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Overtime

Employers commonly ask employees to work overtime to carry out work outside normal hours, for example because of an increased volume of regular work, a temporary crisis in resourcing, or to cover for absences. One area of controversy is the treatment of overtime in holiday pay calculations (Lock v British Gas Trading Ltd).

Employees can be forced to work overtime, whether paid or unpaid, only if this is provided for in their contract of employment. However, it is common practice for employees to work unpaid overtime from time to time, to meet the reasonable requirements of the business.

Employers must bear in mind when asking employees to work overtime the maximum 48-hour working week under the Working Time Regulations 1998. An opt-out is available if the employee agrees.


    • Stress
    • Age
    • NHS

    Early careers NHS staff increasingly unhappy at work

    by Rob Moss 20 Feb 2025
    by Rob Moss 20 Feb 2025

    NHS clinical staff in their early careers have become more stressed and unhappy over the past decade, according to analysyis of staff surveys.

    • Career paths
    • Latest News
    • Learning & development

    British employees work nearly 216 extra hours annually

    by Kavitha Sivasubramaniam 30 Jan 2025
    by Kavitha Sivasubramaniam 30 Jan 2025

    British employees are working 215.8 hours of overtime every year, with more than two in five (42%) doing so for free.

    • Latest News
    • Employment contracts
    • Minimum wage

    Working when the clocks go back: how to handle the extra hour

    by Personnel Today 25 Oct 2024
    by Personnel Today 25 Oct 2024

    The clocks go back an hour at 2:00am on Sunday 27 October 2024. But what does this mean for night workers?

    • Latest News
    • Trade unions
    • Overtime

    Avanti drivers agree to overtime deal

    by Jo Faragher 25 Mar 2024
    by Jo Faragher 25 Mar 2024

    Train drivers working for Avanti West Coast have brokered an overtime deal that will give them a £600-a-day stipend if they work an extra shift.

    • Latest News
    • Overtime
    • Working Time Regulations

    TUC: £26bn worth of overtime went unpaid last year

    by Jo Faragher 23 Feb 2024
    by Jo Faragher 23 Feb 2024

    UK employees worked £26 billion worth of unpaid overtime in the last year, according to the TUC.

    • Australia
    • Latest News
    • Overtime

    Australia to give workers ‘right to disconnect’

    by Jo Faragher 7 Feb 2024
    by Jo Faragher 7 Feb 2024

    Australia will introduce new laws giving workers the ‘right to disconnect’ outside of work hours, with potential fines for employers that breach the rule.

    • Carers
    • Latest News
    • Dismissal

    Top 10 HR questions January 2024: Carer’s leave and other new rights

    by Brightmine 2 Feb 2024
    by Brightmine 2 Feb 2024

    New employment law developments featured prominently in the top 10 HR questions for January 2024.

    • Agency workers
    • Criminal records
    • Disability

    Top 10 HR questions July 2023: Strikes and agency workers

    by Brightmine 1 Aug 2023
    by Brightmine 1 Aug 2023

    Questions last month focused on the agency workers during strikes, payment in lieu of notice and dismissing an employee who is in prison.

    • Civil Service
    • Latest News
    • Holidays and holiday pay

    DWP only just introduced overtime holiday pay mechanism, claims union

    by Ashleigh Webber 2 Jun 2023
    by Ashleigh Webber 2 Jun 2023

    The DWP has only just introduced a mechanism to incorporate regular overtime into holiday pay, several years after a landmark judgment.

    • Absence
    • Bank holidays
    • Latest News

    Coronation time off: ‘Spare a thought’ for those who work

    by Jo Faragher 3 May 2023
    by Jo Faragher 3 May 2023

    The head of the TUC has asked people to 'spare a thought' for those who must work during the coronation or bank holiday.

    • Employee engagement
    • Bank holidays
    • Latest News

    Queen Elizabeth II national mourning: Five HR issues

    by Jo Faragher 12 Sep 2022
    by Jo Faragher 12 Sep 2022

    National mourning period: What HR issues will employers face as workers request time off at short notice or flexibility with hours?

    • Testing
    • Coronavirus
    • Self-isolation

    Top 10 HR questions February 2022: positive Covid tests

    by Brightmine 2 Mar 2022
    by Brightmine 2 Mar 2022

    There is no longer a legal requirement in England to self-isolate after testing positive for coronavirus.
    The removal of the...

    • Hybrid working
    • Latest News
    • Flexible working

    Employers should have to ‘opt out’ of any ‘right to disconnect’

    by Ashleigh Webber 16 Aug 2021
    by Ashleigh Webber 16 Aug 2021

    Employers should have to demonstrate they have a good reason for ‘opting out’ of any right to disconnect legislation that's introduced, a report has proposed.

    • Brexit
    • Right to work
    • Coronavirus

    Top 10 HR questions June 2021: Settled status deadline

    by Brightmine 1 Jul 2021
    by Brightmine 1 Jul 2021

    The deadline for applications under the EU settlement scheme was 30 June 2021.
    Where an EEA national is eligible to...

    • Hybrid working
    • Conditions
    • Cardiac

    Long working hours leading to heart disease and stroke

    by Ashleigh Webber 17 May 2021
    by Ashleigh Webber 17 May 2021

    Long working hours has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths due to heart disease and stroke, particularly among men and middle-aged or older workers.

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