Polish Employees:
Regulations: In Poland, overtime regulations are governed by the Labor Code. Polish labor law establishes maximum working hours and overtime compensation rules to protect employees’ rights and ensure fair compensation for additional work.
Maximum Working Hours: The standard workweek in Poland is typically 40 hours, with variations based on industry and collective agreements. Overtime work is limited to a certain number of hours per week or month, generally not exceeding 8 hours per week or 150 hours per year.
Overtime Compensation: Overtime work in Poland is compensated at a higher rate than regular hours. According to Polish labor law, overtime pay is typically calculated as 150% of the regular hourly wage for the first 8 hours of overtime on a given day and 200% for subsequent hours.
Collective Agreements: Overtime pay rates and other labor-related matters may be negotiated through collective agreements between employers and trade unions in Poland.
American Employees:
Regulations: In the United States, overtime regulations are governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), administered by the Department of Labor. The FLSA establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards for employees in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments.
Maximum Working Hours: The standard workweek in the United States is typically 40 hours, although some states may have different regulations. Overtime work is generally defined as hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek.
Overtime Compensation: Under the FLSA, non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay at a rate of at least 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek. Some states may have additional overtime pay requirements or higher overtime pay rates.
Exemptions: Certain categories of employees, such as executive, administrative, and professional employees, may be exempt from overtime pay requirements under the FLSA if they meet specific salary and job duties criteria.
Differences:
Legal Framework: Overtime pay regulations in Poland are governed by the Labor Code, while in the United States, they are regulated by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state labor laws.
Overtime Calculation: While both Poland and the United States provide for overtime pay at a higher rate than regular hours, the specific calculation methods and rates differ between the two countries.
Exemptions: The FLSA includes exemptions for certain categories of employees, such as salaried white-collar workers, from overtime pay requirements, whereas Polish labor law does not have equivalent exemptions based on job duties.
Collective Bargaining: Collective bargaining agreements play a significant role in setting overtime pay rates and other labor-related matters in Poland, whereas they may have less influence in the United States outside of unionized industries.
Overall, while both Poland and the United States have regulations governing overtime pay to ensure fair compensation for additional work, there are differences in the legal framework, calculation methods, exemptions, and influence of collective bargaining agreements between the two countries. Employers operating in both jurisdictions must understand and comply with the relevant overtime pay regulations applicable to their employees.
