What categories of workers are entitled to overtime pay and how is it calculated?
An employee may be entitled to overtime pay under an applicable industrial award, enterprise or other workplace agreement, or individual contract of employment including Australian Workplace Agreements and, from March 2008, Individual Transitional Employment Agreements. It is common for overtime provisions to operate in respect of hours worked in excess of the employee’s ordinary weekly hours or, in respect of a day’s work, for time worked outside the spread of hours within which hours paid at the ordinary time rate of pay may be worked. The rate of pay in respect of overtime varies considerably. It is generally calculated at time-and-a-half or double time – according to the number of hours worked in excess of ordinary hours and, in some cases, on the days upon which such work is performed. As a general rule, subject to any applicable industrial award or agreement, employees at managerial level or otherwise employed under a contract that provides an annual salary are not paid overtime
