Overtime policy

Hi,

I am new to this forum.

Just have a query about overtime-is it compulsory to give overtime to employees.

Our company is an architectural firm with about 40 employees, we had an overtime policy where one has to complete 8 hrs per day and the extra hours worked were counted as overtime without the prior permission of the seniors.

Now , we have changed this policy and an employee has to the take prior permission to work overtime and also overtime will be counted for a complete 1 hr. For eg-office ends at 6.30Pm and employee works till 7PM-no overtime will be there ,only if he works till 7.30Pm, overtime will be counted.

Now the employees are not happy with this, they want overtime for ten-fifteen minutes also.

Can anyone tell me are there any loopholes in this policy and how can we change the attitude of employees towards overtime.

Regards,
Anju

hello

Can anyone reply me on this and help me out

Regards,
Anju

Taking prior permission for overtime is justified. Explain your employees that many people were taking advantage of the old policy. At times there was no work and still people were in the office doing nothing but on the net surfing the websites of their own choices and entertaing themself. Of course they enjoy the canteen facility, AC, Phone facility and a lot more.

Tell those employees that some people were caught and the phone call details and the internet bill plus other expences were checked out and analysed. The management found out that some people were taking advantage of the liberty given to them. The new policy came into picture because of them only. Also tell them that this won't affect to all those who really work and the management needs them to work genuinely because of the deadlines of timeframe.

And for your information.... no body pays the overtime for 15- 20 minutes. Yes at some places those minutes are accumulated and converted into an hour but this is also not right. Cauz some people while leaving their work call their home ....pack their bags...or wait for other employees to pack off or do various things, they should not be paid for it. But if a person is staying till 7:30 that means he worked for some time ..... you have to manipulate your statements and convince them. Take a tough stand and be firm. Whenever there is a change ..... resistance is always there but little later people will get used to the new system. Encourage them the with the positive things and benifits ....

Take care .....

Anand.

Hi,

Also we have faced this problem in our concern. But we have eliminated problems raised due to overtime. You can do the following things :-

01. A written notice should be issued that no employee will be paid for overtime without prior permission.
02. In the necessity of overtime particular employee should be asked to work on overtime by immediate supervisor or boss.
03. Put a overtime sheet for each employee.
04. Next day OT sheet must be signed and approved by immediate supervisor or boss.

Following the above steps you can minimise the OT hours in your firm. I think that 10 to 15 minutes should not be considered for overtime hours.

Regards.

Rajesh

Dear Anju,

I am sorry that I have to reply to your query without having referred to the replies by other friends due to the paucity of time.

Firstly, determine under which Statute is your company / organization covered or falling in purview. (Example: Factories Act or Shops & Establishments Act, etc). Next, also carefully notice, if there are any exemptions for a particular industry, process carried out, etc within the Acts / Statutes under which your organization / company falls. Also check whether, the workmen fall within the definition of worker / workmen under that particular applicable Act. (As per Industrial Disputes Act all are workmen, but all other acts define workmen differently and technically this has to be noted.)

As per the Factories Act (not referring to the exceptions), no worker shall be allowed to work more than 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week (^ working days) without being paid an OT (at twice the rate of normal wages) for the extra hours of work. The total number of hours including OT is again limited by statute. Also examine certain nuances. For example a workman may work for more than 8 hour per day and need not be paid overtime for hours beyond 8 on a particular day if he is not working more than 48 hours per week!!! How's that possible? Say a worker has actually worked more than 8 hours per day for only 3 days and he was ascent on the rest of the days of the week. in this case though he has worked more than 8 hours per day for three days, yet the other condition of exceeding 48 per week is not met. Hence these extra hours pay will be normal pay and there is no legal requirement to pay OT for those extra hours per day beyond 8 hours. If implementable, it can save a company lots of money in the long run. Much depends on the tradition that has been followed and it is near impossible to reverse it if OT beyond 8 hours per day for workmen has already been a precedence or practice. In actuality, a lot of organizations are still not paying OT even though it is not legally right.

Any comments and views on that????

regards,
M.A.Ganju

Well thank u all for your valuable suggestions.

we also work for just 44 hous in a week and not 48 hours, then also we have this overtime policy

so now eith ur inputs I will try to improve things

thanx so much

Dear Anju,

Kindly note that what is given in the applicable statutes is mandatory minimum to be followed and complied with. However, any organization may have its own policies, practices (consistently applied) that in toto are not less advantageous to the employees or workmen than the provisions stated under any particular applicable statute. So if your company has followed the practice of awarding over time beyond the 44 hours of work put in one week (6 working days) and since it is more advantageous than the minimum prescribed by the statute (say Factories Act), the the company policy / practice will prevail even if there were no legal obligation to do so.

Moreover, what happens or follows in actual practice is that once a precedent is set and followed for some time it is almost very difficult to reverse the same even in the eyes of the law. Law has no issues with your company practices if in toto (holistically and not in fragments or parts) they are superior to any statute in their benefit to any statute.

I hope I have clarified your statement.

Many regards,
M.A.Ganju

Would the OT law be different depending on the type of the organization i.e
Properitory Firm
Partnership Firm
Public Ltd
Pvt Ltd

Or does the OT Law or any employee law depend on the whether it comes under Factory or Shops & Establishment act.

Regards,
Asha

Can anyone send me the policy format ( OT )

thnax
Raj