It is common for employees to work part-time (eg ½, ¾ or ⁴/₅). Clients of our PRWT accounting office ask when a part-time employee retains the right to an overtime allowance?

The general rule is that overtime work is work performed in excess of the working time standards applicable to the employee. What are these standards? Pursuant to Art. 129 of the Polish Labor Code, the working time standards are 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. In the case of full-time employees (8 hours a day), the matter is simple. But how does this relate to part-time work, where a half-time employee works 4 hours a day? Is the fifth hour of work of this employee already overtime, or only more than 8 hours of work on a given day entitle the employee to the supplement for overtime work?

It turns out that the answer to this question depends on the provisions of the employee’s employment contract. Pursuant to Art. 151 par. 5 of the Polish Labor Code, the parties should specify in the employment contract after which working time a part-time employee will retain the right to an overtime bonus. The parties to the contract are free to do so – it can be indicated that the first hour of work in excess of the current dimension is overtime work, and it can be indicated that only after working 8 hours the employee will be entitled to an additional payment for work overtime.