Am I not entitled to overtime compensation if the total working hours have been recorded in my employment contract?

My total working hours have been recorded in my employment contract. My supervisor has said I am not entitled to overtime compensation because of this. Is the regulation on total working hours legal? Am I entitled to overtime compensation?

The concept of total working hours is not recognised by the Working Hours Act. If the Working Hours Act applies to your employment, an agreement on total working hours made with you is never legal. According to the Working Hours Act, the Act does not apply to work which must be considered management of an undertaking or an independent part thereof by virtue of the relevant duties and of the employee's position otherwise.

Pursuant to this provision, the Working Hours Act does not apply to senior management or those working immediately below senior management. However, middle management is usually covered by the Act. The Working Hours Act does not apply to independent work directly comparable to management. In this case, the employee’s position must usually be above middle management and the employee must have independent authority comparable to management, and his/her position and duties must be independent.

If you are not excluded from the scope of the Working Hours Act by virtue of the provisions referred to above, the condition on total working hours recorded in your employment contract is unlawful. And you are entitled to overtime compensation.

In specific cases, overtime compensations can be paid as separate monthly remuneration under the Working Hours Act, upon agreement. Such an agreement can be made with managerial employees and employees whose primary duty is to directly supervise or oversee work and who do not participate or participate only temporarily in the work of those whose work they supervise or oversee. If you enter an agreement on separate monthly remuneration, the amount of overtime worked must be assessed accurately, in order to make the monthly remuneration correspond to it. It is also advisable to adjust the agreement annually, to make sure it is in line with the actual hours of overtime worked.