>Chris is a partner in the Employment Law Group of the Arthur Cox Belfast Office in Northern Ireland.
Chris has extensive experience dealing with both contentious and non-contentious employment law matters. Chris advises a range of employers on all aspects of employment law including executive appointments, severance, grievances, disciplinary issues and trade union matters. Chris has represented clients before the Industrial Tribunal, Fair Employment Tribunal and the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland in employment litigation such as unfair dismissal, equality/discrimination and whistleblowing. Chris’ practice area includes advisory work and corporate transactions.
Are Employers Legally Obligated to Pay Employees for Overtime Hours?
It is a common misconception that employees have a right to be paid for overtime work. Legally, in Northern Ireland, employers are not legally obligated to pay employee for overtime hours. Overtime refers to any extra hours worked outside of an employee's contracted hours which can often happen when an important deadline is approaching or if other employees are absent from work. It is important to note that there is no statutory requirement for an employee to work overtime nor is there any statutory requirement for an employer to offer their employees additional hours outside those included in their contract.
While there is no obligation for employers to pay employees for extra hours worked, in accordance with the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016, most employees cannot be forced to work more than an average of 48 hours per week. However, employees have the choice to opt-out of these regulations and may agree to work longer if necessary. Any agreement by an employee to work longer hours must be made in writing and should be signed by the employee.
Additionally, it should be noted that there are also no minimum statutory levels of overtime pay. However, the average rate of pay for an employee must not fall below the National Minimum Wage (note NMW will increase from 1st April 2024: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/minimum-wage-rates-increase-1-april-2024). To calculate this rate, employers should take all hours worked by the employee into account, including overtime hours. Employees’ contracts of employment should include details of any overtime pay rates and how these are calculated. It is within an employer's discretion as to whether they wish to pay their employees extra for working weekends or bank holidays. Despite this, it is also important for employers to keep in mind that working regular overtime hours may affect employees’ holiday pay entitlement.
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