Normal working hours and overtime

Chapter 2 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) regulates working hours, including normal working hours and overtime. The maximum normal working hours allowed for employees earning less than the established income threshold amount in terms of section 9 of the BCEA is 45 hours per week. This means nine hours per day (excluding the lunch break) if the employee has a five day working week, and eight hours per day (excluding the lunch break) if the employee works more than five days per week.

This does not mean that the employee must necessarily work 45 hours per week. The number of normal working hours worked is a matter of contractual agreement between the employer and employee. Some employers work a 40 hour work week, and so on. The legal limit of 45 hours per week means that the employee may not work more than 45 hours per week of normal working hours. Lunch is unpaid time and is considered the employee’s own time, because they are not paid for lunch breaks.

As a result, an employee who works a five day workweek and receives a one hour lunch break per day will actually be at the workplace 50 hours per week (45 hours of normal working hours plus five hours for lunch breaks).

The lunch break must be given after five hours of continuous work. Under the BCEA, tea breaks will not qualify as a break in working hours. The legal lunch break is one hour, but can be shortened to 30 minutes by agreement between the employee and employer.

Overtime

The maximum permitted overtime is three hours on any day or 10 hours per week. Furthermore, the law states that an employer may not, under normal circumstances, allow/require an employee to work more than 12 hours on any day, including overtime. The law also establishes a minimum daily rest period of 12 continuous hours between shifts for employees who do not reside on the employer’s premises.

An employee who normally works nine hours a day and takes a one hour lunch break has already been at work for 10 hours and as such will not be able to work more than two hours of overtime per day, otherwise his shifts will be less than 12 hours apart.

Overtime is not mandatory and may only be worked per an agreement between the employer and employee. Please note that such an agreement is only valid for a period of 12 months and must be renewed annually. Failure to renew this agreement, or to enter into a new agreement, may result in employees being legally able to refuse to work overtime.

An employer must also give employees reasonable notice when they are going to be required to work overtime and as such may refuse to work overtime at short notice. However, an employee may not refuse to work overtime in terms of section 6(2) of the BCEA if the work to be done must be done immediately due to circumstances for which the employer could not reasonably have provided, and which cannot be done by employees during normal working hours.

Remuneration shall be at 1.5 (one and a half) times the employee’s normal rate of pay, except for work done on Sundays and public holidays. Any overtime worked on a Sunday shall be paid in accordance with the statutory provisions for Sundays and public holidays. Time off, calculated according to the same formula, may be given in lieu of pay, provided that this has been agreed to in writing with the employee.

This article is intended as general information for employers who fall under the scope of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. To ensure that you as an employer are aware of the correct overtime applicable to your sector, or to obtain advice on this, contact the LWO on 086 110 1828.

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