What is the overtime rate in Myanmar?

What Myanmar law says

Both the Factories Act 1951 and the Shops & Establishments Act mandate premium rates for overtime work. The standard multipliers are:

• Weekday OT (beyond 8 hrs/day or 48 hrs/week for factories, 44 hrs/week for S&E): 2× basic
• Weekend / rest-day work: 2× basic
• Public holiday work: 3× basic

The basic hourly wage is the denominator: monthly basic salary divided by 26 working days × 8 hours per day. The premium is not applied to gross (basic + allowances).

Multiplier table — worked example

Employee earning MMK 500,000/month basic; hourly wage = 500,000 ÷ (26 × 8) = MMK 2,404.

If the employee works 8 hours on a public holiday, OT pay = 8 × 3 × 2,404 = MMK 57,696.

Documentation requirements

• OT authorisation log signed before or by the end of the OT shift.
• Attendance register with in/out times.
• Payslip itemising basic, OT (with multiplier), allowances, deductions, net.
• Record retention: at least 7 years.

Edge cases

• OT cap — typically 4 hours/day and 60 hours/week including OT under Factories Act.
• Daily-wage workers — same multipliers; hourly wage = daily ÷ 8.
• Compensatory off in lieu — permitted only with employee written consent.
• OT during night shift — same multiplier; night premium (if any) is separate (see night shift pay).
• OT during public holiday on a Sunday — apply 3× (the higher multiplier prevails).
• OT is fully taxable PIT income and contributes to SSB up to the MMK 300,000 cap.

Common payroll mistakes

• Paying public-holiday OT at 2× — the rate is 3×.
• Computing OT on gross (basic + allowances) and overpaying.
• Using a 30-day or 22-day divisor when 26 × 8 is the convention.
• Missing the daily 4-hour OT cap and exposing the employer to inspection penalty.
• Treating "compensatory off" as automatic — it requires written consent (see is OT mandatory).