Overtime: how to record it in the timesheet and how it is compensated

What overtime is

Work performed outside the normal weekly working time (40 hours, Article 112) is overtime (Article 120(1)). The reference is the week, not the day: if someone works 10 hours on Monday but only 6 on Friday and the week still totals 40, there is no overtime. With uneven hours or shifts, you still compare with the 40-hour weekly norm (see timesheets for shifts and uneven hours).

When you can ask for overtime

• At the employer’s request. Employees may do overtime only when the employer asks (Article 121). The request should be clear; written is safer than verbal.
• With the employee’s agreement. Overtime cannot be performed without it, except in cases of force majeure or urgent work to prevent accidents (Article 120(2)).
• Within limits. The maximum legal working time, overtime included, is 48 hours a week; it can exceptionally be exceeded if the average over a 4-month reference period does not go above 48 (Article 114).
• Not for minors. Young people under 18 cannot do overtime (Article 124).

How it is compensated

The law requires compensation, not “a favour”. The order is:

1. Paid time off, granted within the following 90 calendar days after the overtime. The employee receives normal pay for the time off (Article 122(1)–(2)).
2. A pay premium, if time off cannot be given in time. The premium is negotiated in the collective or individual employment contract and cannot be less than 75% of the base salary (Article 123).

There is another route: during periods of reduced activity, the employer may grant paid days off against which overtime performed over the following 12 months is offset (Article 122(3)).

What to record in the timesheet

The timesheet does not decide by itself what counts as overtime, but it is the evidence. Record:

• the real start and end time, every day (Article 119);
• the week’s total, not just the day’s;
• hours above 40 in the week, as overtime, with the date and the reason;
• how they were compensated: the date of the paid time off granted or the month the premium was paid.

If you want weekly totals without adding them by hand, a tool like Easy Timesheet calculates hours from the start and end time and shows you the totals; the excess over the norm is easy to spot in the monthly report.

Common mistakes

• Off-the-books or “on trust” hours. Without a record, neither the compensation nor the refusal of an unjustified premium can be proven.
• Counting per day. A 10-hour day does not automatically mean 2 hours of overtime.
• Forgotten compensation. If you do not give time off within 90 days, you have to pay the premium; the hours do not disappear.
• Going over the 48-hour limit. Overtime cannot exceed the legal limit, outside the exceptions.
• No request. Hours an employee does “on their own initiative” are generally not overtime requested by the employer; clarify in writing.

Written byPetruț Nicolae

Optometrist with over ten years in medical optics. Writes about what works in a real practice or shop, and builds the apps that daily work called for.

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