New labour code: eight-hour cap resets overtime rules for salaried staff

The new labour code caps normal working hours at eight per day. Any time worked beyond that qualifies as overtime, triggering additional pay and recordkeeping requirements, according to the draft rules.

The change rewrites the baseline definition of a standard workday. That definition governs salary calculations, shift scheduling, and overtime eligibility. Companies in retail, hospitality, and manufacturing – sectors that rely on flexible or extended hours – will need to reclassify which hours count as overtime.

One immediate shift: salaried employees earning below a certain threshold may now be entitled to overtime pay. Many employers assumed that category was exempt. The code sets a clear line at eight hours, eliminating some of the ambiguity that existed under earlier state-level rules. Anyone working a 10-hour shift would receive two hours of overtime at double the normal rate, assuming the code's penalty provisions hold.

The practical effect depends on enforcement. The code itself is law. The implementation rules – schedules for compliance, threshold salary levels, calculation methods – are still being finalized in several states. Until those rules are published and enforced, some companies may continue operating as before. Others will begin adjusting payroll systems now to avoid penalties later.

For a company like Apple (AAPL), which operates retail stores and corporate offices across multiple jurisdictions, the compliance challenge is less about wage cost and more about the patchwork of state-level adoption. Each state can set its own threshold and overtime multiplier. A single national policy must map onto 30 different state schedules. That is expensive to administer, even if the base wage impact is small relative to total compensation.

The code does not change overtime rules for most white-collar professionals already earning above the threshold. For hourly and lower-salaried workers, the line is now drawn at eight hours – no exceptions. Employers who track time manually or rely on honor systems will need automated systems to avoid disputes.

The new rules take effect once all states publish their implementation schedules. No date has been set for full national rollout.