{"id":220956,"date":"2023-02-21T11:01:02","date_gmt":"2023-02-20T22:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/?p=220956"},"modified":"2023-03-08T18:58:46","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T05:58:46","slug":"compensate-overtime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/employment\/compensate-overtime\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do I Compensate Salaried Employees for Overtime Work in New Zealand?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As an employer, you should pay your employees for all their time working for your business. A critical question arises whether you need to pay workers for any overtime work and at what rate. Underpaying your employees may result in an unwanted legal claim. This article explores how to compensate salaried employees for overtime work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Overtime Work?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Overtime is any time that an employee works over their regular agreed working hours. Typically, your <\/span>employment agreement<\/span><\/a> will set out the number of hours an employee should be working every week. Depending on the individual agreement in place, any obligation to work additional hours will depend on the specific clauses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most employment agreements will have an availability clause that allows you to ask an employee to accept limited hours of work outside their normal hours. These clauses should also identify what compensation they would receive when completing any overtime work. Otherwise, the employee only needs to work during the hours specified in their employment agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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You cannot reasonably expect your employees to be available to work additional hours without reasonable compensation.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Hours of Work for Employees<\/span><\/h2>\n

It is important to stipulate the maximum number of hours your employees will be required to work. Ideally, this amount should not exceed 40 hours per week. If you require an increase in hours for an employee, be sure to complete a written variation of their employment agreement and record the signatures of you and your employee.<\/span><\/p>\n

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It is best practice that your business keeps detailed time records for all your employees for up to six years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n Continue reading this article below the form\n <\/i>\n<\/a>\n

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