What overtime means
Overtime is hours worked beyond the normal working hours agreed for the job.
That definition depends on something being normal in the first place. The Labour Act provides that normal hours of work are fixed by agreement, by a collective bargaining agreement, or by an industrial wages board, rather than being set at a single national figure.
So overtime is measured against your own arrangement. A contract stating forty hours a week makes the forty first hour overtime. A contract that says nothing about hours leaves nothing to measure against, which is exactly the position a great many Nigerian employees are in.
The Act also gives a worker who works six hours or more in a day a rest interval of at least one hour, which is separate from overtime but frequently ignored in practice.
How it is used
Because there is no statutory rate, overtime is a contractual matter, and the arrangements in Nigerian workplaces vary widely.
Some employers pay a multiple of the hourly rate, commonly time and a half on weekdays and double on rest days and public holidays. Some pay a flat allowance per additional shift. Some give time off in lieu instead of money. Many senior and salaried roles are described as requiring whatever hours the job needs, with no overtime at all.
What a workable policy states is: the normal hours, how overtime is authorised in advance, the rate or the time off in lieu equivalent, how it is recorded, and when it is paid.
Authorisation is the part that prevents disputes. An employee who stays late every evening without approval and then claims two years of overtime is in a weak position, and an employer who benefited from the hours while never approving them is in an uncomfortable one.
Key features
- Work beyond the normal hours agreed for that job
- Normal hours are fixed by agreement, collective agreement or industrial wages board
- No national statutory overtime rate in Nigeria
- Commonly paid at a multiple of the hourly rate, or compensated by time off in lieu
- A rest interval of at least one hour applies where six or more hours are worked
- Should be authorised in advance and recorded contemporaneously
How this works in Nigeria
The absence of a statutory rate is the defining feature, and it explains most of the confusion.
Employees frequently assume a legal entitlement to time and a half because they have read about other countries. There is no such national rule in Nigeria. Where it exists, it exists because a contract, a handbook or a collective agreement created it.
Collective agreements matter more here than anywhere else in employment practice. In unionised sectors such as oil and gas, manufacturing and banking, overtime rates are often set by agreement between the union and the employer, and those rates bind.
For salaried professional staff, the practical position is that overtime is usually not paid at all, and the compensation is the salary itself. That is lawful, but it should be stated in the contract rather than assumed.
Record keeping is the employee's protection. Where hours are disputed, a contemporaneous record supported by emails, access logs or shift sheets is worth far more than recollection.
Overtime vs time off in lieu vs shift allowance
Three ways employers compensate extra or unsocial hours.
Overtime is payment for additional hours worked, usually at an enhanced rate where the contract provides one. It costs the employer cash.
Time off in lieu is additional hours repaid as time rather than money. It costs the employer capacity rather than cash, and it needs a written rule about how long the time can be banked before it lapses or converts to payment.
A shift allowance is paid for working a particular pattern, such as nights or weekends, regardless of whether the total hours exceed normal hours. It compensates inconvenience, not extra time.
An employee doing night shifts within normal hours is owed a shift allowance if the contract provides one, but no overtime. An employee doing extra hours on a normal day is in the opposite position. Contracts should deal with both separately.
Limits and risks
The absence of a statutory rate is the biggest limitation for employees. A contract silent on overtime leaves very little to argue with.
Salaried and senior staff are often excluded entirely, and that exclusion is generally lawful where it is clear in the contract.
Proof is the other difficulty. Without approved records, an overtime claim becomes an argument about memory, and the employee carries the burden.
And claims usually surface only at exit, by which time months or years of unrecorded hours are being reconstructed at once, which is the hardest possible way to establish them.
Worth knowing
Get overtime treatment into your contract at the offer stage, including whether it is paid, at what rate, and whether time off in lieu applies. Once you have started working the hours, you are negotiating from a much weaker position than you were on the day you accepted the job.
Questions people ask
Is there a statutory overtime rate in Nigeria?
No. The Labour Act does not fix a national overtime rate. Normal hours are set by agreement, collective agreement or an industrial wages board, and overtime pay depends on the contract, handbook or collective agreement.
Am I entitled to time and a half for overtime?
Only where your contract, handbook or a collective agreement provides it. Time and a half is common practice in some sectors but it is not a general legal entitlement in Nigeria.
Can my employer make me work extra hours without extra pay?
For salaried and senior roles this is common and generally lawful where the contract is clear that the salary covers the hours the job requires. What matters is what the contract says, so read it before accepting.
Am I entitled to a break during a long shift?
Yes. The Labour Act provides for a rest interval of at least one hour where a worker works six hours or more in a day. That is separate from overtime and is often overlooked in practice.
What is time off in lieu?
Additional hours compensated by time off rather than payment. It should be written down, including how long the time can be banked before it lapses or is converted into payment.
How do I prove overtime I worked?
Contemporaneous records supported by emails, access logs, shift sheets or approvals. Ask for overtime to be authorised in advance in writing, because claims raised at exit based on recollection alone rarely succeed.