I'm not being paid for overtime
What you can do when your employer doesn't pay the increased salary owed for overtime work.
What to do
The first step isn't a claim - it's reconstructing the hours actually worked. Compare working-time records (if they exist), orders or correspondence showing your supervisor asked you to stay longer or work outside your schedule, against the salary statements you received. The goal is to establish the exact number of overtime hours and whether the increase paid was below the statutory minimum of 26% of the base salary.
Once you have a clear picture of the difference owed, the next step is a written request to the employer with the precise period and number of hours. If the employer doesn't respond, two parallel paths are available: a report to the labor inspectorate, which can establish a violation of working-time regulations and order measures, and a claim with the competent court to recover the debt with default interest. Both paths can be used independently of each other.
It's important to keep the limitation period in mind - claims for unpaid overtime become time-barred three years from the date each individual payment was due, calculated month by month, not from the date employment ended (unless employment has already ended, in which case the employer has an additional 30 days to settle all obligations, after which the limitation period only then begins to run).
When to consult a lawyer
Consultation is useful when the employer disputes that overtime work occurred at all, when there are no proper working-time records so it's necessary to assess what evidence is available, or when the disputed amount is high enough to justify the cost of civil proceedings. For smaller amounts, it's often more rational in practice to first exhaust a written request and a report to the labor inspectorate.
Sources
- Tariff on Attorneys' Fees and Expense Reimbursement (Tarifa o nagradama i naknadama troškova za rad advokata, Sl. glasnik RS No. 43/2023), Items 13 and 14
- Tariff on Attorneys' Fees and Expense Reimbursement, consolidated text (Sl. glasnik RS Nos. 43/2023 and 56/2025) (paragraf.rs)
- Labour Law (Zakon o radu), Arts. 53, 55, 57, 58, 108 and 274
- Law on Court Fees (Zakon o sudskim taksama), Art. 10, Fee Schedule Item 1
What to do
- Gather evidence of the overtime hours actually worked - working-time records, your supervisor's orders or approvals for overtime, and correspondence (emails, messages) showing you were asked to stay longer or work outside your schedule.
- Compare your salary statements (payslips) against the working-time records to determine how many hours of overtime the employer failed to pay at the increased rate, or whether the increase applied was below the statutory minimum of 26%.
- Request, in writing (by email or registered mail), that the employer calculate and pay the difference, precisely stating the period and number of hours the claim relates to.
- If the employer doesn't respond or refuses the request, you can file a report with the labor inspectorate, which can establish a violation and order measures, and/or file a claim with the competent court to recover the salary difference with default interest.
- Keep in mind the three-year limitation period - claims older than three years from when the individual payment was due generally can no longer be collected through the courts.
What it costs
A claim to recover unpaid (increased) salary is a monetary claim arising from employment, and in an employment dispute the employee pays a court fee precisely when the claim is a monetary one (Fee Schedule to the Law on Court Fees, Item 1, note 8); the court may grant an exemption for limited means (Art. 10). In addition to the fee there is the attorney's fee, proportional to the disputed amount - for smaller amounts, a report to the labor inspectorate and a written request to the employer are often a more economical first step than a claim, especially if the cost of an expert calculation would exceed the disputed amount itself.
Basis for the attorney fee: Tariff item: 13 of the Tariff on Attorneys' Fees and Expense Reimbursement (representation in civil proceedings, quantifiable claim - the value of the dispute is the amount of the salary difference claimed).
FAQ
How much is the overtime pay increase?
The statutory minimum is an increase of 26% of the base salary for each hour of overtime work. The employer's general act or the employment contract may set a higher percentage, but not lower than this statutory minimum. If the conditions for several types of increase apply at the same time (e.g., overtime that is also night work or falls on a non-working day), the total percentage of the increase may not be lower than the sum of the individual percentages.
How do I prove I worked overtime if my employer keeps no records?
The employer must keep daily records of overtime work (Art. 55(6) of the Labour Law), so the absence of proper records is the employer's failure, not an obstacle for the employee - in a dispute, overtime work can also be proven by other means: correspondence, colleagues' statements, and electronic traces (e.g., system check-in/check-out logs, emails sent outside working hours).
Is there a statutory limit on overtime work?
Yes, the law limits the maximum number of overtime hours that can be required of an employee: overtime may not exceed eight hours a week, and an employee may not work more than 12 hours a day including overtime (Art. 53 of the Labour Law). Exceeding that limit is itself a separate violation by the employer, independent of the question of whether the overtime was paid at all (Art. 274(1)(3) of the Labour Law).
Can I request time off instead of money for overtime?
The Labour Law does not provide for replacing the overtime pay increase with days off: overtime is paid with an increase of at least 26% of the base (Art. 108(1)(3)). A redistribution of working time is different and is not treated as overtime: longer hours in one period are offset by shorter hours in another, so that over a period of up to six months working time does not on average exceed the agreed hours, and any hours above that average are calculated and paid as overtime (Arts. 57-58). If your employer offers days off, check whether this is a proper redistribution of working time or unpaid overtime.