Overtime pay or time off in lieu: your rights

Additional hours and overtime may be governed differently

A collective agreement may describe a part-time employee’s extra hours differently from work above the full-time threshold. The terminology alone does not determine what you receive: read the definition, threshold and compensation rule together. Record your contractual hours and the standard used by the scheme. If you work twenty hours and occasionally add four, the same premium does not necessarily apply as for someone working beyond a forty-hour full-time standard. Equal treatment of part-time employees may also need to be considered.

Was the work instructed or necessary?

Keep instructions, deadlines, schedules and messages showing that your manager knew about the extra work. Not every voluntary decision to stay longer automatically creates an entitlement to payment. However, an employer cannot always rely on the lack of formal permission if the additional work was systematically required or accepted. Show which task needed the extra time and why it could not be completed within ordinary hours. Agree in advance how future overruns will be reported, so evidence does not have to be reconstructed months later.

Your contract may say that overtime is included in your salary

Such a clause requires interpretation in light of your role, pay, the amount of additional work and the other agreements. It does not necessarily allow unlimited unpaid extra work. Check whether a collective agreement nevertheless requires compensation and whether pay for the relevant working time meets the statutory minimum. Make the dispute specific by identifying hours and periods. Occasionally finishing a task is factually different from working an extra full day every week.

Time off in lieu requires clear conditions

Record how many compensatory hours accrue, whether a premium is included, when you may take them and what happens if you cannot take them or your employment ends. Check minimum wage legislation too: deferring payment is not freely permitted in every situation. A digital balance without an understandable scheme does not provide sufficient clarity. Make periodic copies and have unclear expiry rules assessed. Compensation that you are consistently unable to take offers little recovery in practice, even if the administration shows a positive balance.

Premiums and holiday allowance can apply alongside each other

Compensation may comprise basic pay, a collective-agreement premium and any relevant holiday allowance on those amounts. Check whether evening, weekend and overtime premiums accumulate or exclude each other under the scheme. Do not add every percentage without reading the conditions. Ask for a calculation per shift if your payslip shows only one total. When leaving, it must also be clear how outstanding time off in lieu will be settled. A general final payment does not automatically include that balance; address it expressly in any agreement. Where the ordinary eight-percent rule applies, the overtime premium also belongs in the holiday-allowance base. A separate €150 overtime payment including premium then produces €12 holiday allowance; check whether this was already paid separately before claiming it again.

The Working Hours Act requires a separate check

Additional hours count towards the applicable limits on working time and rest. Many adult employees are subject to maximum hours per shift, per week and averaged over several weeks; particular occupations, night work and exceptions require extra care. A good overtime payment does not automatically make an excessive schedule lawful. Include breaks and work for multiple employers in your overview. If you have health complaints, consult the occupational physician and discuss necessary adjustments. Avoid correcting only the pay while the burdensome working pattern continues.

Make a wage claim checkable for each shift

Use an overview showing the date, ordinary hours, additional hours, instruction or reason, applicable rule and amount paid. Attach evidence selectively. Ask the employer to correct the records and explain any rejected hours. Check older claims for limitation periods and the correct way to interrupt them. If the hourly rate is disputed, have that base determined before applying percentages. A claim does not become stronger by labelling all office attendance as overtime without identifying a task, agreement or time record.

Example: regularly working past the end of a closing shift

Your scheduled shift ends at 22:00, but you must then close the till and premises until 22:30. For a few weeks, record the actual finishing time, the closing instructions and who knows about them. Ask whether the schedule and payroll records should be adjusted and which compensation rule applies. Half an hour can make a substantial difference when it happens regularly. Check rest before the next shift at the same time. This example shows why an operational task, a payment question and a scheduling limit need to be considered together.

Practical checklist

• Check the definitions and compensation rules in your contract and collective agreement.
• Record actual hours, the instruction, task and compensation paid.
• Check minimum wage, holiday allowance and your time-off-in-lieu balance.
• Also discuss rest, capacity for work and settlement when leaving.