Question

Employer Swifty Cleaners employs many high school students after school hours and weekends to work the customer counter. During the busy holiday season Swifty cleaners has the high school workers working over 40 hours per week. However, it has come to the the students' attention that they are not receiving overtime pay when the regular full time employees who work a variety of cleaning and customer counter functions are receiving overtime pay when working over 40 hour per week. Is Employer Swifty required to pay these part time high school workers overtime in any particular week?

Answer 1

Basing on the below provisions:

1. Working hours must, in principle, not exceed 40 hours per week or eight hours per day excluding breaks (this is known as "statutory working hours"). However, some businesses are permitted to have their employees work up to 44 hours per week at a maximum of eight hours per day. These businesses include retail and beauty services, cinemas and theatres, businesses related to health and hygiene, as well as restaurants and entertainment businesses with less than 10 regular employees.
2. In the event that an employee works six hours, the employer must give that employee not less than a 45 minute break; this increases to a one hour break where working hours exceed eight hours.
3. Employers must grant employees at least one day off per week, or four days off in any four-week period (this is known as "statutory days off"). Sundays or public holidays need not necessarily be days off, and other days may be selected as employees' days off instead by agreement between the employer and employees.

Companies must pay an increased rate of wages as set forth in the table below to employees who work in excess of statutory working hours, work on statutory days off or work late at night (between 22 : 00 and 05 : 00).