POLICY: OVERTIME, NIGHT DUTY- AND STANDBY

ALLOWANCE

1. TITLE

Payment of overtime, night duty and standby allowance.

2. DEFINITION OF TERMS

 Normal overtime: Overtime performed during a week but has not

required Sunday work;

 Night/Sunday overtime: Overtime performed between 20:00 and

06:00 and Sundays;

 Commuted/fixed overtime: Fixed monthly overtime paid to

medical practitioners/dentists;

 Night duty: Allowance paid to employees who as a result of his

normal duties had to work night shifts;

 Standby allowance: If the employer requires an employee to be

available for performance of duty outside his or her normal working
hours.

3. PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to set out a framework as how to regulate all
payments of overtime, standby- and night duty allowance as agreed upon
by the employer and Trade Unions to all employees.

4. LEGAL FRAMEWORK

All descriptions set out in this policy are determined from the:

 Public Service Act 1994(Act 103 of 1994)

 Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act 66 of 1995)
 Public Service Regulations, 2001
 PSCBC Collective Agreements (Resolution 3 of 1999)
 Human Resource Circular 5 of 1996
 Human Resource Circular 22 of 1999
 Human Resource Circular 17 of 2000
 Human Resource Circular 73 of 2000.

Overtime\policies\20.06.2002cb
 2

5. DELEGATIONS OF AUTHORITY

The authority of approval is vested in the MEC: Health.

6. SCOPE OF APPLICABILITY

This policy is applicable to all employees within the Free State Department
of Health.

7. IMPLEMENTATION

7.1 Overtime duty:

Remunerated overtime duty is to compensate employees (excluding

employees in the management echelon) for additional duties, which they
perform in specific circumstances in excess of their normal working hours
by order of the executive authority. The department may provide
compensation through time off or additional pay.

7.1.1 Conditions:

(a) Only duty in excess of the prescribed hours of attendance

authorized by the Head of Department may be considered for
overtime remuneration.

(b) Duty performed by an employee during a period of leave is not

considered for purposes of the payment of overtime remuneration.
If an employee take leave on a Friday or Monday the weekend after
or before is also considered as holiday and will not be considered
for purposes of the payment of overtime remuneration.

(c) When considering overtime duty the head of department will take
into account the following:

(i) The circumstances, which necessitated the performance of

overtime duty.

(ii) That the number of hours overtime performed per month do

not exceed 30% of an employees basic salary, and if it did
exceed 30% a clear motivation of the circumstances
necessitate it must be provide.

(ii) The steps, which were taken to prevent the performance of

overtime duty, for example redistribution of duties among

Overtime\policies\20.06.2002cb
 3

available staff, re-allocation of staff, temporary utilization of

staff on other divisions, etc.

(iii) Particulars of any voluntary (unpaid) overtime duty

performed by staff in connection with:

 The task in respect of which the remunerated overtime is

requested; and
 The work in the division, subdivision or office in general
preceding six months.

(iv) If no voluntary overtime duty has been performed, the

reasons therefor.

(v) The Persal salary numbers and ranks of employees who will
be required to perform overtime duty.

(vi) The estimated duration of the overtime duty.

(vii) The estimated expenditure of the planned overtime.

(viii) When the performance of overtime duty is aimed at the

completion of work that has fallen in arrears, the
circumstances should be investigated.

7.1.2 Rest, meal breaks and travel:

(a) If an executing authority authorizes overtime, he/she shall ensure:

(i) fair and acceptable limits, on the extent of overtime;

(ii) periods for rest and meals; and

(iii) as far as possible, that employees travel to and from work at

a time when public transport is available.

(b) Overtime shall generally include periods:

(i) provided for rest and meals; and

(ii) when an employee must stay at his/her work but cannot

actually work due to circumstances beyond his/her control.

(c) In order to perform authorized overtime an employee may travel

from home to his/her work or from the normal workplace to home at
a time when he/she usually would not travel. In this case:

Overtime\policies\20.06.2002cb
 4

(i) If the employee was not on authorized standby duty:

 The journey counts as an official journey, but

 The time spent on the journey does not count as
overtime work; and

(ii) if the employee was on authorized standby duty, the time

spent on the journey counts as overtime work.

(d) If, in order to perform authorized overtime, an employee must travel

to a place other than his/her normal place of work, the time spent
on the journey shall count as overtime work.

7.1.3 Sunday overtime:

(a) The department will provide compensation for Sunday work when
an employee is requested to work paid overtime

(i) on a Sunday or other public holiday, if the employee does

not normally work on such a day, or

(ii) on a day the employee normally has off to compensate for

work on a Sunday or other public holiday.

(b) The department will compensate authorized Sunday work by

(i) paying the employee concerned two times his/her normal

hourly remuneration, or

(ii) granting time off equal to the time worked.

7.1.4 Normal overtime:

(a) The department shall provide compensation for normal overtime

when the Head of Department:

(i) has required an employee, in writing, to perform official

duties for more hours than the employee’s normal working
hours during a week, but

(ii) has not required Sunday work as defined in paragraph 4, or

night overtime as defined in paragraph 5.6.

(b) The department will compensate authorized normal overtime by:

Overtime\policies\20.06.2002cb
 5

(i) paying the employee concerned one and one third times
his/her normal hourly remuneration, or

(ii) granting the employee time off equal to time worked.

7.1.5 Night overtime:

(a) The department will provide compensation for night overtime when:

(i) the Head of the Department has required an employee, in

writing, to perform paid overtime between 20:00 and 06:00,
and

(ii) the employee does not normally work at night.

(b) The department will compensate authorized night overtime by:

(i) paying the employee concerned two times his/her normal

hourly remuneration, or

(ii) granting the employee time off for the time worked.

7.1.6 Commuted/Fixed overtime allowance (Medical Officers):

(a) The department may pay an employee a fixed monthly allowance to

compensate for overtime if:

(i) the employee performs reasonable similar amounts of

authorized overtime, Sunday work or night overtime from
month to month, and

(ii) the employee completes the prescribed contract.

(iii) The approval of contracts is subject to an audit/revision

whenever the operational requirements of the department
changes and is so prescribed by the Head of Department.

(b) The allowance shall be paid in accordance with the norms and
standards as prescribed by the National Departments.

7.1.7 Control of remunerated overtime/duty:

It is the responsibility of the Head of Department to see to it that:

Overtime\policies\20.06.2002cb
 6

(a) there are adequate supervision and control measures at all times
during the performance of remunerated overtime duty;

(b) remunerated overtime duty is not authorized for trifling (less than 30
minutes) periods;

(c) overtime remuneration is efficient and/or cost effective;

(d) record of all overtime duty is kept; and

(e) an attendance register is kept. The following should be indicated:

(i) Sign time on duty and time off duty;

(ii) Hours overtime worked and reason;
(iii) Page in occurrence book (OB).

7.1.8 Calculation of overtime remuneration:

(a) The remuneration awarded in respect of overtime duty is calculated

by multiplying the total number of hours (including portions of an
hour expressed as a fraction) overtime duty performed with the
applicable overtime rate.

(b) If overtime duty is performed on a relatively continuous and/or if the

regular control thereof is problematic (as in the case of one-person
offices) a fixed amount may be paid monthly as overtime
remuneration. This is calculated by converting the number of hours
overtime duty performed over a period of a year to a monthly
average and multiplying it with the applicable overtime rate.

(c) For purposes of the calculation of the applicable overtime rate, an

employee’s annual pensionable salary notch at the time of the
performance of the overtime duty should be used, and any under-
or overpayment of overtime remuneration as a result of an
adjustment of his/her salary retrospectively should be rectified.

(d) For purposes of determining the number of hours overtime duty

performed, waiting time (that is a period during which an employee
cannot start with the performance of overtime duty at his/her place
of work or continue therewith as a result of circumstances beyond
his/her control) as well as meal breaks and times of rest meant in
paragraph 11) should be considered as overtime duty.

(e) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph 4.3(ii) of chapter VII of

Agreement 3/99, an employee performing overtime duty is not
compensated for travelling time. Overtime duty should be

Overtime\policies\20.06.2002cb
 7

arranged, as far as possible, in such a manner that the commence-

ment and conclusion thereof coincide with the time during which
public transport is available. Travelling time for an employee on
authorized standby duty will be regarded as overtime.

(f) In respect of overtime duty performed during the night as meant in

paragraph 10(a) by employees falling in a group performing night
duty as a condition of service, the overtime rates mentioned in
paragraph 10(b) are applicable.

7.1.9 Overtime rates:

(a) In respect of overtime duty performed on Sundays or during the

night, that is the hours between 20:00 and 06:00, the overtime rates
is 2 x T, provided that the employee does not normally work on
Sundays.

(b) In respect of overtime duty performed at a time other than that

mentioned in paragraph (a) above, the rate is 4 x T
3

where T is calculated as follows:

T= Ax 7 x 1
1 365 B

and A is equal to the smallest of -

the salary notch of the employee concerned or if the overtime duty

is performed on a working level lower than the normal working level
of the individual concerned, the maximum salary notch of the salary
grading attached to the post class that, in the discretion of the Head
of the Department, is representative of the lower working level; and

B is equal to the weekly number of hours of attendance prescribed

for the employee.

7.1.10 Extent and periods of overtime duty:

(a) It may not be expected of an employee to work more than 3 hours

overtime per day or 10 hours per week.

(b) By arrangement employees can be expected to work 12 hours a

day, including meal periods, without receiving overtime. Employees
may not work more than 45 hours per week or more than 10 hours
overtime per week.

Overtime\policies\20.06.2002cb
 8

7.2 Night duty allowance:

The employer shall compensate an employee for the inconvenience of

working a night shift. This allowance is only payable to those employees
who works a regular night shift.

 At an institution that provides a service for over eight hours a day,

and
 between 19:00 and 07:00.

The employer shall not pay the allowance to an employee who

 works at night, but not in a regular shift, or

 receives a Personal Shift Allowance.

7.3 Standby allowance:

If the employer requires an employee to be available for the performance

of duty outside of her or his normal working hours, the employer shall pay
a standby allowance.

The employer shall pay the allowance if an employee’s supervisor

requires an employee to be available for duty.

 At a place other than the employee’s normal place of work, and

 for a period of at least 16 hours during a 24-hour period

(a) from the normal closing time of the employee’s place of work, or
(b) on a day on which the employee would not normally work.

The standby allowance shall not affect or be affected by a payment for

overtime due to the employee.

8. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The responsibility to approve the payment of overtime is vested in the

General Manager: Health Support.

9. MONITORING, EVALUATION AND REPORTING

This policy is in line with the legal framework of the Public Service and
should be adhered to by all relevant stakeholders and will be reviewed
from time to time to accommodate any changes or national directives.

Overtime\policies\20.06.2002cb
 9

Overtime\policies\20.06.2002cb