Conor D'Arcy's slides from this event.

1. Time for time-and-a-half?
Protections and premia for overtime workers
Liz Banks, Recruitment & Employment Confederation
Conor D’Arcy, Resolution Foundation
Ed Miliband MP
Sarah O’Connor, FinancialTimes
MatthewTaylor, RSA
Torsten Bell, Resolution Foundation
@resfoundation #overtime
Wifi: 2QAG_guest p: W3lc0m3!!

2. Debate on quality of work focuses on ZHCs and gig economy but, in
terms of numbers affected, overtime is a much bigger deal
2

3. Overtime is less common than in the late 1990s but still 1.1bn hours of
overtime worked each year
3

4. The premium overtime workers receive has fallen too
4

5. Falling premia may be linked to UK having no overtime legislation,
making it an outlier internationally
5
• Potential concerns policy can address include income insecurity
and impact on work-life balance
• Three broad kinds of response:
• Limits on when overtime is acceptable (Poland) or how many
hours can be worked (Spain)
• Protections ensuring staff can turn down hours (NZ) or
discouraging employers from last-minute changes (NYC)
• Premia boosting pay for all overtime hours (Austria), for low-
paid f/t workers (USA) or an uplift to the minimum wage
(Canada)

6. 6
ZERO-HOURS
CONTRACTS
Taylor Review idea of a higher minimum wage for non-guaranteed
hours targeted ZHCs…

7. 7
ZERO-HOURS
CONTRACTS
Taylor Review idea of a higher minimum wage for non-guaranteed
hours targeted ZHCs but has brought overtime into range too
OVERTIME

8. A premium for overtime is an idea worth pursuing, but lots of options
on how this is done
8
• A premium on overtime is a trade-off between potential winners
(those that get more security/higher pay) and possible losers
(those offered fewer hours) – makes policy design important
• Options include:
• A kind of minimum wage for overtime (Taylor Review)
• A real minimum wage for any non-guaranteed hours
• A minimum overtime premium that goes beyond the lowest
paid

9. Recommendations
9
• Taylor Review opening up this area for discussion is v.welcome
• Limits on overtime not right for UK’s labour market
• But greater protections would be welcome
• Overtime premium should be pursued, while recognising it could have
large effects both positive and negative
• Govt should run pilots with regional/sectoral focus, varying size of
premium and how far up the pay ladder it stretches but shouldn’t just
be for the very lowest earners
• AsTaylor Review recommended, involve Low Pay Commission as well
as unions, industry bodies and devolved leaders

10. Time for time-and-a-half?
Protections and premia for overtime workers
Liz Banks, Recruitment & Employment Confederation
Conor D’Arcy, Resolution Foundation
Ed Miliband MP
Sarah O’Connor, FinancialTimes
MatthewTaylor, RSA
Torsten Bell, Resolution Foundation
@resfoundation #overtime
Wifi: 2QAG_guest p: W3lc0m3!!