News Releases 10-14

Working 9 to 9: Overtime Emerging as a Concern for Canadian Organizations

Ottawa, August 11 — Legal challenges to unpaid overtime, and concerns from both management and employees, are leading many Canadian organizations to put their overtime practices under scrutiny.

Two-thirds of respondents to a Conference Board survey said overtime compensation concerns have been raised by employees (11 per cent), management (20 per cent), or both (33 per cent) over the past year. Concerns centre on employee eligibility for overtime pay, compliance with legislation, control of overtime costs, and potential legal liabilities associated with unpaid overtime.

“Organizations should have three goals in managing overtime,” said Michael Bloom, Vice-President, Organizational Effectiveness and Learning. “First, they should seek ways to make the most efficient use of overtime to optimize organizational performance. Second, employers need to mitigate any potential liabilities resulting from claims of unpaid overtime. Third, organizations can implement policies—for example, around the use of personal digital assistants (PDAs)—that help ensure employees achieve a suitable work-life balance.”

Based on the survey responses of 130 mostly mid-to-large-sized organizations, employers stand in one of three camps regarding their compliance with overtime regulations:

• 38 per cent of respondents identify the management of overtime and associated risks as a critical issue that needs to be addressed and is squarely on management’s radar. Compared with the other segments, these organizations—which are more likely to be private-sector organizations in high-tech, communications and business services sectors—have the highest percentage of employees working overtime; concerns have been raised internally.
• 24 per cent of respondents—made up more of firms in construction and manufacturing, or finance, insurance and real estate, and with some unionized employees—say the issue of overtime compensation is just moving onto management’s agenda.
• 38 per cent of respondents—more likely to be organizations in the government, education, health and not-for-profit sectors—have overtime policies and practices that are tightly managed and well under control.

The report, Working 9 to 9: Overtime Practices in Canadian Organizations, also includes tips to help employers guard against overtime lawsuits. For example, the report highlights how organizations can develop policies around the use of PDAs, in order to protect themselves against claims of unpaid wages for employees working remotely.