I currently work in IT for a manufacturing company that operates 24/7 and have to take calls outside of normal business hours now and then. Is your employer required to pay additional money if you have to answer calls outside normal business hours even if you’re salary pay because in the US, employees who are salary don’t get overtime pay?

12 comments
  1. If you are not « on call » on that day, getting calls from work outside of work times is illegal in France. If you are on call you are getting paid for as far as I know.

  2. Overtime pay is negotiated through union deals, but most places with salaried staff have one, so the majority would get it. The rate is determined by the deal between union and employer/employer organisation. It is also possible to have your overtime sorted through time off rather than as payment. So let’s say I worked 8 hours of overtime one week. I would either get the contractual rate for 8 overtime hours or 8 hours (essentially a workday) off. It is not too uncommon for people to make a deal with their boss to do some overtime and then get a day or two off as an extension to a holiday

  3. Absolutely. Every month I check payslip and count them to.make sure all is there including the overtime extra.

  4. In the UK it depends. Legally there’s no requirement provided that any additional hours worked don’t then bring you below the minimum wage.

    In my own case any I’m in the convenient place inbetween waged and salaried, in that I get full pay if I’m off sick, on a course that finishes early etc. but I also get any additional hours paid at a higher rate. Some people at my work don’t get anything extra as such, but if they do over a particular amount of additional hours per month they can get an additional bonus (meaning that there’s a “sweet spot” of extra hours for them to work).

    It sounds more like what you’re describing is an “on call system” rather than just overtime. Generally companies that require on call include an additional payment as part of their salary, along with a set on call schedule (e.g. one week in five or whatever). Some places will only pay the on call allowance, others will also pay an additional call out payment.

  5. Yes, the do, by law.

    First off, in Romania, the overwhelming default is salaried. It seems like only about 1% of workers are part time.

    The standard is 40h a week, with 2 days free. Anything is else is overtime. Overtime cannot excede a certain limit, either. You can have local spikes, but, on average, the number of worked hours must not excede 48h / week. Minors are not allowed to work more than 30h a week, under any circumstance.

    First option for repaying overtime is payed vacation days. If that is not an option, then overtime hours are payed at 2x of the normal rate (afaik).

    It is true, however, that, in certain industries, it’s customary for employees to work overtime without requesting it. And only request it for periods of very intense crunchtime. And a notable example for this is IT, especially game development.

  6. Yes, I get money for time being on call and then even more money if some real work is needed

  7. If the job requires you to be available outside normal working hours, it is normal (if the company is at least minimally serious) for an availability allowance to be paid on the payroll every month.

    If the job is not of this nature, you shouldn’t be called because there is a law that regulates the right to rest and disconnection of workers.

    That said, its a fairly recent law and most companies do not respect it: if they need you, they will call you. It’s up to you as a worker to fight for them to stop doing it, and most workers jump through hoops because the labour market in Spain is terrible and they don’t want to lose their jobs.

  8. In Spain, our monthly salary covers a certain amount of hours which has to be stipulated in our work contract. Normally, 40 hours a week.

    Theoretically, all work done beyond those 40 hours must be paid separately, yes. The rate depends on the collective bargaining agreement you’re subject to, but it’s normally higher than what the hourly rate would be during your usual 40-hour workweek. Companies are also allowed to compensate you in extra PTO alternatively.

    It must be noted that although this is what the law says, this legislation is notoriously ignored in Spain. There is a culture of overtime simply being an expectation, socially, and so employers don’t tend to compensate it, or employees to ask for it.

  9. If I have to be able to respond outside business hours, but usually there will be no calls, they still have to pay me, but not full salary. With my first employer (a large bank) I had to be available four release weekends every year 24/7. I had to be able to get to work in 2 hours and to be reachable by phone. They would pay 5% of the normal hour rate for that. If I actually had to answer calls of come to the office all work (including traveling time) would be paid at overtime rates (200%).

  10. In Iceland there’s one hourly wage for work between 8am and 5pm, one for after 5pm until (I think) 10pm and weekends between 8am and 10pm, then another between 10pm and 8am. If you work more than your contract stipulates or don’t get at least 11 hours between your shifts you get double pay which is just called overtime pay. It’s legal to pay people to be on call 50% of what they would be making if they were at work just to be ready to answer the phone and possibly show up somewhere without notice.

  11. Most, if not all of Europe is the best combination of your “hourly” and “salaried” contracts.

    So, you are guaranteed a salary at the end of the month, but if you do overtime, you will be paid extra,

    Also, calling someone who’s not during his business hours is a big no-no, I would never answer the phone and would make a scene next day at work as to why was I called during my time off. If you are on-call, common in IT, you are also paid 2x (or more) for work outside business hours. And this comes with a cap, you can’t have more than a certain number of overtime hours per month

  12. Some do, some don’t, depends on your contract. If you don’t, overtime isn’t usually part of the job, and it rarely happens. If it happens, you can compensate for it in some other week, and quit early. I’m an IT-related civil servant, and if overtime is needed, it is just expected that you put in the extra hours, and when things are a bit more quiet, you can take the afternoon of, to compensate. We don’t work on the clock, and nobody watches us if we really make the hours. It’s your own responsibility.

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