Overtime

If you are a full-time employee, overtime is any work that your employer orders you to do in addition to your regular working time, (annual working time). The basic principle is that overtime should be avoided as far as possible. Overtime work should primarily be given to employees who volunteer to work overtime. If this is not possible, overtime work should be shared among several employees as a work environment consideration. To avoid misunderstandings, it is important that you document any order to work overtime. 

Ordered overtime 

All overtime work should be at the order of the employer, which means that the manager must authorise the overtime in advance. Only overtime work that has been ordered in advance by the employer gives you the right to compensation, either in the form of money or time off. Other work outside regular working time is not compensated for. It is therefore important that you do not decide yourself to work overtime, as it may be difficult to obtain compensation for it afterwards. 
Employers can order a maximum of 150 hours of overtime per year and per person. There is also a limit to the amount of overtime you are permitted to work each month. 

Can I refuse to work overtime? 

If you are on partial sick leave, your employer cannot order you to work overtime. Remember that working overtime may affect any benefits you receive from the Social Insurance Agency. 

Similarly, if you are on partial statutory leave or are at home caring for a sick child, your employer cannot ask you to work overtime. 

If you have taken partial retirement, some overtime may be acceptable, but it may not exceed 25 hours per calendar year. 

If you have good reasons for not being able to work overtime, you may be exempted. 

Exemptions 

If your employer proposes that you sign an individual agreement on overtime, we recommend that you contact your local trade union representatives. 

Compensation for overtime 

If you have worked overtime, you are entitled to compensation. The Villkorsavtal-T collective agreement on terms and conditions of employment stipulates that compensation can be given in the form of money, (overtime pay), or time off, (compensatory leave), if you prefer and if this does not cause unreasonable disruption for the employer. 

The compensation can be simple or more complex, depending on the amount of overtime or when it was worked. You can read more about what rules apply in chapter 4, section A of the Villkorsavtal-T collective agreement. There may also be local rules on compensation for overtime. Talk to your local trade union representatives to find out what rules apply to you at your workplace. 

Overtime should not be compensated for by being given more time for research or skills development. That is part of your job and not acceptable compensation for working overtime. 

Local rules

In some cases, some or all of the provisions of the Villkorsavtal-T collective agreement can be replaced or supplemented by local collective agreements. Contact the local Saco-S association or the local SULF association at your higher education institution for more information on any local rules regarding overtime. 

If you have been ordered to work overtime  

Make sure to document all your ordered overtime

As overtime should be ordered, and to avoid any doubt about how the overtime should be handled or whether it actually was even overtime, SULF recommends that you document all overtime ordered by your employer. Do not accept verbal agreements, as these will be difficult for you to use as evidence. Demand written confirmation from the relevant manager, stating that the extra work you are to carry out is outside your work task plan and is to be regarded as overtime.  

Dialogue with your manager 

It is important that you have a continuous dialogue with your manager so that you agree on your duties. It is important that your work task plan is up to date so that it is easy to monitor and ensure that your workload does not exceed what you have agreed and what is permitted by law or collective agreements. If you feel that your workload is too great and you cannot manage all your work within your working time, you must report this so that you do not decide yourself to work overtime. Excessive workload is a work environment problem and should be addressed accordingly.