Bahrain Overtime Calculator

At a glance

Daytime overtime

+25% (×1.25)

Night (7pm–7am)

+50% (×1.50), Art. 54

Weekly rest day

250% (×2.50), Art. 57(b)

Public holiday

150% (×1.50), Art. 64

Wage base

Basic + allowances (Art. 1)

Hourly rate

Wage ÷ 30 ÷ daily hours

Law

Labour Law 36/2012, Art. 1, 54, 57 & 64

How overtime pay works in Bahrain

Normal hours are 8 a day and 48 a week (reduced during Ramadan). Hours worked beyond your normal schedule are overtime, paid at a premium on your wage. Article 1 of the Labour Law defines two separate terms: the “wage” is everything the worker receives in return for the work, including the basic wage and its accessories such as allowances, grants, rewards and commissions, while the “basic wage” is only the remuneration named in the contract. Article 54 grants overtime on the wage, so allowances belong in the base. Overtime is generally limited to 2 hours a day.

Daytime overtime carries a 25% supplement (125% of the hourly rate). Overtime at night, between 7 PM and 7 AM, carries a 50% supplement (150%). Both come from Article 54. Rest days and public holidays are governed by different articles at different rates, and neither is the Article 54 night rate: see the sections below.

Bahrain overtime rates

How to calculate overtime in Bahrain

Add your basic salary and your allowances, divide by 30 to get the daily wage, then by your normal daily hours (usually eight) for the hourly rate. Sort the extra hours into daytime, night (7 pm to 7 am), rest-day and holiday, apply each multiplier, and add the results.

Bahrain’s night window is the widest in the Gulf at twelve hours, so more evening and early-morning work qualifies for the 50% supplement here than in Oman (9 pm–5 am) or Qatar (9 pm–6 am). The trade-off runs the other way on holidays: Bahrain prices public-holiday work at 150%, where Kuwait and Oman pay 200% and Qatar 250%.

Rest days and public holidays

• •Weekly rest-day work is the most generous rate in Bahraini overtime: Article 57(b) grants your wage for that day plus a further overtime wage of 150% of it, so 250% in total, or another day off in lieu — and the choice is the worker’s.
• •Public holiday work is paid at 150% of your wage for the days worked, or substitute leave, and Article 64 gives the choice between them to the worker. It is a separate article from the rest day and a lower rate, which is unusual in the Gulf.
• •Bahrain’s night window is wide — 7 PM to 7 AM — so more evening and early-morning hours qualify for the 50% premium than in some neighbouring countries.
• •This calculator prices day, night, rest-day and holiday hours separately so you can see each component.

Public holiday overtime in Bahrain

Bahrain keeps Eid and official occasions in their own article, and it is not the overtime article. Article 54 prices extra hours on a working day. Article 64 covers leave on Eid and official occasions, which the Council of Ministers determines by edict, and it is the provision that decides what you are owed if the business needs you in.

Article 64 is short and worth reading closely. Where an employer requires a worker to report for duty on one of those days, the worker "shall be paid 150% of his wage in respect of the days worked or be granted substitute leave in respect of such days, as elected by the worker". Two things follow from that wording, and most summaries get both wrong.

First, the election belongs to you, not your employer. In the UAE the employer picks between the day off and the enhanced pay; in Bahrain the worker does. If you would rather have the money than the day, say so, and the article is on your side.

Second, the 150% is expressed as a percentage of your wage for the days worked, so it is the total figure rather than a premium added on top. That is what makes Bahrain the lowest public-holiday rate in the Gulf, against 200% in Kuwait and Oman and 250% in Qatar. The wage it applies to is broad, though: Article 1 defines "wage" as everything the worker receives, including allowances and other benefits, so the base is larger than a basic-only calculation would give.

Article 64 closes with a rule nobody asks about until it happens to them. If one of those days falls on a Friday or on a public holiday, the worker is compensated by having another day in lieu. A holiday swallowed by your weekly rest day is not simply lost.

How to calculate your overtime

1. 1

   Find your hourly rate

   Add basic and allowances, divide by 30, then by your daily working hours. Example: 480 ÷ 30 ÷ 8 = BHD 2/hour.

2. 2

   Sort your hours

   Split hours into daytime, night (7 PM–7 AM), rest-day and holiday, since each has its own rate.

3. 3

   Apply the multiplier

   Day × 1.25; night × 1.50; rest day × 2.50; public holiday × 1.50.

4. 4

   Add them up

   The sum is your overtime pay for the period.

Worked examples

Frequently asked questions