ABC COMPANY OVERTIME POLICY DEFINITIONS - HRInsider

VERSION 1: (For Union Employees: Based on Alberta Law):
ABC COMPANY OVERTIME POLICY
DEFINITIONS
“Appropriate Manager” means [list who at your organization is authorized to approve
overtime work].
“Approval” or “Approved” means the approval of, or approved by, an Appropriate Manager.
“Collective Agreement” means the current ABC Company Collective Agreement dated [list
relevant information about your current collective agreement].
“Compensating Time Off in Lieu” or “CTO” means [Note: Describe whatever time-off-inlieu
arrangements you use (which, of course, must be permissible under the employment
standards laws of your jurisdiction), e.g., compensating time off in lieu of Overtime pay.]
“Emergency Situation” means a situation that wasn’t planned and [list the other conditions
justifying the need for employees to work overtime at your organization without prior approval
from a manager, e.g., where necessary to prevent loss of life, injury or property damage].
“Employee” means an individual hired to work for ABC Company according to an established
schedule.
“Management,” when used in reference to a position means a person to whom an Employee is
directed to report, and who is responsible for obtaining budgetary approval.
“Overtime” means work that is pre-approved and authorized by management carried out by
Employees in excess of their regular daily or weekly work hours.
“Regular Rate” means the basic hourly rate, or salary equivalent, paid to Employees for their
normal hours of work.
1. PURPOSE
ABC Company is committed to ensure that all Employees enjoy a healthy work experience that
allows them to maintain a proper balance between work and life while at the same time enabling
ABC Company to achieve its business goals. ABC Company also recognizes that there will be
occasions when Overtime will be necessary to meet extraordinary situations. The purpose of this
Policy is to provide for these situations and to ensure that Overtime hours and premiums are:
a. Administered consistently and fairly;

. Recorded accurately;
c. Paid correctly; and
d. Compliant with the terms of the Collective Agreement and the [list
province/jurisdiction] employment standards laws.
2. WHO THIS POLICY COVERS
This Policy applies to unionized Employees covered by the Collective Agreement and is
designed to supplement rather than supplant the provisions of the Collective Agreement. This
Policy does not cover Employees who are deemed managers or who are otherwise exempt from
mandatory overtime requirements of the [list province/jurisdiction] employment standards laws.
3. APPROVAL OF OVERTIME AND CTO
3.1. Overtime must be pre-approved and authorized by the Appropriate Manager.
3.2. [List positions not eligible for Overtime, e.g., Casual, temporary, temporary relief and parttime
employees] of ABC Company are not eligible and will not be authorized to work Overtime.
3.3. Time in excess of normal daily or weekly work hours without prior Approval from
Management will be treated as ineligible for Overtime compensation except in Emergency
Situations. This includes time Employees choose to work:
a. During lunch or rest periods;
b. Upon arriving to work early before scheduled hours; and/or
c. When staying late past scheduled hours.
3.4. CTO must also be pre-approved and used [insert deadline for employees to use
compensating time off in lieu of Overtime pay, e.g., within 3 months of the end of the pay period
in which it’s accumulated.]
3.5. Employee requests to use CTO for time off will be granted only if the Employee has
sufficient CTO credits to cover the time off requested.
3.6. Overtime will be funded by [list, e.g., the department that has budgetary authority].
3.7. Employees who Overtime without prior authorization in an Emergency Situation as
permitted under this Policy must immediately notify the Appropriate Manager of the details of
the Emergency Situation and the number of Overtime hours they worked.
4. BANKING OF OVERTIME

4.1. [Describe any banked overtime arrangements followed (which, of course, must be
permissible under your province’s employment standards laws. Example: As provided under
Section VII of the Collective Agreement, ABC Company may schedule banked CTO on behalf of
the Employee and advise the Employee at least 3 weeks before the date such banked CTO is to be
taken.]
5. SPECIAL SITUATIONS
5.1. [Describe any other special overtime arrangements in place. Example: Employees
participating in a graduated return to work program or in reduced duties leading to retirement
may work Overtime only as provided under the terms of Section VIII of the Collective
Agreement.]
6. OVERTIME PROCEDURES
[Describe your Overtime procedures. What follows is just a sample for illustrative purposes, not
a prescription that every organization must use:]
6.1. All Overtime must be authorized by the ABC Company HR Department before the extra
time is worked.
6.2. Whenever possible, Employees who work Overtime will be compensated in the form they
request, either immediately as compensation at time-and-a-half or banked as CTO.
6.3. As required by law, Employees leaving ABC Company will be paid all unused banked
Overtime when they leave.
6.4. All Overtime earned under the terms of this Policy must be recorded and approved by the
Appropriate Manager and updated in the ABC Company timesheet system.
6.5. As required by law, Employees called back to work to help with an Emergency Situation
will be paid for the call out and any Overtime worked.

VERSION 2: (For Non-Union Employees: Based on ONTARIO Law):
ABC COMPANY OVERTIME POLICY
1. ABC Company seeks to pay in an equitable manner for work performed beyond regular
working hours. It also strives to apply regulations and policies that ensure the sound and efficient
management of its human resources.
OBJECTIVES
2. In accordance with the above principles, ABC Company’s objectives are:
a) To keep overtime and additional work to a minimum;
b) To establish rules governing:
DEFINITIONS
i. Hours of work;
ii. Pay for hours of work
iii. Payment of overtime and additional work applicable to all regular
members of support staff, without exception, except for those specified
in this policy.
3. OVERTIME: Overtime applies to the extra hours of work a support staff member puts in
performing the duties of his or her position. They are paid on the basis of the hourly rate of the
position occupied by the employee.
ADDITIONAL WORK: Applies to the work performed by a support staff member outside his or
her normal working hours and in functions pertaining to a position other than his or her own, at
ABC Company. This type of work must be paid at the employee’s regular rate, with any
adjustments required to take into account the total hours worked in a week and the application of
an overtime rate. Such work will be allowed as long as there are no adverse effects on the work
performance of the employee during his or her normal hours of work and the person’s immediate
supervisor is informed accordingly.
4. In all instances, the pay granted must comply with this policy.
REGULAR WORKING HOURS
5.1. For support staff receiving an annual salary, the annual average length of the normal work
week is 35 hours, for a total of 1,820 hours a year. From September to May inclusively, the
normal work week is thirty-six and a quarter hours (36 1/4), and the normal daily schedule is
8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m., with an unpaid hour allowed for lunch (generally from noon to 1 p.m.). From
June to August inclusively, the normal work week is thirty-one and a quarter hours (31 1/4), and

the normal daily schedule is from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the same one-hour period allowed for
lunch.
5.2. The normal work week for most staff is from Monday to Friday, but regular work schedules
for individuals in some work units may involve regular weekend or evening work.
6.1. For staff of the XYZ Division, who are paid hourly, the average annual normal work week is
forty (40) hours. The work schedules include normal workdays of eight hours divided into day,
evening and night shifts, and are established by the administration of the service in question. For
mail clerks, the average annual normal work week is thirty-six and a quarter hours (36 1/4).
6.2. The work schedules described may be changed occasionally, with the agreement of the staff
member concerned, to meet the needs of ABC Company or those of specific employee groups. In
such instances, it is important to comply with the total annual number of hours of work
scheduled for the position.
7. The number of work hours must in all instances comply with current statutes, and in particular
with the Ontario Employment Standards Act.
8.1. According to the Employment Standards Act, no employer may ask an employee to work
more than eight hours a day or forty-eight hours a week without the employee’s agreement; in
any case, the employee must not work more than 60 hours a week. The employee and employer
may cancel this agreement.
8.2. If the employee wishes to cancel an agreement to work more than eight hours a day, he or
she must give two weeks’ notice. The agreement cannot be cancelled if the employment contract
specifies that the regular work day is more than eight hours.
8.3. The employer must give reasonable notice when wishing to cancel an agreement concerning
hours that differ from those stipulated in the Employment Standards Act. The notice period must
be determined in consultation with the Employee Relations Section of the Human Resources
Service.
9. Employees cannot be required to work more than the number of hours specified in paragraph
8.1 without their consent, except during an emergency, as defined in the Employment Standards
Act.
FLEX HOURS
10. ABC Company allows for flex hours. Responsibility for establishing flex hours lies with
[list], who must ensure that a sufficient number of employees remain on duty to maintain
essential services during working hours. Managers must remember that requests for flex hours
are not to be unreasonably refused.
11. Flexible schedules must abide by these rules:

a) At least thirty minutes must be granted for lunch;
b) The two daily 15-minute breaks cannot be used to reduce the length of the normal
ABC Company workday; and
c) The work schedule requires the HR director’s approval.
12. Flexible schedules do not apply to staff whose regular work schedule differs from the one in
article 5.1.
BREAKS
13. All support staff employees are entitled to two 15-minute breaks every day, one in each half
of the workday, at a time established by the unit managers. ABC Company’s goal in allowing
this rest period is to reduce fatigue and stress and to boost morale and performance. However,
telephone and reception services must be maintained during breaks.
OVERTIME TERMS AND CONDITIONS
14. Only overtime hours explicitly and directly scheduled and approved by the immediate
supervisor are considered legitimate overtime hours and can be paid under the terms and
conditions in this policy. Employees who work overtime to contend with an emergency that
affects ABC Company’s operation must notify their immediate supervisor accordingly without
delay. Unscheduled and unauthorized hours of work by staff at their own discretion or for
personal reasons are not recognized and not paid as overtime under this policy.
15. All support staff members in regular grade-A or lower positions, no matter what their
employment category, are entitled to overtime pay in accordance with this policy.
16. Staff members in regular grade-B positions who are not managers (that is, employees who
have no managerial or supervisory responsibility and whose position is identified as such in the
HR Service database), no matter what the employment category, are eligible for overtime pay, in
accordance with this policy.
17. Staff members in regular grade-B positions who are managers, no matter what their
employment category, are not eligible for overtime pay, but are eligible for a fourth week of
annual leave after three years of continuous service.
18.1. Notwithstanding the provisions of article 17, and subject to the limits established in article
8.1, and up to the maximum number of hours permitted under the Employment Standards Act,
grade-B or higher personnel assigned to a special project involving a considerable amount of
extra work but not being followed by a foreseeable workload reduction over time may by
exception be compensated for the additional work.
Generally, overtime for grades B (managers) to E is managed as follows:
a) Employees in these salary classes can be called on occasionally to work some
overtime without special pay or compensation.

) However, for repetitive peak periods or for special projects and special circumstances
(like in the preceding paragraph) that require a substantial amount of overtime,
members and their dean or director must agree on reasonable compensation, in the
form of time off or extra pay.
c) These agreements must be first approved by the HR Service, to safeguard internal
equity.
REMUNERATION
19. The type of remuneration must be determined before overtime can be authorized.
20. Each hour of overtime work, including any performed on Sunday, is paid at the rate of time
and one-half the regular hourly rate, either in money or in equivalent time off, according to the
terms and conditions specified below and to the provisions of article 14 above. In the calculation
of overtime, leaves of all kinds are excluded.
21. The calculation of overtime excludes weekend and evening premiums.
22. A maximum of fifty hours of overtime, including the time-and-a-half calculation, can be
banked during each calendar year (January to December) and may be taken as time off, at the
employee’s discretion, except for positions that include time remittance and for which there is a
flexible schedule. All overtime beyond these 50 hours must be paid.
23. When overtime is worked for emergencies, as defined in the Employment Standards Act, it
may be added to the number of hours banked.
24. All banked overtime not used up by 31 December of each year is to be paid according to the
number of hours logged in the databases. Furthermore, the December 31 date is deferred until
March 31 for overtime accumulated between October 1 and December 31, although this remains
subject to the 50-hour maximum.
25. Staff members with banked overtime who are transferred must be reimbursed in cash when
they leave the department where the overtime was worked.
26. Staff having worked overtime and wishing to be paid for the hours in question must be paid
no later than the month after the overtime was worked.
RECALL TO WORK AND ON-CALL PAY
27. All staff members whose job makes on-call status essential, and who have been asked to be
on call, whether by means of a pager or a cell phone, and who therefore must be reachable and
available at all times for a designated period are to be paid at the rate of 30 minutes for every
four-hour on-call period. “On call” is defined as any period outside of normal working hours
during which the person is available to answer emergency calls for his or her area and who can
come to work quickly if required. On-call time cannot be accumulated when the service’s
operations are closed. Between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., only staff members who provide essential

services may be remunerated when necessary. Determining what constitutes essential services is
the responsibility of the HR manager and department managers.
28. Staff members recalled to work 15 minutes or more following the end of the normal workday
receive a minimum of either four hours’ straight time or time-and-a-half for the hours worked,
whichever is highest. When an employee is paid under this article, any accumulation of on-call
time ceases for the period in question.
WEEKEND AND EVENING PREMIUMS
29. Staff whose work schedule requires working evenings or weekends are paid premiums.
These are $0.40 an hour for evening work (between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.) and $0.54 an hour for
weekend work. The annual base pay for staff with regular evening or weekend schedules is
adjusted proportionately to take into account the hours worked during these periods. When these
periods are worked sporadically, the rates specified here are used to calculate the pay owed.
30. For X department staff who work schedules spanning both a 24-hour-a-day period and a
seven-day-a-week period, premiums are as follows:
a) From Monday to Saturday, from 4 p.m. to midnight: $0.40, from one minute after
midnight to 8 a.m.: $0.49.
b) Saturday: from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.: $0.40.
c) Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.: $0.54; from 4 p.m. to midnight: $0.86, from one
minute after midnight to 8 a.m.: $0.97.
d) These rates apply to regular and term employees, except for parking-lot attendants.
SCOPE OF APPLICATION
31. This policy applies to regular employees and to situations not covered by a collective
agreement.
EXCEPTION
32. No exception may be made to this policy without the written consent of the ABC Company
HR manager.