happy black woman with lots of money

DISCLAIMER: The content of this website, by its very nature, is general, whereas each user’s situation is unique. Therefore, please note the information contained within this website is for informational purposes only. All efforts have been executed to present accurate, up to date, and reliable, complete information. No warranties of any kind are declared or implied. Users of this website acknowledge that the Know Yu Rights Jamaica website is not engaging in the rendering of legal, financial or professional advice.

Please read our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use for further information.

What is Overtime?

In Jamaica, you are expected to work forty (40) hours for the week, therefore, any second beyond those forty hours is considered overtime (time that you work in addition to your expected work hours).

Flexible Work Arrangements

The flexibility of work arrangements has resulted in employers and employees being able to negotiate:

  1. The number of hours an employee works per day. It can now be more than 8 hours, but not more that 12 hours per day. E.g., you can choose to work 9am to 5pm OR 7am to 7pm.
  2. The number of days an employee works for the week. Due to #1 above, this means that an employee can agree to reduce the number of days he/she works, as long as the employee works his/hers 40hrs. E.g., If you decide to work 10hrs per day, you can choose to work Tuesday to Friday, instead of the usual Monday to Friday.
  3. The actual days an employee works. A “week” means a seven day period, not just Monday to Friday, therefore, all days can be regular work days, even Saturdays and Sundays.

How is Overtime Calculated in Jamaica

male employee working overtime

  1. Overtime pay in Jamaica is only required:
    • for extra time worked (any time beyond the 40hrs) OR
    • on rest days OR
    • on public holidays.
  2. Overtime rate in Jamaica is time and a half. This means overtime rate = 1.5 x your hourly rate. N.B. Your employer can always do better than the bare minimum, so you can negotiate for your overtime rate to be double time (2 x hourly rate) or triple time (3 x hourly rate). E.g., You can negotiate that when you work on public holidays, you get paid triple time, but when you work on your rest days, you get double time.

Feel free to use our overtime calculator to see how much overtime you worked last week or month.

Overtime Pay & Jamaican Employees

Please ensure that you are familiar with the details of your work contract. You must know:

  • the hours you are required to work per day;
  • the days of the week that you are required to work in order to complete your 40hrs;
  • the overtime rate that will be paid for any extra time worked (any time beyond the 40hrs) or public holidays.

Information is key, but it is the use of information that is power. So, nuh mek dem tek yu fi eediot…know yu rights!

author-sign