Overtime Pay in Mozambique: Rates & Calculation Guide

In Mozambique, overtime is not paid at the standard hourly rate. Labour Law 13/2023 sets mandatory rate increases: 50% for daytime overtime, 100% for overtime past 8:00 PM and for exceptional work, and 25% for regular night work within standard hours. Based on the manufacturing minimum wage of MZN 10,622.50, each daytime overtime hour comes to MZN 76.60.

Here, we calculate each amount step by step: the 208-hour base, the rate increase for each type of hour, and what changes when a shift runs at night or falls on a public holiday.

All figures are based on the Law and the INSS (Social Security) wage scale, with sources and dates provided at the end of the guide. Working hour limits — 96 per quarter, 8 per week, 200 per year — are covered in the guide on 48-hour working schedules and overtime in Mozambique.

The short answer

The essentials in thirty seconds, using the numbers from Labour Law 13/2023 and an industrial minimum wage base of MZN 10,622.50:

• Standard hourly rate = monthly salary ÷ 208 hours (26 days at 8 hours). Based on this example: MZN 51.07 per hour.
• Daytime overtime (until 12:00 AM): +50% on top of the hourly rate — MZN 76.60 per hour.
• Overtime past 8:00 PM: +100% on top of the hourly rate — MZN 102.14 per hour.
• Work on rest days or public holidays: +100% on top of the hourly rate, or compensatory time off.
• Standard night work (from 8:00 PM): +25% on top of the daytime hourly rate — MZN 63.84 per hour.
• Limits (Article 99): up to 96 overtime hours per quarter, 8 per week, and 200 per year, always recorded by the employer.

What counts as overtime: three distinct regimes

Labour Law 13/2023 distinguishes three regimes that are often confused: extraordinary work, exceptional work, and night work. Each has its own rules on when it applies and its own pay supplement.

Extraordinary work (Article 99). The text is direct: “Work performed outside normal working hours is considered extraordinary work.” It can only be performed to deal with workload increases that do not justify hiring a new employee, or when there are “compelling reasons” (paragraph 2).

Paragraph 3 sets the limits: “up to 96 hours of extraordinary work per quarter”, no more than eight per week, nor 200 per year. Paragraph 5 requires the employer to “maintain a system for recording extraordinary work performed” in all cases.

Exceptional work (Article 98). This is “work performed on a weekly rest day, complementary rest day, public holiday, or declared civic holiday”. In cases of force majeure, to address a past or imminent accident, or for urgent and unforeseen work, performing it becomes mandatory (paragraph 2).

Night work (Article 100). “Work performed between 8:00 pm on one day and the start of the normal working period the next day is considered night work.” Collective agreements may consider night work to be seven of the nine hours between 8:00 pm and 5:00 am (paragraph 2).

Pay attention to the boundary: the +25% supplement applies to night work performed within normal working hours. If a night hour is extraordinary—worked outside normal hours—the 100% supplement under Article 125, paragraph 1 applies. These are two distinct regimes and do not stack.

And do not confuse the regimes when paying: extraordinary night hours—worked after 8:00 pm—are paid with a 100% supplement (Article 125, paragraph 1). Under the law, compensatory time off applies to exceptional work on a rest day or holiday (Article 98, paragraph 4), not to extraordinary night work.

The pay supplement table (Labour Law 13/2023, Art. 125)

Article 125 governs pay across all three work patterns. Here is a handy list for quick reading on mobile devices:

• Daytime overtime (up to 24h): standard hourly rate + 50%. Source: Art. 125, No. 1.
• Overtime beyond 20h, up to the start of the next day: standard hourly rate + 100%. Source: Art. 125, No. 1.
• Exceptional work (weekly rest days, public holidays, official days off): standard hourly rate + 100%. Source: Art. 125, No. 2.
• Night work (20h until the start of the next day's normal period): +25% on top of daytime pay. Source: Art. 125, No. 3.
• Shift work: the same pay rules apply "with the necessary adaptations". Source: Art. 125, No. 4.

"Overtime work must be paid at an amount corresponding to normal work pay, plus fifty percent if performed up to 24h, and one hundred percent beyond 20h until the start of the next day's normal work period." (Art. 125, No. 1, official text transcript)

Worked example: an operator on a base salary of MZN 10,622.50

Let’s look at the case of a manufacturing operator under the wage scale in effect since 01-04-2026: a salary of MZN 10,622.50. You can find the full table with all 19 sector rates in our guide to minimum wage in Mozambique.

Step 1 — hourly rate. A month of 26 days at 8 hours a day totals 208 hours. The calculation: 10,622.50 ÷ 208 = MZN 51.07 per hour, rounded to two decimal places.

Step 2 — daytime overtime. Add a 50% premium: 51.07 × 1.5 = MZN 76.60 per hour. Four daytime overtime hours in a month: 76.60 × 4 = MZN 306.40.

Step 3 — overtime after 20:00. Add a 100% premium: 51.07 × 2.0 = MZN 102.14 per hour. Two hours worked after 20:00 — for instance, from 20:00 to 22:00: 102.14 × 2 = MZN 204.28.

Step 4 — standard night shift. If your regular schedule falls at night, you earn a 25% premium over the daytime hourly rate: 51.07 × 1.25 = MZN 63.84 per hour. This is not overtime: it is the pay rate for standard night work within regular working hours.

Step 5 — public holiday work. Exceptional work on holidays carries a 100% premium: 51.07 × 2.0 = MZN 102.14 per hour, the same rate as night overtime. Alternatively, you receive compensatory time off: one full day off within the next three days, or half a day if the work did not exceed 5 hours (Article 98(4)).

Step 6 — annual cap. The limit of 200 hours per year (Article 99(3)) averages out to 16.67 hours per month when spread evenly — the law caps the yearly total, rather than spreading it month by month.

If all 200 hours were daytime overtime, the gross annual total would be 76.60 × 200 = MZN 15,320.00. If all were worked after 20:00: 102.14 × 200 = MZN 20,428.00. The same number of hours yields very different results.

Step 7 — your own calculation. To apply this to your salary, use the same method: divide your gross monthly salary by 208. A salary of MZN 20,000 gives MZN 96.15 per hour, making daytime overtime 96.15 × 1.5 = MZN 144.23 per hour.

What changes in practice: payroll, records, and proof

On the payslip, three details complete the calculation: the hourly rate, the rate increase applied, and the type of hours worked.

The hourly rate comes from salary ÷ 208. The increase is 50%, 100%, or 25%. The type is day, night, or exceptional. A rate of MZN 76.60 per hour based on MZN 10,622.50 is only correct if it is daytime overtime.

For employees: keep your payslip and check these figures. Your net pay is then reduced by deductions — INSS (Social Security), personal income tax, and workplace accident insurance — explained in our net versus gross salary guide. But the additional rate is always calculated on the gross hourly rate, not the net amount you take home at the end of the month.

For small employers: keeping records is not red tape, it is proof. Article 99(5) requires a system to record overtime work in all cases. Article 98(3) requires, for exceptional work, records made before starting and after finishing, stating the explicit justification and signed off by the employee. Without this record, defending your payments — or compensatory time off — during a dispute is difficult.

Working on a rest day or public holiday links to annual leave and day-off rules. The complete list of leave and rest days in Mozambique shows which days count as exceptional work and which count as regular leave.

Where these figures come from

• Law 13/2023 (Mozambique Labour Law), Articles 98, 99, 100 and 125: official text in the Official Gazette (Boletim da República), Series I, No. 165, dated 25-08-2023, in force since 21-02-2024. The quotes in this guide transcribe that text.
• INSS (Social Security) wage scale, in force since 01-04-2026 ("Current Minimum Wages" page on inss.gov.mz): MZN 10,622.50 in manufacturing, the baseline for all examples. The 19 sector-specific values are in the 2026 minimum wage guide.
• Payroll deductions (INSS (Social Security), income tax, insurance): in the INSS guide — contributions and protection.
• No extra assumptions: this guide does not use proprietary salary tables or company-specific practices. Every number comes directly from the Law plus the INSS wage scale, with the relevant date specified.

Frequently asked questions

How much does overtime pay in 2026?

It depends on the type of hour. Based on MZN 10,622.50: MZN 76.60 for daytime overtime, MZN 102.14 for overtime after 8 pm, and MZN 63.84 for standard night work. The amount changes with your salary: divide your monthly gross by 208 hours and apply the same top-up rate.

Can I refuse overtime?

The Law does not state an explicit right to refuse. What it sets out are the employer's limits: 8 hours per week, 96 per quarter, and 200 per year. Overtime is only permitted for increases in workload that do not justify hiring a new employee, or for compelling reasons (Art. 99, para. 2).

For exceptional work, the rule is reversed: work is mandatory in cases of force majeure (Art. 98, para. 2). Outside these limits, refusing overtime has legal backing — and the work record is your proof.

How is working on a public holiday paid?

There are two ways. A 100% top-up on your standard hourly rate — in our example, MZN 102.14 per hour (Art. 125, para. 2) — or compensatory time off: one full day off within the next three days, or half a day if you worked 5 hours or less (Art. 98, para. 4). The record must state the reason and be signed off by the employee.

Does night shift include the +25% top-up?

Yes, but only for the standard hours of the shift. Night work, between 8 pm and the start of the standard day period the following day, receives a 25% top-up on the daytime rate (Art. 125, para. 3). Any hour worked beyond standard working hours counts as overtime and pays a 100% top-up (Art. 125, para. 1). The two rates cannot be combined.

What do I do if my employer does not pay overtime?

Start internally: ask for your payslip and the overtime record, which is legally mandatory (Art. 99, para. 5). If the issue remains unresolved, take your payslip and your calculations to the Labour Inspectorate or a trade union. You can find step-by-step guidance in the workers' rights practical guide and the guide to the Labour Inspectorate and trade unions.

In summary, what to do today

1. Divide your gross monthly salary by 208 hours and note down your hourly rate.
2. Classify each overtime hour: daytime, after 8 pm, standard night shift, or rest day and public holiday.
3. Apply the legal surcharge: 50%, 100%, or 25% (Art. 125).
4. Compare the result with your payslip: if money is missing, request your time records (Art. 99, no. 5).
5. If you are still missing money, report it to the Labour Inspectorate or contact a trade union.

And if the company that should pay fails to do so, or if you want to change jobs while resolving the matter, there is a practical step you can take. The job openings on Inademy accept PDF CVs and send alerts for new vacancies by email and WhatsApp.

Official source: Law No. 13/2023 (Labour Law) is available as a PDF on the website of Mozambique's Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo): official text (PDF).