§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her policy is on overtime payments for staff in her Department. [49119]
§ Clare ShortDFID staff are not encouraged to work long hours and every effort is made to avoid overtime working and to help staff balance work and private life. No member of staff has been asked to opt out of the limits prescribed by the working time regulations.
Where overtime working is unavoidable, staff generally have the choice of overtime payments or time off in lieu. Overtime payments vary according to when overtime is worked and the grade of the staff concerned——payments are normally at plain time, time and a half or double time, depending on the circumstances and whether staff wish to take time off in lieu. The rules are complex and we are currently in the process of simplifying them. Two groups of staff are presently not entitled to overtime payments——senior civil servants and staff in Band A1 (equivalent to Senior Principal). We propose to review overtime entitlements for Band A staff by March 2003.