Overtime in Europe: Regulation and practice

All Member States have a framework to set rules for maximum working time. In some countries, working overtime is viewed as a normal part of employees’ duties for which they are expected to make themselves available, while in others overtime is seen as exceptional, to be authorised only under specific circumstances.

Overtime and long working days have harmful effects on a worker’s physical and mental health and are illness risk factors with dose–response effects: the greater the exposure, the greater the risk. Overtime can also impact on employees’ working time preferences and work–life balance.

Healthcare, social work, mining and quarrying, manufacturing, transport and storage, construction, and education are the sectors consistently showing a high prevalence and/or extent of overtime. Men, workers aged 25–55 and workers with higher levels of education are more likely to report working overtime and to report longer overtime hours than others.

The COVID-19 crisis may have accentuated the associated risks, as workers were encouraged to work overtime to compensate for potential losses of productivity. With the growth of remote working following the pandemic, the way working hours are recorded is also changing and additional hours often constitute invisible ‘grey overtime’. Provisions for the right to disconnect being introduced in some countries will be an important way to address this challenge.

Although workers are usually compensated for overtime, unpaid overtime still seems to be pervasive in the EU, generally resulting from pressure exerted on workers. At the same time, discussions around unpaid overtime are taking place in large sectors in which social dialogue has an established role, such as metalwork, logistics and healthcare, as well as in specific areas such as the game development industry and the academic sphere.