Maximum working time and minimum rest t

Standard working time

The standard working time is the duration of time that an employee on average must work for an employer over a certain period of time in order to be able to fulfil their obligations under the employment contract (not including extra work and overtime); it must be specified in the employment contract.

The standard working time of an employee is 40 hours per week, unless labour law provides for a reduced standard working time for that employee or the parties agree on part-time work.

Work schedule

This refers to the distribution of standard working time over a work day (shift), week, month or other reference period which may not exceed three consecutive months.
Unless otherwise provided for in labour law or an employment contract, the work schedule for one or several workers (worker group) or all workers at the workplace shall be set by the employer using one of the following work schedule types:

• Fixed work day (shift) length and a number of weekly work days.
• Annualised hours when the standard working time for the entire reference period is completed within the reference period.
• Flexible work schedule when an employee must be present at work during fixed hours of a work day (shift) but is able to complete other hours of that day (shift) before or after the fixed hours.
• Split-shift work day schedule when work is completed within the same day (shift) with a break to rest and eat which is longer than the established maximum length of the break for resting and eating.
• Individual work schedule.

Unless otherwise stipulated, it shall be deemed that a work schedule is completed over a reference period of one week of five work days, each with an equal number of working hours.

Maximum working time requirements

The standard working time of an employee is 40 hours a week.

Average working time, including overtime excluding work under an agreement on additional work may not exceed forty-eight hours during each seven-day period.

Working time, including overtime and work under an agreement on additional work, may not exceed twelve hours, excluding a lunch break, during a work day (shift) and sixty hours during each seven-day period.

Night-shift workers, pregnant, who recently gave birth, and breastfeeding workers, and workers under 18 years of age are subject to special work schedules, as provided for in the Law on Occupational Health and Safety of the Republic of Lithuania.

The number of work days may not exceed six days during a period of seven consecutive days.

Overtime of 8 working hours or, with the written consent of an employee, of 12 working hours a week may not be exceeded within a period of 7 consecutive calendar days. In such cases, a maximum average working time duration of 48 hours a week (calculated over the reference period) may not be exceeded.

When an annualisation system is used, up to 52 hours may be worked within a seven-day period, but the number of working hours for the entire reference period should be ‘evened out’ to match a regular 40-hour work week.

Annualisation system

This is a type of work schedule in which standard working time for an entire reference period (which may not exceed three consecutive months) is completed within the reference period. Annualisation systems are implemented when necessary, after notifying and consulting on the procedure with a work council and considering the opinion of a trade union acting at the level of the employer.
 If an annualisation system is used, work is completed over the time specified in the work (shift) schedule, observing the maximum working time requirements. Work (shift) schedules must be planned so as not to exceed the maximum number of 52 hours within each seven-day period.
Work (shift) schedules should be communicated to staff no later than 7 days in advance of their introduction. They can only be changed in circumstances beyond the employer’s control and by notifying employees about it two (2) work days in advance. Work (shift) schedules shall be approved by the administration that coordinates the work (shift) scheduling procedure with a work council or, if there is none, with a trade union acting at the level of the employer, or by following the procedure provided for in the collective agreement.

Work (shifts) must be scheduled not to exceed the maximum number of 52 hours within each seven-day period, with the exception of work under an agreement on additional work or being on duty. The employer must ensure an even distribution of shifts. Workers with children under 3 years of age are entitled to choose a work shift with 2 days’ notice; workers with children under 7 years of age may do the same if this option is available.
Employers must schedule work (shifts) in such a way as to evenly distribute the working time of employees over the reference period as much as possible. Scheduling an employee to work two consecutive shifts shall be prohibited.
If at the end of the reference period an employee has not completed their total standard working time for the entire reference period due to their work schedule, they are paid half of their pay due for uncompleted standard working time.
If at the end of the reference period an employee has completed more hours than the total standard working time for the entire reference period, the working time in excess of their standard working time shall be paid as overtime work or, at the request of the employee, excess working hours multiplied by the factor of 1.5 shall be added to annual leave.
When an annualisation system is applied, wages are paid for hours actually worked, with the exception of cases in which, at the end of the reference period, an employee has not completed their total standard working time for the entire reference period due to their work schedule and in which at the end of the reference period an employee has completed more hours than the total standard working time for the entire reference period. The employee is entitled to be paid a fixed salary for each month of the reference period, disregarding the actual completed standard working time, and for the completion of the final payment for work carried out over the reference period based on the actual data on the last month of the reference period.

Reduced standard working time

A 36-hour weekly standard working time shall be established for:
- Teachers working in general education, formal vocational training and informal education curricula.
- Teachers working at pre-schools, general educational institutions, children’s social centres and care centres for infants with developmental disabilities.
- Speech therapists, special education and special needs teachers working at pre-schools, general educational institutions and foster-care institutions.
- Professors at higher-education institutions.
- Concert-masters and accompanists working at schools, art educators working at pre-school and foster care institutions.
- School social workers.
A 36-hour weekly standard working time shall be established for pharmaceutical specialists when their job description includes one or more of the following activities:
- Quality control (analysis) of medicinal products and substances.
- Production of medicinal products and substances.
- Packaging of medicinal products and substances.
- Receiving and/or fulfilling medicinal product orders.
- Dispensing (selling) medicinal products and substances at pharmacies.

A 37-hour weekly standard working time shall be established for:
- Health care professionals working at urgent care units where this is their major function under their job description.
- Health care professionals holding a mandatory licence for carrying out or taking part in respective operations when this is their major function under their job description.
- Health care professionals working at health care institutions with patients subject to forced hospitalisation, forced diagnostics or forced treatment, or at health care units or services of prisons, correctional facilities and detention facilities.

For health care professionals providing health care services and their co-workers who are working in direct service of patients or in the same conditions and who are not included in the list of workers subject to 37-hour weekly standard working time, a 38-hour weekly standard working time shall be established.

A standard weekly working time of no longer than 36 hours (reduced standard working time) shall be established for workers working in an environment where, after assessment of professional risks, the values of chemical working environment factors (among them carcinogens and mutagens), physical working environment factors or ergonomic working environment factors are in excess of permitted thresholds (amounts) and where there is no possibility of reducing these values to a safe level using technical or other measures.

The work duration per day shall be set based on the chosen work schedule type.
Staff working on a reduced work schedule shall be compensated the same as for a full-time job.
Staff working on a reduced work schedule and subject to output quotas (paid per piece-rate) shall be paid for the number of hours that their working time was reduced by, compared to full-time hours, based on an hourly rate (monthly salary) set for that employee.

Overtime

This is the time that an employee actually works over and above the total duration of the working time of a work day (shift) or reference period established for them in their work schedule.
An employer may instruct an employee to work overtime only with the employee’s consent, except for extraordinary cases in which:

• Unforeseen work necessary for the public interest is carried out or is sought to prevent disasters, dangers, accidents, or potential disasters, or to eliminate the immediate consequences thereof.
• It is necessary to complete work or remedy a fault potentially causing the suspension of work of a large number of employees or deterioration of materials, products, or installations.
• It is provided for in the collective agreement.

Overtime periods of 8 working hours may not be exceeded within a period of 7 consecutive calendar days, unless an employee gives consent in writing to work up to 12 overtime hours per week. In such cases, the maximum average working time duration of 48 hours a week (calculated over the reference period) shall not be exceeded. The maximum amount of overtime is 180 hours per year. More overtime may be agreed upon in a collective agreement.
When working overtime, the maximum working time and minimum rest time requirements must be observed.

Minimum rest requirements

A work schedule must meet the following minimum rest time requirements:
- Over the work day (shift) an employee shall be given breaks to meet their physiological needs, as needed, and special breaks when working outdoors (for workers working outdoors at ambient temperatures under –10 oC and working in unheated premises at ambient temperatures under +4 oC, special breaks shall be granted at least every 1.5 hours), under conditions of professional risk, and when doing physically- or mentally-demanding work (special breaks on these grounds must be given, taking into account the level and nature of professional risk as determined in professional risk assessment documents, at least every 1.5 hours); the minimum duration of special breaks over a work day (shift) must be at least 40 minutes.
- After no more than 5 hours of work, the worker must be given a lunch break to rest and eat. This break must be at least 30-minutes long but may not exceed two (2) hours, unless the parties agree on a split-shift work day schedule. A worker may leave their workplace during the lunch break.
- The daily continuous rest period between work days (shifts) must be at least 11 consecutive hours and over a period of seven (7) consecutive days a worker must be granted a continuous rest period of at least 35 hours. If the work day (shift) lasts over 12 hours but does not exceed 24 hours, the continuous rest time between work days (shifts) must be at least 24 hours.
- If the worker is on duty for 24 hours, the rest period should be for at least 24 hours.

The duration of breaks, their beginning and end, and other conditions shall be established in the provisions of labour law and work day (shift) schedules. For workers carrying out work that does not allow for a break for resting and eating due to production conditions, an opportunity must be offered for them to eat during their working time.