My Employer Expects Me to Work Unpaid Overtime – Is That Legal?
You finish work at 5.30pm.
But your manager regularly schedules meetings that finish at six.
Emails arrive in the evening and apparently need an immediate response.
You work through lunch because there simply isn't enough time to finish everything.
And when you mention the additional hours, you're told:
"That's just part of being committed to the job."
Perhaps you're salaried, and your contract says you may occasionally need to work additional hours.
But occasional has gradually become every day.
So where do you stand?
The short answer is that unpaid overtime is not automatically unlawful in the UK. However, employers cannot ignore contractual obligations, minimum-wage requirements or working-time protections simply because an employee receives a salary.
There is also a significant difference between occasionally working late to finish something important and being routinely expected to deliver more work than can reasonably be completed within your contracted hours.
Does my employer have to pay me overtime?
Not necessarily.
There is no automatic statutory entitlement to additional overtime pay simply because you work beyond your normal hours.
Whether additional payment is due will usually depend on your contract, any applicable collective agreement, workplace policies and established contractual arrangements.
Some employers pay overtime at an enhanced rate.
Others pay the normal hourly rate.
Some offer time off in lieu.
And some salaried contracts include a requirement to work reasonable additional hours without extra payment.
However, the employer must ensure that the applicable National Minimum Wage requirements are met. Acas
That last point is particularly important.
Being salaried does not mean your time has no value
Many employees assume that because they receive an annual salary, the employer can expect whatever additional hours are necessary.
That is not quite right.
A salary provides an agreed payment arrangement.
It does not automatically remove working-time protections or give an employer unlimited control over an employee's personal time.
Consider somebody contracted to work 37.5 hours each week.
They regularly work 45.
Occasionally, they work 50.
They receive no overtime payment and no time off in lieu.
The question is not simply whether their salary is high enough to absorb those additional hours.
It is also whether the expectation is consistent with their contract, whether working-time limits are respected and whether the workload is sustainable.
The circumstances matter.
What does your contract actually say?
This is often where the discussion becomes more complicated.
Some contracts contain wording such as:
"You may be required to work such additional hours as are reasonably necessary to fulfil your duties."
The word reasonably matters.
It does not necessarily mean that an employer can continuously increase someone's workload without considering the hours required to complete it.
Equally, an employee cannot automatically assume that every additional half-hour creates an entitlement to overtime pay.
The wording, the nature of the role and the surrounding circumstances all need consideration.
An employer might reasonably expect additional flexibility during an exceptional business event.
That is different from designing a role that consistently requires substantially more hours than the contract anticipates.
What if the extra hours take me below minimum wage?
This is where unpaid overtime can become a legal pay issue.
From 1 April 2026, the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 per hour.
Different statutory rates apply to younger workers and qualifying apprentices. GOV.UK
Employers must ensure that eligible workers receive at least the applicable minimum wage for the hours that count under the legislation.
Importantly, this protection also applies to salaried employees.
The calculation is not always as simple as dividing monthly salary by every hour worked. Different rules apply to different types of work, including salaried-hours work, and the relevant pay-reference period matters.
But additional hours can affect the calculation.
For some employees, routinely working unpaid hours could mean that their actual pay falls below the statutory minimum.
For others, the salary may remain comfortably above that threshold.
That does not automatically make every aspect of the arrangement reasonable.
It simply means the minimum-wage question and the wider employment relationship need to be considered separately.
What actually counts as working time?
Working time is not necessarily limited to the hours recorded on a timesheet.
Depending on the circumstances, it may include:
attending meetings outside normal hours;
carrying out work-related training;
completing required administrative tasks;
travelling between work assignments;
responding to work communications where the employee is required to do so; and
working through what should otherwise be a rest break.
The rules governing working time and those governing minimum-wage calculations are not identical.
That distinction can be particularly important for salaried employees, mobile workers and people required to remain available outside their normal hours.
An employee who occasionally chooses to check emails in the evening is not necessarily in the same position as somebody whose manager requires immediate responses throughout the evening.
The expectation matters.
What about the 48-hour working week?
Under the Working Time Regulations, most adult workers must not work more than an average of 48 hours per week, normally calculated over 17 weeks.
There are exceptions, and eligible workers can voluntarily agree in writing to opt out of the 48-hour limit.
An employer must not subject a worker to a detriment because they refuse to opt out.
Separate protections apply to young workers and certain types of work, including night work.
Employees are also generally entitled to appropriate daily and weekly rest.
For most adult workers, that includes an uninterrupted 20-minute rest break when working more than six hours.
Some occupations have different arrangements.
So even where additional hours are contractually permitted, employers must still consider the legal framework governing working time and rest.
When occasional overtime becomes the normal working week
This is the issue I believe deserves considerably more attention.
An employee joins an organisation with a clearly defined role and working pattern.
Over time, responsibilities increase.
A colleague leaves and is not replaced.
Another department transfers work across.
Reporting requirements become more demanding.
The organisation introduces additional systems and meetings.
Yet the employee's contracted hours remain unchanged.
Eventually, completing the role within those hours becomes almost impossible.
The employee starts earlier.
Finishes later.
Skips lunch.
Works during annual leave.
And gradually begins to believe that this is simply what the organisation expects.
The question is no longer whether the employee is prepared to be flexible. It is whether the organisation has created a workload that depends upon unpaid additional labour.
That is a very different conversation.
What employers may be considering behind the scenes
Having spent more than 20 years working on the employer side of complex people matters, I know that additional hours are not always the result of deliberate exploitation.
Sometimes an organisation is experiencing genuine operational pressure.
A vacancy may be difficult to fill.
Customer demand may increase unexpectedly.
A project may have an immovable deadline.
Budgets may be constrained.
Managers themselves may be working excessive hours and assume that everybody else should do the same.
But understanding the commercial pressures does not automatically justify transferring all of those pressures onto employees.
Good workforce planning should consider whether the organisation has enough people, capacity and capability to deliver what it expects.
If a role routinely requires 50 hours of work but is resourced and contracted for 37.5, that may be a business-design problem rather than an employee-performance problem.
The danger of rewarding those who work the longest
Workplace culture can reinforce the problem.
The employee who stays until eight is described as committed.
The employee who leaves at their contracted finishing time is considered less flexible.
The person answering emails on holiday is praised for being dependable.
The person who protects their personal time is quietly questioned about their ambition.
These attitudes can become particularly damaging when they influence performance reviews, promotion opportunities or perceptions of leadership potential.
There is nothing inherently wrong with employees choosing to work additional hours.
The difficulty arises when excessive availability becomes an unwritten requirement for being considered successful.
That can disadvantage employees with caring responsibilities, disabilities or other commitments.
Depending on the circumstances, wider equality or contractual issues may also arise.
What if your manager says you are not managing your workload?
This is a common response.
Sometimes there may be genuine performance or time-management concerns.
Not every employee who works additional hours is necessarily carrying an unreasonable workload.
But the employer should be able to distinguish between individual performance and the volume of work allocated.
Relevant considerations may include whether other employees face similar pressures, whether responsibilities have increased, whether deadlines are realistic and whether the employee has the resources required.
An employee who repeatedly works late may need development or support.
They may also be compensating for a significant organisational resourcing problem.
Those are different situations requiring different responses.
Before challenging the situation
It is understandable to feel frustrated when additional hours are consistently expected without recognition.
However, the way the issue is approached can affect what happens next.
A discussion focused entirely on how unfair the situation feels may be less productive than one grounded in the actual expectations of the role.
It is worth understanding the contractual position, how the additional work has arisen, whether the employer knows the true hours being worked and what outcome would genuinely resolve the concern.
That might involve clearer priorities, a workload review, changes to responsibilities, additional resources or a discussion about compensation.
The appropriate approach will depend on the circumstances.
And where the relationship with management is already difficult, independent guidance can be particularly valuable before the issue is escalated.
What if I believe I am owed wages?
If the employer has failed to pay wages that are contractually or legally due, there may be a potential claim.
The relevant route and limitation period will depend on the circumstances.
Employment tribunal time limits changed on 1 October 2026. For most claims arising on or after that date, the usual period is six months minus one day; earlier events may remain subject to previous limits.
An internal grievance does not normally stop the tribunal clock.
Where pay is involved, obtaining timely advice is important rather than assuming the matter can be resolved whenever the employee eventually leaves.
Frequently asked questions
Can my employer make me work overtime if my contract doesn't mention it?
An employer should not automatically assume it can require additional hours where there is no contractual obligation or agreement. The circumstances, working arrangements and applicable legal protections matter.
Can I refuse to work unpaid overtime?
Potentially, but the answer depends on your contract, whether the request is reasonable and any applicable working-time protections. Refusing without understanding those factors could create an avoidable dispute.
Does my employer have to give me time off in lieu?
Not automatically. Time off in lieu usually depends on contractual terms, policy or an agreement between the parties.
Can unpaid overtime affect my minimum-wage entitlement?
Yes. Additional hours can affect whether an employee receives the applicable statutory minimum wage. The calculation depends on the type of work and relevant pay period.
Someone in your corner
Working additional hours occasionally may be part of a demanding role.
But routinely sacrificing your personal time because the organisation cannot deliver its workload within contracted hours is something different.
If you're unsure whether your employer's expectations are reasonable, whether your contract supports them or how to raise the issue without damaging your position, TrustForce can provide an independent perspective.
We help employees understand the situation, consider the employer's likely response and identify a sensible strategy before taking action.
TrustForce — Someone in your corner.