There is a legal solution to overtime pay if the company introduces a flexible working day. Therefore, if the employee works 2 hours of overtime on Monday and requests 2 hours off on Tuesday, it is not fair that the 2 overtime hours on Monday are not paid as compensation for the Tuesday leave. Finally, overtime compensated by hours of rest (to be assessed during the following four months) is also not included in this limit. This is overtime for the repair of accidents, urgent situations or extraordinary damages. They are mandatory and may result in disciplinary action if an employee refuses. These hours have no annual limit and are not part of the normal workday or the calculation of exceptional hours. In Spain, overtime is usually paid 75% above the employee`s normal working hours. Thus, if an employee receives a salary of 1200 euros per month and works eight hours per week, the amount of remuneration per working day is 1200/30 = 40 euros. In addition, the company must provide each employee with a record of the hours actually worked during the month. This document can be used to take legal action if overtime has not been properly paid or paid by the company. As we know, overtime is considered to be hours worked over the maximum length of the normal working day, with a maximum of 80 hours of overtime per year according to RDLG 2/2015.
But is it possible to extend or reduce this limit within the framework of the law? It should be borne in mind that overtime is voluntary, with which the employee, if he does not want to do it, is in his full right, without being able to punish him for it. To prevent this fraud, Royal Legislative Decree 8/2019, of 8 March, entered into force last year, establishing new social protection measures and the fight against job insecurity. This regulation establishes for the first time in Spain the obligation for companies to keep a comprehensive record of the working day of employees, indicating in detail when they start developing their tasks until they finish them. This way, it is easier to apply the employee`s normal workday as well as the overtime they have worked. To see it in more detail, it is necessary to give an example. In the case where the usual 40 hours per week are worked, the monthly salary must be divided by the 30 days of the month. What there is, you have to divide again by eight (understanding that these are the hours that are worked per day). The result of this last operation will be what is calculated daily. As described in our country`s Workers` Statute, in particular article 34, normal working hours are recognized as such, fixed with a maximum working time of 40 hours per week. Although this day is divided according to the type of business and the activity that takes place there, it is normal for employees to spend a maximum of 9 hours a day and thus rest for a twelve-hour period between their working days. If the standard hour is worth $10,000 and the overtime day is worth $12,500, and the worker is deducted from the two hours of Monday vacation for the two hours of Tuesday vacation, he ends up losing $5,000. If the employer accepts such a solution, the employee could then demand payment for his overtime, and the employer could be forced to pay them, since the law does not consider the reservation of time as a method of payment for the remuneration of the work.
In the case of part-time work, overtime cannot be worked, but overtime can be worked. In this case, the agreement signed between the company and the employee determines the amount of overtime that can be worked to cope with production peaks. To know how much an extra hour would cost, we need to multiply the latter result, that is, what a day`s daily work would be worth, by 1.75. All workers who have not reached the age of majority, i.e. who are not yet 18 years of age, are not allowed to work overtime during their working day. This is one of the most serious offences under current legislation and the fine for infringements can range from €3,000 to €90,000. This depends on the company`s work policy, which could set the compensatory day of rest of x overtime hours in a week. Spanish labour law regulates the performance of overtime by employees. Therefore, it is important that you know everything about them so that you can properly assert your rights. Overtime worked to prevent or repair exceptional and urgent damage is also mandatory for the employee, but in this case is not calculated within a maximum limit of 80 hours of overtime.
Some of the causes that lead to sanctions against the company related to overtime include: The same attitude towards telecommuting meant that these employees were always connected, which is not synonymous with work, but if they answer emails, open the group chat after working hours to show that they are working. In the event that economic compensation has been chosen, account should be taken of the fact that the value of overtime must never be less than the normal scheduled hours. While, on the other hand, compensation for equivalent rest periods is preferred, the Staff Regulations clearly state that `overtime compensated by rest periods within four months of their completion shall not be taken into account`. These are overtime hours that are worked when you have to participate in work peaks or unforeseen situations. This type of working time is only compulsory if it is determined by the employment contract or collective agreement of the sector. In any case, this number of hours should never exceed 30% of the day. Breaks between shifts are also in effect. Overtime may be voluntary or contractually agreed.
In the latter case, it is necessary to specify how far in advance employees must be notified in order to complete these hours. If a worker is on maternity leave, she is prohibited from working overtime during this period. Employees have the right to demand overtime pay, regardless of whether they work in the company or whether the dismissal has taken place. To assert this claim, you have a maximum period of one year after the end of overtime. In this case, the employee may work overtime one or more days of the week, which is not the case here, and work less time on the following days, so that at the end of the week, he works a maximum of 48 hours per week without having to pay overtime. In this sense, it must be said that the hours that a worker can work per year should never exceed eighty, except for repair work, prevention of accidents or urgent damage. In accordance with Article 35 of the Workers` Statute, a maximum of eighty hours of overtime may be worked per year. This calculation does not take into account overtime worked by the worker to prevent or repair accidents or urgent and exceptional damage.
Again, we need to look at the workers` statute to answer that question. Specifically, in section 35.1, which states that there are several ways to pay overtime, which always depend on the individual contract or collective agreement. This way, you can choose to pay them or compensate them for equivalent paid rest periods. While they may agree between the employer and employee to exchange overtime for days off, this is an agreement that may not be legal because overtime is an inalienable labor right and must be caused once. For employees who have a contract whose duration is shorter than the general working day of the company, they must reduce the maximum amount of overtime by the same proportion. On the other hand, the number of overtime hours per year may be increased if they have been exchanged for days off within four months of their completion. According to the latest official surveys carried out in Spain, more than 370,000 workers work overtime during their annual working day. The truth is that paying for the same has been an issue in recent years, as many of these hours are paid in the dark.