Some employers choose to offer pay to employees for working more hours than the employment contract says.
Although some employers offer overtime pay, there’s no automatic legal right to it.
Any rules, such as how much it is, must be written in the employment contract or agreed verbally.
What some employers might offer
Some employers might offer:
- a higher rate of pay for overtime than for normal working hours
- time off instead of additional pay
National Minimum Wage and holiday pay
If an employee works more hours than their employment contract says, the employer must make sure the hourly pay rate does not fall below the National Minimum Wage.
If the employee regularly works additional hours, their overtime pay may need to be included when calculating holiday pay.
If an employee is part-time
Whatever their rules on overtime pay, employers must treat part-time employees the same as full-time ones.
Unless the employment contract says otherwise, an employer does not have to pay overtime to a part-time employee until they’ve worked the same number of hours as a full-time employee.
This article is adapted from the ACAS website
