At one point or another, all of us have had to request that our employees work additional hours.

But how do you determine if the additional hours you are requesting are reasonable?

Here are 10 things you should consider before making your request:

1. Will there be a risk to the employee’s health and safety from working the additional hours?
2. Are the additional hours likely to affect the employee’s personal circumstances, including family responsibilities?
3. What are the needs of the workplace or business in which the employee is employed?
4. Is the employee entitled to receive overtime payments, penalty rates or other compensation for working additional hours?
5. Have you given the employee notice of the additional hours (i.e. have you informed them in advance and given them time to consider whether or not they are able to work the additional hours?)

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6. Has the employee given you sufficient notice of any intention to refuse to work the additional hours you have requested?
7. What are the usual patterns of work in the industry in which the employee works?
8. What is the nature of the employee’s role and level of responsibility?
9. Are the additional hours in accordance with:

•  Averaging terms included in a modern award or enterprise agreement that applies to the employee; or
•  An agreed written averaging arrangement, between the employer and an award or agreement-free employee?

10. Any other relevant matter (e.g. additional hours on a public holiday, hours the employee worked in the month prior to being required or requested to work the additional hours, etc.).

Remember, an employee can refuse to work additional hours if they are unreasonable, so it pays to take the above factors into account before you request them to.

There’s plenty more helpful information where this came from – in the Employment Law Practical Handbook.

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Tags: additional hours