country, so tracking working-hours law, overtime, and rest-period rules there is its job, not yours. Remote& brings that alongside contractor and payroll support on one platform, so hours compliance is handled locally without you setting up an entity.
Hire anywhere, hours handled locally
Remote& brings contractors, EOR, and contractor of record onto one platform — working-hours law, overtime, and rest periods tracked under local rules in each country. See how it works, or book a walkthrough.