⏰ Can my employer make me work overtime without paying for it?

Quick answer

No. Overtime is either paid or offset with rest — never neither. The minimum is your normal pay plus 25%; with your agreement it can instead be compensated with rest that is at least 25% longer, granted within 2 months. For overtime worked on the weekly rest day or a public holiday, the compensation is at least 50% higher. Normal working time does not exceed 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, and the employer cannot demand more than 200 overtime hours a year. The myth that costs employees most: “my salary is monthly, so overtime is baked in”. It is not — a monthly salary removes neither the duty to record hours worked above normal time nor the duty to compensate them.

📋 The rules

Overtime is any hour above normal working time, daily or weekly; for a part-time employee, any hour above their own normal schedule.
Normal working time is no more than 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.
The employer may require no more than 200 overtime hours a year.
No further hours may be required once the employee has reached 48 hours in a week; exceptionally this can be exceeded for up to 4 months, provided the average over that period stays within 48 hours a week.
If no rest is given, the premium is at least 25%; for overtime on the weekly rest day or a public holiday, compensation is at least 50% higher. Compensatory rest is granted within 2 months.

🔓 Exceptions

The 200-hour ceiling can be exceeded only with authorisation from the Labour Inspectorate, for force majeure or urgent work in the public interest.
Pregnant women, and women after childbirth until the child turns 1 year old, may not be required to work overtime.
A collective agreement may provide more favourable compensation; the employee's personal and family circumstances must be taken into account when overtime is requested.

⚠️ Penalties & fines

The employee can claim the unpaid difference or the missing rest — but only with something to prove it. The employer is required to keep a record of working time; where that record is missing or falsified, it faces a corrective order, an administrative fine and a court claim for unpaid wages. Beware of one calculation that circulates widely: the 25% premium and the 50% premium do not add up to 75%. The 50% compensation for overtime on a rest day or holiday already absorbs the earlier premiums — anything more comes only from a more favourable contract.

📎 Official sources

Last verified: 2026-07-12

❓ Frequently asked

My salary is monthly. Does it already include overtime?

No, and this is the myth that costs employees most. A monthly salary removes neither the duty to record hours worked beyond normal time nor the duty to compensate them at a minimum of 25% above normal pay.

Can they give me time off instead of overtime pay?

Yes, but only with your agreement, and the rest must be at least 25% longer than the overtime worked. That compensatory rest has to be granted within 2 months, otherwise the duty to pay the premium remains.

I worked on a Sunday. Do I get 25% plus 50%?

No, they do not stack into 75%, even though that calculation circulates widely. The 50% compensation for overtime on the weekly rest day or a public holiday already absorbs the preceding premiums.

Can I exceed 200 overtime hours in a year?

Only with authorisation from the Labour Inspectorate, and only for force majeure or urgent work in the public interest. Without that authorisation the ceiling of 200 overtime hours a year remains fully binding.

Can I work more than 48 hours in a week?

Exceptionally yes, the limit can be exceeded for up to 4 months. But the average across the whole of that period cannot exceed 48 hours a week, so the excess has to be balanced out afterwards.

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