Working Hours
The standard weekly working hours in daytime work in the general labour market shall be 37 hours and 5 minutes. Daytime working hours shall be arranged as follows:
a. 07:55–17:00, Monday to Friday
b. 07:30–16:35, Monday to Friday
It is, however, permissible to arrange working hours differently if agreed upon by employees and the employer. Each employee’s daytime work shall always be performed according to a continuous daily work schedule and may never begin earlier than 07:00.
Contractual overtime begins when the agreed daytime working hours have been completed. Work performed on Saturdays, Sundays, and other contractually defined holidays shall be paid at overtime rates.
Rest Periods
According to the collective agreement between SGS and the Confederation of Icelandic Employers (SA), working time shall be arranged so that within every 24-hour period, calculated from the beginning of the working day, the employee receives at least 11 consecutive hours of rest. The daily rest period shall include the hours between 23:00 and 06:00.
Work must not be scheduled in such a way that total working hours exceed 13 hours.
In certain circumstances, it is permissible to schedule work beyond 13 hours—for example, when it is necessary to safeguard valuable assets. In such cases, working hours may be extended to a maximum of 16 hours, and the employee shall be granted 11 consecutive hours of rest immediately following the work period, without reduction of regular daily pay.
For further information, see Chapter 2 of the collective agreement between SGS and the Confederation of Icelandic Enterprice(SA).