The base salary is negotiated once; overtime, bonuses and allowances are earned or lost every month. They often make up 20 to 40 % of take-home pay in industry, in the South, in transport, security, healthcare or retail. Law 90-11 of 21 April 1990 sets floors that neither the contract nor the collective agreement may lower; collective agreements and company agreements set the rest. This article complements the guide on reading your payslip and the gross-to-net calculator.
The legal framework: working time, overtime, night, rest and public holidays
Legal working time is 40 hours a week, spread over at least five days (ordinance 97-03 of 11 January 1997 amending art. 22 of law 90-11). The legal weekly rest day is Friday; since 2009 the weekend of administrations and most companies is Friday-Saturday. The table below gives, for each situation, what the law guarantees and what agreements most often add.
| Situation | Legal rule (law 90-11, text in force in October 2026) | What agreements often provide |
|---|---|---|
| Hours beyond 40 h | Exceptional use, for « absolute service necessity »; cap 20 % of legal time, i.e. 8 h a week (art. 31) | An annual quota, a written request from the line manager, a count on the payslip |
| Payment of overtime | Premium of at least 50 % on the normal hourly wage (art. 32); never imposed « time off in lieu » instead of payment without an agreement | Higher rates at night, on Fridays and public holidays (75 % or 100 % depending on the text); sometimes compensatory rest on top |
| Exceeding the cap | Only to prevent an accident, repair damage or finish work whose interruption is a risk, after consulting staff representatives and informing the labour inspectorate (art. 31) | Paid on-call duty, schedule communicated in advance |
| Night work | Any hour between 9 pm and 5 am (art. 27); forbidden under 19; forbidden for women except by derogation from the labour inspector (art. 28 to 29); rules and rights set by agreements | Night or shift allowance (ITP), transport provided, night meal |
| Weekly rest day worked | Compensatory rest of equal length and the premium as for overtime (art. 33 to 35) | 100 % premium common; rest taken the following week |
| Public holiday worked | Public holidays are paid days off (art. 34, list of law 63-278 as amended); if worked, compensatory rest and premium (art. 35) | 100 % premium, specific bonus for Eid or 1 May |
| Time off imposed instead of pay | The law provides for paid premium hours; replacement rest exists only if a collective agreement or the contract provides it, and it does not remove the premium due for a rest day | Written time-off account, cleared before year end |
Calculating an overtime hour: the method and an example
- 1
Find the normal hourly wage
For full time at 40 h, the month counts 173.33 hours (40 × 52 ÷ 12). Hourly wage = monthly reference pay ÷ 173.33. The law says « normal hourly wage »; in practice companies use the base salary, sometimes plus permanent allowances if the agreement says so. Check the definition in your agreement.
- 2
Apply the premium
Overtime hour = hourly wage × 1.50 at minimum. If your agreement provides 75 % at night or 100 % on Fridays, that rate applies to those hours.
- 3
Multiply by the hours actually worked
Hours are counted per week beyond 40 h, not per day: a 9 h day offset by a 7 h day in the same week creates no overtime, unless the agreement is more favourable.
- 4
Check the cap
8 h a week, about 35 h a month. Beyond that, the employer is outside art. 31: the hours remain due, and the labour inspectorate can sanction it.
- 5
Check the deductions
Overtime is pay: it goes into the CNAS base (9 % employee share) and into IRG taxable income. An employer who pays it « on the side », in cash and off the payslip, costs you pension rights and CNAS cover.
Bonuses and allowances: who sets them, which ones are pay
Art. 81 of law 90-11 defines pay: the base salary from the job classification, the allowances paid for seniority, overtime or particular working conditions (shift work, hardship, on-call, night, zone), and the bonuses linked to productivity and results. All of that is pay: subject to CNAS and IRG, counted for leave, severance and pension. Expense reimbursements (meal, transport, travel) are not part of it, within the limits set by regulation.
| Item | Who sets it | Nature | CNAS | IRG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional experience allowance (IEP, seniority) | Collective or company agreement: a percentage of base salary per year | Pay, permanent | Yes | Yes |
| Overtime | Law (50 % floor) then agreement | Pay, variable | Yes | Yes |
| Individual or collective performance bonus (PRI, PRC), target bonus, profit share | Company agreement, contract, written target grid | Pay, variable | Yes | Yes |
| Shift (ITP), night, on-call allowance | Sector or company agreement | Pay, linked to the schedule | Yes | Yes |
| Hardship allowance (INH) | Agreement, according to the exposure of the job | Pay, permanent while the job is | Yes | Yes |
| Zone allowance (South, isolation) | Agreement, by geographical zone | Pay | Yes | No: the geographical zone allowance is exempt (direct tax code, art. 68) |
| Responsibility, supervision, cash-handling, language bonus | Contract or company agreement | Pay, linked to the function | Yes | Yes |
| Year-end bonus, « 13th month », Eid bonus | Company agreement or constant practice in the company | Pay if fixed and repeated; gratuity if discretionary | Yes | Yes |
| Meal allowance | Agreement; per day worked | Expense reimbursement | No, within limits | No, within limits |
| Transport allowance | Agreement; often a flat amount | Expense reimbursement | No, within limits | No, within limits |
| Travel expenses, mileage, vehicle | Internal scale and receipts | Expense reimbursement | No | No, with receipts |
| Family allowances | Law (CNAS, paid through the employer) | Social benefit, not pay | No | No |
Checking your payslip in three controls
- The hours. Compare the number of overtime hours on the payslip with your own record: note your real hours every week (photo of the clock-in, signed schedule, messages from the manager). Hours count beyond 40 h a week.
- The rate. Divide the amount of the « overtime » line by the number of hours: you must find at least 1.5 × your hourly wage. If the payslip shows a lump sum without the number of hours, ask for the detail: art. 81 and payroll practice require one line per type of earning.
- The base. Check that overtime, ITP, hardship, seniority and performance appear in the CNAS base and in taxable income, and that meal and transport do not. A bonus paid off the payslip does not exist for CNAS or for your pension.
For a variable bonus, demand the written rule: target grid, calculation method, payment date. A bonus « at management’s discretion » can vanish without remedy; a fixed bonus paid every month for years becomes a practice the employer cannot remove unilaterally without following the contract-amendment procedure (law 90-11, art. 63). The rights guaranteed by law 90-11 apply to these items as to the base salary.
In case of a gap: claim, then refer
- 1
Write to the employer
A letter or e-mail to payroll and your line manager: month concerned, hours worked, amount expected, amount paid, attachments (schedule, clock-in). Ask for a correction on the next payslip. Keep a copy.
- 2
Involve staff representatives
Staff delegates, participation committee or union branch: a collective gap (a whole team paid at the normal rate) is settled faster collectively.
- 3
Refer to the labour inspectorate
The inspector of the wilaya can check the payroll book and schedules, record the exceeded cap or the missing premium, and draw up a report. The procedure is free.
- 4
Conciliation then court
Law 90-04 of 6 February 1990 organises the settlement of individual disputes: a conciliation attempt before the conciliation board of the labour inspectorate, then the court, social section, if it fails. Back pay is claimed with evidence: payslips, hour records, colleagues’ statements.
Frequently asked questions
Can I refuse overtime?
The employer may require it within the 20 % limit and for an absolute service necessity (art. 31); repeated refusal without reason may be treated as misconduct. You may however refuse unpaid hours, hours beyond the cap, or night work if you are under 19 or a woman without a derogation from the labour inspector.
My contract provides an « all hours included » lump sum: is that legal?
A lump-sum salary does not remove the floors of the law: hours beyond 40 h remain overtime paid at least 50 % extra. For managers, some agreements provide a flat constraint allowance; it must cover at least what the legal calculation would give.
Working on Friday: what should I receive?
Compensatory rest of equal length and the premium provided for overtime (art. 35). Agreements often set 100 %. If you only receive the rest, or only the premium, one of the two is missing.
Is the meal allowance due on leave or sick days?
No: it is an expense reimbursement tied to a day worked. It is not due on days not worked, which is also why it is not in the CNAS base or in the leave allowance calculation.
The employer removed the performance bonus without explanation: what can I do?
Ask in writing for the calculation rule and the reason. If the bonus was paid every month for years at a stable amount, it has become part of pay that the employer cannot remove without amending the contract (art. 63). If it depends on written targets that were not met, the removal is lawful.
Does overtime count for pension and leave pay?
Yes for pension and CNAS benefits, since it is in the contribution base. The annual leave allowance equals one twelfth of total pay received during the reference year, overtime included (art. 52).
Can a 10 000 DA transport allowance stay exempt?
Only within the limits set by regulation; beyond them, the excess is treated as pay and becomes subject to CNAS and IRG. An « inflated » expense allowance meant to avoid contributions reduces your pension rights: check the declared amount.
- Law 90-11 of 21 April 1990 on labour relations, as amended (art. 22, 27–35, 52, 63, 81, 87 bis) — Official Journal
- Ordinance 97-03 of 11 January 1997 setting legal working time — Official Journal
- Law 90-04 of 6 February 1990 on the settlement of individual labour disputes — Official Journal
- Executive decree 96-208 of 5 June 1996 setting the social security contribution base — Official Journal
- Direct tax code (art. 68, exemptions; IRG scale) — Directorate General of Taxes
- Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security — labour inspectorate
- Chghol — salaries by occupation and wilaya (snapshot of ads on 31/10/2026)
Texts consulted at the update date of the article.