Working Overtime? 3 Things You Should Know About Compensation

By Mark Namaswa
Workers often find themselves holed up in their places of work for more than the regular 8 hours a day. And today, with technology, employees are increasingly carrying loads of extra or unfinished work home to continue working well into the night.

“Should I demand for overtime from my employer for the extra work I carry home with me?” asks Peter Mailu, an Electrical Engineer with a construction firm based in Westlands. During a casual conversation, he disclosed that for two months, he has been working on drafts and structural designs at home every night after one of his colleagues went on leave.

The problem is, according to his employment contract, no mention of overtime is made which brings us to the question:

1. What is overtime?
According to Tabitha Kibe, HR – Farm Concern International overtime gets its definition right from the point of appointment. “Various organizations have their own definitions of overtime but from common understanding in layman’s terms, overtime refers to the extra time put in after the regular working hours.”

So is a worker like Mr Mailu without the contract stipulating overtime justified to ask for one? “Not really,” says Ms. Flora Otieno-HR Kenatco Taxis. She agrees with Ms Kibe in the fact that the contract is the main reference point.

“Overtime is as per the contract. In ordinary circumstances, if it does not provide for this then the worker is not entitled to it. The reason being is that paying overtime tends to be expensive for most employers and most of them, recognizing the extra input of their workers, offer alternative compensation.”

2. Forms of Overtime Compensation:

i. Monetary compensation:
“In this case, the terms should ideally be agreed upon during the time of engagement –when you join the company and sign agreed terms of service with the employer,” Ms. Otieno says.
However, monetary compensation has not proved popular with employers as they deem it too costly for business.

ii. Time off
Most employers prefer to compensate their workers for the extra time they have put in their course of duty by letting then have some time off from work be it and afternoon or a day.

“This happens mostly after a worker worked extra hours in a sensitive assignment to the company which in most cases is to beat deadlines,” she explains.

3. How and When to Obtain Overtime
i. “According to industry regulations,” explains Ms. Otieno, every job has its own stipulated working hours depending on the nature of the industry so ‘overtime’ is defined differently from occupation to occupation. One should therefore ask for; not demand for overtime compensation,” she advises.

“For example the overtime allowable for a driver or manual labourer cannot be the same with that of a receptionist,” says Christine Munene HR –Techno Brain Kenya. “The former is both mentally and physically demanding therefore the employee is more likely to burn out.”

ii. “Reasonable overtime therefore is a complex decision for the HR professional,” Ms Munene admits.  “However in my view no one should exceed more than 12 hours a day working. It has been said that optimal productivity is only realized in 6 out of the usual 8 working hours.”

In conclusion, Ms Munene says: “An employment relationship is like any other relationship. Each party has to make a few sacrifices. Therefore an employee should not expect compensation for extra time at all times since there are situations arising that call for this. A good employer should be able to elicit this feeling from an employee by ensuring that there is job satisfaction and commitment to work. That way the employee doesn’t feel cheated.”