can an employer pay some of his/her staff double time for working overtime or do they have to offer all staff double time for working extra hours ? can they just choose who they want to pay double time to ? what would you do if your employer did this , especially if you worked overtime on a regular basis for your normal hourly rate ? could you take your employer to a tribunal for this ?

I suppose it depends on what it says in your contract...

Overtime can be paid at any rate , but it should specify in your contract what the rate is. If staff have different contracts then it is possible for them to be paid at different rates. Tribunals can be invoked for things like constructive dismissal etc but there are several steps to go through first. I would strongly recommend joining a trade union and use their resources and expertise in this area.

truman, i dont recall seeing anything in the contract about this.

what about staff that dont have a contract but have worked there over 3 years on the same hours every week ?

employers can pay to people what ever they want as long as the person reciving it is ok and it is above natinaiol min wage sometimes companys use it as a golden carrot

Overtime should be paid at a pre-arranged rate or as a multiple of your normal hourly rate as outlined in your contract of employment.
Should there be no rate mentioned then yes, overtime will usually be paid at normal time.
As contracts differ depending on what type of employee you are, i.e. job description and seniority of position then different people will be paid different overtime rates.
Also remember that overtime is just that - hours worked outside of your normal ones that are not contractually enforceable, which basically means if you don't agree to being paid just normal time then you have every right to tell them to get some other mug to do it without fear of retribution.

There is always a contract even if its only a verbal one. This sounds like a standard management method of divide and conquer !. You have the right to ask for a copy of your contract / terms and conditions of employment. However I suspect that you work for an employer who may cause trouble for you if you start asking questions. Thats why I suggest joining a Union , you dont have to tell your employer that you are doing this but if they start getting awkward you have the strength of the Union to back you up , and that includes free representation at any tribunal etc

Are you aware of anyone employed in the same position as you getting either a different basic pay or overtime rate?
If so is your employer approachable? If they are then how about just having a quiet word with the boss and seeing if they can rectify it?
If not then Steelheads idea of joining a union is best as they offer free legal advice to members and they will also approach your employer on your behalf.

steelhead can i pm you please ?

what about staff that dont have a contract but have worked there over 3 years on the same hours every week ?

you should have a written contract of employment, if you dont then is there a company handbook or similar document which covers terms and conditions of employment? if there is, then that will probably be your contract of employment. a verbal contract of employment is still a contract of employment but in a dispute about it, it boils down to their word against yours.

as you have worked there over two months then you can insist on a written contract

also many employers do not pay part time staff overtime rates until they have worked the full time hours at their ordinary rate ...

The employer can pay people at different rates, so long as they don't discriminate on the grounds of race, gender etc.

no got to be same rate for all unless there casuals

we used to get time and half for anything over 8 hours,but new starters were getting different contracts, and only got time and half once they had done 39 hrs so we were on different rates. then we got double time for saturdays and sundays where as newbies only got double time for sundays.

no got to be same rate for all unless there casuals

What if people's contracts are different?

then time to contact acas

steelhead can i pm you please ?

Yes of course you can

the only way staffs contracts are different is the hours of work, we all do the same job, just that some staff work full time and some work part time, and it does state in contracts that staff are expected to cover shifts for sickness and annual leave, but it doesnt say anything about pay rates for overtime.

the only way staffs contracts are different is the hours of work, we all do the same job, just that some staff work full time and some work part time, and it does state in contracts that staff are expected to cover shifts for sickness and annual leave, but it doesnt say anything about pay rates for overtime.

doing the same job doesn't mean the contracts are the same.

i used to work for an outsourcing company and there were several sets of staff doing essentially the same job who were on different contracts. the company did try and rationalise the contracts but they never managed to achieve it.

no got to be same rate for all unless there casuals

I get paid more than some of my colleagues, and less than others, for doing the same job. This is because we are on performance related pay so at the end of each year get a payrise dependent on our performance over the last year. Also when people start, we offer them a starting salary based on their experience so not everyone starts on the same.

It's not illegal, it's quite common.

So long as it's not done on grounds of race, sex etc it's allowed.

we dont get performance related pay, everyone gets the same rate, ive worked there nearly 4 years and ive never known the manager to pay her staff double time unless its xmas or a bank holiday, thers a member of staff been there 14 yrs since the company opened and shes never known this to happen either, the manager has only just started doing this over the last few weeks, and only with certain members of staff.