Overtime pay rules by country: when extra hours pay more and by how much

Overtime rates at a glance

The table shows the default statutory rule for private-sector employees. Sources and exemptions are in the country sections below.

North America: the US, Canada and Mexico

United States

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires overtime of at least one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek by non-exempt employees. There is no federal daily overtime, although some states, such as California, have one. Many salaried executive, administrative and professional employees are exempt if they meet the duties and salary tests, so a US salaried offer often carries no overtime pay at all.

Canada

Most Canadians are covered by provincial employment standards, which set their own thresholds. For federally regulated employers, the Canada Labour Code sets standard hours of 8 a day and 40 a week and requires at least 1.5 times the regular rate for hours beyond them. Managers and some professionals are excluded.

Mexico

Mexico’s Federal Labour Law limits overtime to three hours a day and no more than three times a week, and Article 67 pays those hours at 100% extra, so double the normal hourly wage. Article 68 makes hours beyond nine a week payable at 200% extra, or triple. The maximum shift is 8 hours by day, 7 at night and 7.5 for a mixed shift.

Europe: the UK, Germany and France

United Kingdom

There is no legal right to pay for working extra hours in the UK. Your contract decides whether overtime is paid and at what rate, but your average pay for total hours worked must not fall below the National Minimum Wage. Separately, you cannot be made to work more than 48 hours a week on average, normally over 17 weeks, unless you choose to opt out in writing.

Germany

Section 3 of the Working Hours Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz) limits working time to 8 hours a working day, extendable to 10 hours only if the average over six calendar months or 24 weeks stays at 8. The act sets no overtime premium. Whether extra hours are paid, given back as time off or treated as included in salary depends on the contract or collective agreement.

France

The legal working week in France is 35 hours. Overtime hours beyond that are paid at +25% for the first eight (the 36th to 43rd hour) and +50% after that, unless a company or sector agreement sets a different rate, which may not be below +10%. Overtime may also be compensated partly or fully with rest time instead of pay.

Asia: Japan and the Philippines

Japan

The Labor Standards Act sets statutory hours of 8 a day and 40 a week. Overtime requires a labour-management agreement under Article 36, and since the 2019 work-style reform it is generally capped at 45 hours a month and 360 hours a year. Article 37 requires a premium of at least 25%, rising to 50% for overtime beyond 60 hours in a month, with a 25% premium for late-night work between 10 pm and 5 am and 35% for work on statutory days off.

Philippines

Under Article 87 of the Labor Code, work beyond eight hours a day is paid an additional 25% of the regular hourly wage, or 30% of the rate for that day when it falls on a holiday or rest day. Article 86 adds a night shift differential of at least 10% for work between 10 pm and 6 am. Managerial employees and some field personnel are excluded from these hours-of-work rules.

Latin America: Brazil

Brazil’s Constitution sets normal hours at 8 a day and 44 a week and requires overtime to be paid at least 50% above normal pay. The Consolidation of Labour Laws (CLT) allows up to two extra hours a day by agreement, and permits an hours bank (banco de horas) where extra hours are offset with time off instead of pay. Overtime that is paid regularly also feeds into the 13º salário and vacation pay; see 13th-month pay by country.

Worked example: the same 50-hour week in five countries

Take an employee on a regular rate of 20 an hour (in local currency) who works 50 hours in a five-day week, 10 hours a day, with no exemption and no more generous agreement:

The example ignores daily limits that would make some of these schedules unlawful as a routine, and taxes. The point is that the same hours can add 5% to 11% to weekly pay by law in some places, and nothing in others. The hourly wage calculator converts any salary to an hourly rate so you can run your own numbers.

Salaried, exempt and remote: who misses out

• Exempt or managerial staff: the US, Canada, Japan and the Philippines all exclude some managers or professionals, so check your classification before counting on overtime.
• “Overtime included” salaries: in countries without a statutory premium, contracts often say reasonable overtime is covered by salary. Divide pay by the hours you actually work, not the contract hours.
• Remote employees: the law of the country where you are employed usually applies. If you are employed locally or through an employer of record, local overtime rules should apply to you.
• Contractors: overtime law protects employees only. A contractor’s answer to long weeks is an hourly or day rate, or a fee that prices in scope changes; see salary vs contractor pay.

Your payslip should show overtime hours and rates on separate lines. If it does not, see reading a payslip, and for how overtime fits into total pay, bonuses, overtime and total compensation.