The labour law stipulates that working hours may not exceed 39 hours per week and 8 hours per day.

In many sectors, a collective agreement (convention collective de travail (CCT) or collectieve arbeidsovereenkomst (CAO)) allows fewer working hours.

In some cases, the social legislation allows a variable application of working hours based on a longer period (monthly, quarterly, yearly), as far as average weekly working hours are respected. This officially applies also to managerial workers not having a legal statute.

The law on working hours does not apply to ‘executive and trust personnel’. This notion, though, is often confused with the managerial worker notion, in order to exclude this latter category from the law on working hours.

The previous arguments lead to decide that overtime hours must be compensated for in money or time, including a wage supplement.