Good day. In the construction industry I've noticed that it's a normal practice to ask workers who get paid hourly every fortnight to work overtime (normal time 8-5 but then overtime until 7)in the first week and then get placed on short time in the second week so that the total hours do not exceed 80, therefore their overtime gets lost. What rights do workers have in this case
I would advise that you look into and familiarise yourself with sectoral determination 2 for the civil engineering sector.
Section 9 thereof reads as follows:
OVERTIME
(1) An employer may not require or permit an employee—
(a) to work overtime except in accordance with an agreement;
(b) to work more than—
(i) 3 hours’ overtime a day; or
(ii) 10 hours’ overtime a week.
Section 10 furthermore reads that:
PAYMENT FOR OVERTIME
(1) An employer shall pay an employee who works overtime at a rate of not less than one and halftimes the ordinary wage in respect of the overtime referred to in clause 9(1): Provided that any time worked on Sundays and paid public holidays shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of clauses 15 and 16.