Unpaid overtime: what you're owed and what to do

1. Is it really overtime?

Overtime is time worked beyond the normal hours, usually a limit per day, per week or per pay period. Unpaid overtime is simply that time, worked but not paid.

Two questions decide what you're owed:

• Is the time "working time"? Time you spend doing your job, or that your employer asks you to spend at work, usually counts. Time you choose to spend chatting before your shift usually doesn't.
• Does it go over the limit? If your total hours go past the overtime limit, the extra hours are usually paid at a higher rate, often 1.5 times. If you're part-time and stay under the limit, the extra hours may still be owed, just at your normal rate.

For how the limit and the rates work, including per-week vs per-pay-period counting, see our overtime guide.

2. "You're salaried, so there's no overtime"

This is one of the most common things workers hear. Sometimes it's true. Often it isn't.

• Myth: a salary means no overtime. In many places, only some roles are exempt from overtime, usually senior, managerial or highly paid ones. Being paid a fixed salary doesn't, on its own, take the right away.
• Myth: "the salary covers all the hours needed". Some contracts do say this. Even then, many places still have limits on total hours, and some require a minimum pay rate for every hour worked.
• Myth: "you're a manager, so you're exempt". A job title isn't enough in many places. What usually matters is what you actually do, how much say you have, and sometimes how much you earn.

If you're salaried and entitled to overtime, your hourly rate is usually worked out from your salary. For example, a weekly salary of US$ 700.00 for a 40-hour week is US$ 17.50 an hour. Time and a half is US$ 26.25. Five extra hours in a week is 5 × 26.25 = US$ 131.25.

3. The hidden minutes: early starts, late finishes and working lunches

Most unpaid overtime isn't a 12-hour day. It's small, regular bits of time that never make it onto the payslip.

• Early starts. Being asked to arrive 15 minutes early to set up, change into uniform, attend a briefing or count a float.
• Late finishes. Cashing up, closing down, handing over to the next shift, or finishing a customer after your shift has officially ended.
• Working lunch. Eating at your post, answering the phone, or having your break cut short. If your break is unpaid and you can't really take it, that time usually counts as work. See our guide to breaks and rest.
• Work from home. Answering messages or emails after hours because you're expected to.
• Required training or meetings held before or after your shift.

Whether each one counts depends on the rules where you work and whether your employer asked for it, expected it or knew about it. In many places, if the employer knows you're working and lets it happen, the time counts, even if nobody formally asked.

How small amounts add up

Say you start 15 minutes early, unpaid, five days a week, for 48 working weeks a year.

• 15 minutes × 5 days = 1.25 hours a week
• 1.25 hours × 48 weeks = 60 hours a year

At an overtime rate of US$ 21.00 an hour, that's 60 × 21.00 = US$ 1,260.00 a year.

4. Worked example: six weeks of back pay

Sofía Herrera is paid US$ 14.00 an hour. Her contract says 8:30 to 17:00 with a 30-minute unpaid lunch, Monday to Friday. That's 8 paid hours a day, 40 a week. Overtime is 1.5 times over 40 hours a week, so each overtime hour is worth 14.00 × 1.5 = US$ 21.00.

In practice, her manager asks her to be in at 8:15 to open up, and she rarely leaves before 17:30. That's 45 minutes a day, or 3.75 hours a week. On some days she also works through lunch.

She kept her own notes for six weeks.

What the weeks were:

• Weeks 1, 2 and 5: the 3.75 hours of early starts and late finishes, plus 2 working lunches (2 × 0.5 = 1 hour). 3.75 + 1 = 4.75 hours.
• Week 3: the same 4.75 hours, plus a 1.5-hour stock count after closing. 4.75 + 1.5 = 6.25 hours.
• Week 4: early starts and late finishes only. 3.75 hours.
• Week 6: a quieter week. She only opened up early on some days, and her notes show 2 extra hours.

Check: 26.25 unpaid hours × 21.00 = US$ 551.25, the same as adding the column. That's about US$ 92 a week on average, over six weeks.

Two things that change the answer:

• If overtime is counted per pay period instead of per week, short weeks can cancel out long ones, and the overtime hours may be fewer. Any hours still unpaid would usually be owed at the normal rate.
• If she were part-time (say 30 contracted hours) and her extra hours stayed under 40, those hours would usually be owed at her normal US$ 14.00, not at 21.00.

5. Keeping your own record

Your employer is usually required to keep records of hours worked. But if those records show only your scheduled shift, your own notes may be the best evidence of what really happened. For what your employer should keep, see our guide to time records.

Keep it simple. Every day, write down:

1. The date.
2. The time you actually started work, and the time you actually finished.
3. Your break: when it started and ended, or "no break / worked through".
4. Why you started early or stayed late ("opened up", "stock count", "covering for a colleague").
5. Who asked you, if anyone.

Write it on the day, not weeks later. Notes made at the time are much more convincing. A note app, a calendar, a small notebook or a message to yourself all work.

Also keep anything that shows your employer knew: messages asking you to come in early or stay late, emails sent after hours, photos of rotas, and building or system logs if you can see them.

What to keep and what to check

• Your contract, especially "normal hours", "overtime" and any line about salary covering extra hours.
• A daily note of your real start, finish and break times.
• Messages or emails asking you to start early, stay late or skip a break.
• Photos of rotas and any sign-in sheets you can see.
• Every payslip, checked against your own record of hours.
• A running total of unpaid hours and what they're worth.
• Copies of anything you send to raise the issue, and the replies.

6. Working out what you're owed

With your notes in hand:

1. Total your hours for each week (or each pay period, if that's how overtime is counted where you work).
2. Compare with your payslip. How many hours were you paid for?
3. Split the difference into hours at your normal rate (up to the overtime limit) and hours at the overtime rate (over the limit).
4. Multiply and add up. Keep the calculation, week by week, like Sofía's table above.
5. Be fair to yourself and to them. If some extra time was your choice, leave it out. A careful, honest claim is far more likely to be paid.

7. Raising it in writing

Start with a calm, factual message to your manager or payroll. Most employers would rather fix a clear, honest claim than have it go further.

• Stick to the facts: dates, hours and the amount.
• Attach your record, or offer to share it.
• Ask for something specific: payment of the back pay, and a change so it doesn't keep happening.
• Give a reasonable date for a reply.

Sample message

If you meet in person, send a short follow-up afterwards: "Thanks for talking today. Just to confirm, you said the 26.25 hours will be checked and paid on the next payroll."

In many places, it's unlawful to punish a worker for asking about pay they're owed. If you're worried about that, raise it with a colleague, a staff representative or your union.

8. Time limits for claims

Don't wait too long. In many places there are time limits for claiming unpaid wages. They vary a lot, from a few months to several years, and they're often counted from the date each payment should have been made. That can mean the oldest weeks drop off as time passes.

Some places also limit how far back a claim can go, even if it's made in time. Ask your labour department early, before you've finished gathering everything, so you know the deadline you're working to.

Keep raising it internally and the clock may still be running. If you haven't had a clear answer within a few weeks, it's usually time to get outside help.

9. Frequently asked questions

10. Where to get help

If your employer won't pay, or won't reply, you don't have to give up.

• Your labour department (sometimes called the labour office, ministry of labour or labour commissioner) can explain the overtime rules where you work, tell you the time limit for a claim, and help you make a complaint. Many will contact your employer on your behalf.
• Your union or staff representative, if you have one, can check your claim against your collective agreement and raise it for you, or for a group of colleagues in the same position.
• Legal aid or a workers' advice centre may advise for free or at low cost, especially if the amount is large or you've left the job. If you're leaving, see our guide to final pay, because unpaid overtime can be added to what you claim at the end.

Bring your notes, your payslips, your contract and your week-by-week calculation. With those, most advisers can tell you quickly where you stand.