Hi guys,
I would just like some clarity on the average work week for professionals in Kuwait (I understand that this could vary according to company and profession).
The information I have found so far however would indicate that it is standard to work 6 days a week? In most Western countries, you would have Saturday and Sunday as your weekend and although some people are still required to work those days, this is not considered standard business hours or office hours.
Although on first glance it would appear that Kuwaiti average annual leave days are higher than what you would get in South Africa, it isn't really if you are expected to work 6 days in a standard week rather than five - in which case we essentially have 52 extra 'leave days' here in RSA just for having a Saturday and Sunday off?
Any clarity would be highly appreciated as I would obviously like to include the 'extra days of work' in our expected annual salary calculations.
Thank you in advance!
Landi
Standard work week/working hours
as u said, it depends on the industry. the norm is 5 days a week, weekends are friday and saturday, altho people in the service sector i.e. restaurants, retail etc. that are not head office employees might not get 2 continuous days depending on the work schedule.
Ok great thank you - just wanted to make sure weekends are standard - as in everywhere else in the world as I was getting a different impression....
landicampbell wrote:Ok great thank you - just wanted to make sure weekends are standard - as in everywhere else in the world as I was getting a different impression....
Two quick points ... First - 'if' your position is in a corporate office here (or related) then yes you can expect a two day weekend... if your over here like a lot of expats, working a project based position, then its according to the project and position as to time off. There are a lot of positions in this country where as Friday is the only day off (muslim countries)... and as legacy mentioned, if your position is service industry related... unless your in they're main office, there are no 'standard' off days, you'll work as your scheduled as in most countries of the world for that industry.
Point two - weekends are on Friday/Saturday here, not Saturday/Sunday ...
Hope your new adventure goes well! 
From the labor law in the private sector:
- Working hours should be maximum of 48 hours a week (of course it varies by industry, this rule is mostly for office jobs)
- An employee is entitled for a one hour break after 5 hours of work.
Many companies office hours are 8 per day. And many of them work from 8 to 4. That's just the situation with many which I know, so the variety is there.
Hi landicampbell,
although the standard work week is 48 hours, some companies offer overtime over that as well as paid overtime on the weekends. This is required by law however not all companies respect it. Be careful of what your contract states and if you will be working for a Western or a non-Western company.
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