Overtime Pay Rules in Europe 2026: Country Guide

The 48-hour ceiling that applies everywhere

Before the country details, the one rule that crosses every EU border: the EU Working Time Directive caps the average working week at 48 hours including overtime, usually averaged over a four-month reference period. No contract, no manager and no "startup culture" can lawfully require you to average more than that — and in many countries you can only opt out of the cap voluntarily, in writing, and you can withdraw that opt-out. The directive also guarantees minimum daily rest (11 consecutive hours) and weekly rest. Everything below sits underneath this ceiling. For the wider legal landscape, read our European labour law basics for foreign workers.

Germany: premium by agreement, not by statute

German law sets the frame but not the price. The Working Hours Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz) limits the day to 8 hours on average (extendable to 10 if the six-month average stays at 8), but there is no statutory overtime premium. Whether your extra hours pay +25%, pay nothing extra, or convert to time off (Freizeitausgleich) depends on your contract or the applicable collective agreement (Tarifvertrag).

• Collective agreements commonly set premiums around 25% for overtime, higher for Sundays and public holidays.
• Many white-collar contracts include an Überstundenpauschale — a flat allowance with which "all overtime is deemed compensated". Courts have repeatedly struck down blanket clauses covering unlimited overtime; only a defined number of hours can be bundled this way.
• Record your hours. Since the European Court of Justice ruling on working-time recording, German employers must operate an objective time-tracking system — your logged hours are your evidence.

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France: the clearest statutory formula in Europe

France has the most mechanical overtime system on the continent. The legal working week is 35 hours; anything beyond is heures supplémentaires, paid at +25% for the first 8 overtime hours per week and +50% beyond that, unless a collective agreement sets a rate at least as favourable (it cannot go below +10%).

• Overtime can be replaced by equivalent compensatory rest (repos compensateur) if a collective agreement allows it — common in larger companies.
• There is an annual overtime quota (contingent annuel), by default 220 hours per year; beyond it, each overtime hour also earns mandatory compensatory rest.
• Cadres on day-based forfait agreements (forfait jours) are outside the hourly overtime system entirely — check whether your contract is forfait heures or forfait jours before assuming overtime pay.

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Netherlands: check the CAO, because the statute is silent

Like Germany, the Netherlands has no statutory overtime premium. The Working Hours Act (Arbeidstijdenwet) caps shifts at 12 hours and the week at 60, with lower averages over longer reference periods — but what overtime pays is decided by your contract or the sector's collective labour agreement (CAO).

• Many CAOs set premiums of 25–50%, or grant time off in lieu at 100% plus a cash supplement.
• Part-time workers face the well-known meeruren trap: hours above your part-time contract but below full-time are often paid at the normal rate, with premiums kicking in only above full-time hours. If you work 32 contracted hours, clarify exactly when the premium starts.
• Because so much depends on the CAO, always ask which CAO applies to your role — two people doing similar jobs at different Dutch employers can have very different overtime terms.

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Ireland: overtime is a contract term, not a right

Ireland's Organisation of Working Time Act enforces the 48-hour average cap and rest breaks, but there is no statutory right to overtime pay at all. If your contract is silent on overtime, extra hours may legally be unpaid — and many salaried professional contracts in Dublin's tech and finance sectors say exactly that ("reasonable additional hours as required").

• Where overtime is paid, time-and-a-half is the common market practice for hourly and shift workers, double time for Sundays and public holidays in many retail and hospitality agreements.
• Because the statute gives you nothing here, the contract negotiation matters more in Ireland than almost anywhere else in Europe: get the overtime clause in writing before you sign.

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Spain: paid at least at par, or rested within four months

Spain's Workers' Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores) takes a distinctive approach: overtime (horas extraordinarias) must be compensated either in cash at no less than the ordinary hourly rate, or with equivalent paid rest within four months — the applicable collective agreement (convenio colectivo) chooses which. Overtime is voluntary as a rule, capped at 80 hours per year for full-time workers (pro-rated for part-time).

• Night work (10pm–6am) and the specific premiums for it are set by the convenio — always check the sector agreement, not just your contract.
• Hours worked to make up for absences or to prevent damage (horas de fuerza mayor) sit outside the 80-hour cap.

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Italy: the CCNL decides everything

Italy sets the 40-hour standard week and the 48-hour average ceiling, but overtime premiums live in the national collective agreements (CCNL) — and there are hundreds of them. As a rule of thumb, expect around +25% for daytime overtime, rising for night work, Sundays and public holidays, with some sector agreements reaching +50% or more for holiday work.

• Overtime beyond the CCNL's annual limits needs justification, and managers (dirigenti) are typically excluded from overtime pay entirely.
• Because the CCNL is decisive, identify yours — metalworkers, commerce, tourism and logistics agreements all differ — and read its overtime article before you dispute a payslip.

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Poland: the Labour Code spells it out

Poland is the most codified of the seven. The Labour Code grants +50% of the hourly rate for daytime overtime and +100% for overtime at night, on Sundays, or on public holidays — plus a separate +20% night-work allowance for every night hour worked. Overtime is capped at 150 hours per year unless a collective agreement or your contract sets a different limit, and the employer can alternatively grant time off in lieu at your request or its own initiative.

• Managers of workplaces and employees in "managerial positions" are generally excluded from overtime pay (except for Sunday/holiday work without a rest day in return).
• Poland's rules apply per employment relationship — relevant if you hold two contracts (see below).

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Side-by-side: overtime premiums at a glance

Night, weekend and holiday differentials

Across all seven countries, work outside normal hours attracts extra compensation, but the mechanism varies: France folds Sunday and night premiums into collective agreements on top of the statutory overtime rates; Germany's Sunday work is heavily restricted by law and usually compensated with a substitute rest day plus premiums via agreement; Spain and Italy leave night differentials to the convenio/CCNL; Poland codifies the +20% night allowance directly. If you are signing a shift-work or hospitality contract, the night/weekend article of the collective agreement is the single most valuable paragraph to read.

Remote workers: overtime still counts

Working from home does not waive working-time law. The 48-hour average cap, rest periods and overtime rules apply to remote workers in all seven countries — which is precisely why employers were required to implement time-tracking. The practical problem is proof: log your hours in the employer's system every day, keep your own parallel record, and clarify in writing how overtime is authorised remotely (many employers require prior written approval, and "voluntary" evening work without approval may not qualify for premiums).

How to check what your contract actually owes you

1. Find the overtime clause in your contract. Look for the premium rate, the time-off-in-lieu option, and any "all-in" flat clause — and check whether a flat clause is even lawful for your role and country (German courts, for example, limit them).
2. Identify the collective agreement. Tarifvertrag, convention collective, CAO, convenio colectivo, CCNL — in six of the seven countries this document, not your contract, sets the real overtime price. Your payslip or HR department will name it.
3. Check your payslips line by line. Overtime should appear as separate lines with the premium visible. Missing lines are the most common real-world violation.
4. Know your notice and contract terms. Overtime disputes often surface during probation or resignation — our guide to notice periods and job contracts in Europe covers what happens to outstanding overtime claims when you leave.

What to do if overtime goes unpaid

Start with the payslip and the collective agreement: most "unpaid overtime" cases are miscalculations against the wrong baseline, and a precise written query to HR or payroll resolves them. If the employer's position contradicts the agreement, the next step in most of these countries is the works council (Betriebsrat, comité social et économique, ondernemingsraad) or the sector union — both free to consult and experienced with exactly this dispute. Labour inspectorates (Arbeitsinspektion, Inspection du travail, Inspección de Trabajo) accept anonymous reports in several countries. Keep every timesheet, approval email and payslip: overtime claims in Europe are won on records, not on memory. Browse current openings on our European jobs board — and read the overtime clause before you sign the next contract, not after.