Shift schedules and overtime

In general, 300 to 350 hours of overtime a year for a full-time employee is reasonable from a health and safety perspective. Overtime in excess of this amount indicates inadequate staffing levels and can have a negative impact on productivity and employee safety and health.

Use caution when holding employees beyond eight hours if they are not used to it. In such cases, you should not hold them longer than four additional hours. For 12-hour shifts, overtime should be only on days off. It may be necessary to hold an employee for an hour or two after a 12-hour shift while waiting for a relief person, but you should absolutely prohibit shifts of more than 14 hours.

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