Updated: 21 May 2024
Reading time: 2 min
In everyday language, extra hours (lavoro supplementare) and overtime (lavoro straordinario) are often confused or treated as the same thing. In fact they are different concepts, with different rules.
To understand the difference, start from “normal working hours”, which Article 3 of Legislative Decree no. 66/2003 sets at 40 hours a week.
Work beyond this legal limit is called overtime.
That said, collective agreements can set shorter normal working hours. In that case, hours worked beyond the contractual hours and up to the legal limit count as extra hours.
For example, if the collective agreement sets a 37-hour week, extra hours are those worked after the 37th hour and up to the 40th.
For a part-time contract, under Article 6 of Legislative Decree no. 81/2015, extra hours are those worked beyond the contractual hours and within the normal working hours set by Article 3 of Legislative Decree no. 66/2003 mentioned above, while overtime is work beyond those limits.
Extra hours and overtime can also add up: if, for example, the collective agreement sets a 37-hour week and 42 hours are worked, the worker is entitled to be paid for three extra hours and two hours of overtime.
With part-time work, on the other hand, if the individual contract sets, for example, 20 hours a week and 42 are worked, the worker is entitled to be paid for twenty extra hours and two hours of overtime.
Finally, extra hours and overtime are paid at higher rates than “normal” hours, although the percentages can differ depending on the collective agreement.
So it's important to separate extra hours from overtime precisely, to calculate the pay owed correctly.
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