There are few companies in Ireland not utilising overtime. When the workload increases, you ask your employees to keep up with demand. If they’re on board with it, everyone can go home happy.
Despite the everyday use of overtime, you may still question the basics. So, to make your life easier, we’ve put together this easy-to-follow guide.
How to calculate overtime
Every employer knows it’s great to have employees willing to put in the extra hours. However, working overtime in Ireland has its rules—and you need to know them.
Regarding employee rights, it’s protected by the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, Ireland’s standard overtime hours law.
It states an employee must not work more than an average of 48 hours per week in any four-month period. In other words, overtime laws for salaried employees state they can work more than 48 hours in one week, but not more than 48 a week on average over four months.
This includes overtime, so make sure your employees are not breaching their max weekly working hours. Not every business goes by the four-month rule. For example, an average of hours worked over six months applies to:
- Hospitals, securities and prisons.
- Gas and electricity.
- Airports or docks.
- Agriculture and tourism.
Likewise, an average of hours worked over 12 months applies where there has been an agreement between the employer and the employees.
Is overtime pay time and a half?
No, there’s no mandatory overtime pay. So you aren’t obliged to pay your employees anything extra. However, there are exceptions such as:
- Industry agreements.
- Collective agreements.
- Contractual agreements.
What holiday entitlements do I need to give my employees?
All hours worked will qualify for paid holiday time, including extra hours worked. So, remember to factor it in when you’re calculating holiday entitlements. It also impacts annual leave entitlements of full and part-time employees.
Working overtime will add to the amount of time an employee can take off, but not the holiday pay for such time off.
As a rule, don’t factor in any overtime worked when calculating an employee’s ‘normal weekly remuneration’ for holiday pay purposes.
Overtime hours must be “regular and rostered”, form a normal part of working practices and be a normal part of an employee’s working week. If overtime meets these criteria, factor it into the calculation.
How much do I have to pay for public holiday pay?
Say an employee is getting a paid day off. Or perhaps they’re receiving additional payment for having worked a public holiday. If either case applies, then their pay calculation is as follows:
- Public holiday falls on a working day: Equal to the hours they had worked on their last working day before the public holiday.
- Public holiday falls on a day off: Equal to 1/5th of their last working week.
When calculating the employee’s last working day, exclude overtime. For even more easy to digest information on this topic, visit our Overtime Advice Guide.
Need our help?
For further advice on overtime from an expert, our advisors are ready to take your call any time day or night on 0818 923 923.
