Two female employees working part-time applied for overtime pay for each hour of work above the number of hours specified in their employment contracts. They also demanded compensation claiming that no overtime pay was also a form of discrimination on grounds of sex, because mainly men were employed full-time. 

In its judgment of 29 July 2024 the Court of Justice of the European Union agreed with them. It found that part-time workers are treated less favourably, if in order to receive overtime pay they need to work the same number of hours as an employee working full-time. As a result a part-time employee is treated less favourably than a full-time employee. Overtime pay should be due on exceeding the working hours specified in the contract.

The CJEU considered that there was an indirect discrimination of women because the number of women employed on a part-time basis was significantly larger than the number of men.

The CJEU took this viewpoint in its judgement of 19 October 2023 (case C-660/20).

The judgements of the CJEU concerning overtime pay of part-time employees may result in the amendment of the Polish law. There may also be court disputes concerning overtime remuneration for part-time employees. This does not mean however, that right now employers should change the way they operate in terms of the payment of overtime remuneration for part-time employees. According to the Polish law in case of a part-time employee, the parties agree in the employment contract a permitted number of working hours in excess of the number of hours specified in the employment contract, the exceeding of which entitles an employee to overtime pay. So far the regulations of the Labour Code and the judicial practice of the Supreme Court remain unchanged in this respect.
 

Find more in the PRO HR September 2024