Shift work and part-time in Lithuania: what goes in the employment contract

We usually do not write shift terms into the employment contract. The contract states the working time norm, for example an average of forty hours a week. The working time regime, including cumulative working time accounting, is set by the employer, unless labour law rules or the employment contract provide otherwise. For an existing employee, the type of regime can be changed only with their written consent, while a new employee is informed of it in the notice of working conditions. A part-time employee can sign your company’s standard employment contract. Only the working time norm differs, and pay is proportional.

What must be in an employment contract and how to document a flexible schedule, we have already answered in the FAQ of our labour law documents page (in Lithuanian). How to change other working conditions, we described in a separate article. This article covers shift work and part-time work.

What the Labour Code calls it

In everyday speech people say “shift” or “rotating” work (pamaininis, keičiamasis darbas). The Labour Code uses other terms. Cumulative working time accounting (suminė darbo laiko apskaita) is one of the types of working time regime: the working time norm for the whole reference period is met over that reference period (Article 113(2), point 2, of the Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania (DK)). The reference period cannot exceed three consecutive months (DK Article 113(1)). Employees work at the times set in work (shift) schedules (DK Article 113(4)).

What to write in the employment contract

The working time norm must be set in the employment contract (Article 112(1) of the Labour Code (DK)). The standard norm is forty hours a week, unless a reduced norm applies or the parties agree on part-time work (DK Article 112(3)). This does not get in the way of cumulative accounting: the norm is an average, and over the reference period the hours are distributed by schedules.

The employer sets the working time regime for one or several employees, or for all employees at the workplace, unless labour law rules or the employment contract provide otherwise (DK Article 113(2)). So do not put shift rules into the contract. If you do, every later change to them will need the employee’s written consent (DK Article 45(1)).

Our recommendation: write the cumulative accounting rules into a chapter of the work rules, or into a single employer decision. List in it the positions or departments it applies to, not specific people. Rules for one named employee create extra administrative work. In our view, they also increase the risk of a discrimination complaint when another person is later hired into the same position on different terms.

Existing and new employees

For an existing employee, the type of regime cannot be changed unilaterally. On the employer’s initiative, the established type of working time regime can be changed only with the employee’s written consent (Article 45(1) of the Labour Code (DK)). The employer sets a deadline for the consent, which cannot be shorter than five working days. A refusal to work under a different type of regime may be treated as a reason to terminate the contract on the employer’s initiative without fault of the employee under Article 57 (DK Article 45(2)).

If the regime is not written into the contract, the contract itself does not need to change. In our practice, the employee is sent a request for consent by email, in plain language: from when, for which reference period, how schedules will be drawn up and announced, and how night and public-holiday work is paid. The employee’s reply by email saying “I agree” works as written consent, because information sent by email also counts as written if its content, sender, the fact and time of sending can be established (Article 25(2) of the Labour Code (DK)).

In our practice, a new employee is only informed of cumulative accounting, without a separate consent, because the employer sets their regime from day one. The employer states these conditions in the notice of working conditions: the length of the working day or week, the rules for ordering and paying overtime and, where applicable, the procedure for changing shifts (DK Article 44(1), point 10). For the overtime and shift-change rules, where labour law rules set them, a reference to that rule in the notice is enough; the length of the working day or week must be stated (DK Article 44(3)).

How to introduce cumulative accounting

Cumulative working time accounting is introduced where necessary, after completing the information and consultation procedure with the works council (darbo taryba) and taking into account the opinion of a trade union active at employer level (Article 115(1) of the Labour Code (DK)).

The following rules apply to schedules:

• schedules are announced to employees at least seven days before they take effect. They may be changed only in cases beyond the employer’s control, giving the employee notice two of the employee’s working days in advance (DK Article 115(2));
• employers with an average of fewer than ten employees must announce schedules at least three working days in advance, unless a different notice period is agreed with the employee (DK Article 110, point 4);
• schedules are approved by the administration, which agrees the procedure for coordinating them with the works council, or if there is none, with a trade union active at employer level, or the procedure is set in a collective agreement (DK Article 115(2));
• schedules may not exceed fifty-two hours in any seven-day period, and employees must rotate shifts evenly. Employees raising a child under three may choose their shift within two working days of the schedule being announced, and those raising a child under seven may do so where possible (DK Article 115(3));
• working time must be distributed as evenly as possible, and assigning an employee two shifts in a row is prohibited (DK Article 115(4)).

The general maximum working time rules apply as well. Average working time, including overtime, may not exceed forty-eight hours in any seven-day period (DK Article 114, point 1). A shift may last no more than twelve hours, not counting the lunch break (DK Article 114, point 2). Work may not be done on more than six days out of any seven consecutive days (DK Article 114, point 4).

You choose the length of the reference period yourselves, up to three months. In our practice calendar quarters are the most convenient, because they are the easiest for payroll. If you introduce cumulative accounting other than at the start of a quarter, the first period can be shorter.

How pay works

Under cumulative accounting, pay is for the time actually worked. However, the employer has the right to pay a fixed salary in each month of the reference period, and to make the final settlement for the whole period in its last month (Article 115(7) of the Labour Code (DK)). So if the contract sets a fixed monthly salary and in one month the employee worked fewer hours under the schedule, you can pay the salary as usual and settle the difference at the end of the period.

At the end of the period there are two possible cases:

• the employee, because of the regime set for them, did not work the full norm for the period. For the unmet norm they are paid half of the pay due (DK Article 115(5));
• the employee worked more hours than the norm for the period. The excess is paid as overtime, or at the employee’s request the excess time multiplied by 1.5 is added to annual leave (DK Article 115(6)).

Night work is paid at no less than one and a half times the employee’s pay (DK Article 144(3)). Night time is from 22:00 to 06:00 (DK Article 117(1)). Work on a public holiday is paid at no less than double (DK Article 144(2)). Work on a rest day not set in the schedule is also paid at no less than double (DK Article 144(1)).

Under cumulative accounting, the employer must keep working time records: the duty does not apply only to a regime with a fixed length of working day and a fixed number of working days per week (DK Article 120(1)). The records include, among other things, overtime, work on public holidays and night work (DK Article 120(2)).

What changes from 1 November 2026

Certain employees have the right to ask for the working time regime they prefer: pregnant employees, employees who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding, employees raising a child under eight, employees raising alone a child under fourteen or a child with a disability under eighteen, and employees whose request is based on a healthcare institution’s conclusion about their state of health, or on the need to nurse or look after a family member or a person living with the employee. Until 31 October 2026 the employer must grant such a request if, due to production necessity or features of work organisation, this does not cause the employer excessive expenditure (DK Article 113(1)).

From 1 November 2026 the ground for refusal is worded differently. The request must be granted, except where it cannot be granted because of the features of the employer’s work organisation or production process, and a document from a healthcare institution, not only a formal conclusion, will be enough to support the state of health (DK Article 113(1), DK as in force from 1 November 2026). The change takes effect together with the whole Law No. XV-1058 amending the Labour Code (Article 39(1) of that Law). So base any refusal on concrete facts about how work is organised, not on expenditure.

Part-time work: the same contract fits

A question we hear often: a company wants to hire someone for twenty hours a week. Does that need a special employment contract? No. The standard contract you sign with other employees fits.

Part-time work is a working time norm lower than the norm that applies to the employee for their type of work. It can be agreed both when the contract is concluded and while it is performed (Article 40(1) of the Labour Code (DK)). It is set by reducing the number of hours per day, the number of days per week or month, or both, for a fixed or indefinite term (DK Article 40(2)).

So only a few things in the contract differ:

• the working time norm clause states the agreed norm, for example twenty hours a week (DK Article 112(1));
• if part-time is set for a certain period, state until when (DK Article 40(2));
• pay is stated for the agreed norm. Part-time work is paid in proportion to the time worked or the work done (DK Article 40(6));
• the notice of working conditions states the length of the working day or week (DK Article 44(1), point 10).

The minimum monthly wage is the lowest pay for the full working time norm of a calendar month (DK Article 141(2)). So, in our view, for a part-time employee it is compared in proportion to their norm. Social insurance contributions are governed by other laws, so we recommend checking them with your accountant.

Everything else stays the same. Part-time work does not affect the length of annual leave, length of service, promotion or training, and it does not restrict any of the employee’s rights compared with those working full time (DK Article 40(6)).

Two things worth knowing in advance. An employee who agreed to part-time work may, unless agreed otherwise, ask to change this term no more often than once every six months. The employer must give a reasoned decision within ten working days (DK Article 40(3)). This duty does not apply to employers with an average of fewer than ten employees (DK Article 110, point 2). In our view, cumulative accounting can also be applied to part-time employees: the norm for the reference period is then calculated from the lower agreed norm.

How to start

Send us your employment contract template and work rules, and tell us which positions you want to put on shifts. We will prepare the cumulative accounting rules, the consent request for existing employees and the text for the notice of working conditions.

Phone +370 5 212 1506, email info@linden.lt

More about this service: drafting labour law documents.