Labour law7 min read10/6/2026

“Global Overtime” on the Pay Slip: When Additional Payment Is Required for Actual Hours

A fixed overtime line on the pay slip does not entitle the employer to demand an unlimited number of hours. If the supplement does not cover the time actually worked, the employee may be entitled to an additional payment, but the entire calculation must be reviewed, including the possible offsetting of previous overpayments.

Numbers and facts

•5 conditions for the validity of a global supplement
•₪18,400 — base salary in Case No. 23402-09-15
•₪4,600 — supplement for an average of 30 hours per month
•₪117,297 — claim filed by the employee
•₪6 per hour — example of a supplement for an hourly employee

The Supplement Is Lawful, but Not as Part of the Base Salary

The global overtime payment mechanism is not expressly regulated by law, but it has been recognized as permissible in the case law of the National Labor Court. It is an intermediate model: instead of a separate calculation each month, the employee is paid a fixed supplement corresponding to the average amount of overtime work. Section 5 of the Wage Protection Law prohibits including overtime pay in the overall salary, except where provided for in a collective agreement. Therefore, the supplement must be a genuine separate payment, not a renamed portion of the regular salary.

Five Indicators of a Valid Agreement

The employee must clearly and knowingly agree to the model and understand the amount of overtime work it entails. The supplement must be fair and, on average, no lower than the amount due under the Hours of Work and Rest Law, 1951. The employer must continue recording the actual hours, even if the monthly payment is fixed. On the pay slip, the base salary and global overtime payment must appear as separate lines. Each component must independently comply with protective labor legislation, including the Minimum Wage Law, 1987.

Why One Line on the Pay Slip Is Not Enough

In Case No. 23402-09-15, a programmer received a base salary of 18,400 shekels and an additional 4,600 shekels for an average of 30 overtime hours per month. After his dismissal, he argued that the supplement was fictitious and claimed 117,297 shekels for overtime. The Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court rejected the claim, and the National Labor Court upheld that outcome. The courts found that the employee had not been disadvantaged: the components were separated, the agreement was clear, and the average amount of actual overtime did not exceed the amount paid for.

How to Compare the Supplement with the Actual Hours

First, the time sheets are compared with the contract to determine how many overtime hours the supplement was intended to cover. Next, the payment legally due for the actual hours is calculated and compared with all global payments for the period under review. Under more recent case law, the assessment is conducted as a whole, not only for one particularly busy month. Overpayment for months in which less overtime was worked may be offset against underpayment in other months; in certain circumstances, payment for regular hours that were not worked may also be offset. If a shortfall remains after this comparison, the employee is entitled to claim the difference.

Which Documents May Decide the Dispute

The employer is required to keep ongoing records of working hours and weekly rest, so the employer’s attendance reports are needed first. The employment contract, notice of employment conditions, all pay slips, and any time sheets received for the disputed period should be retained. If official records are missing or do not reflect reality, shift schedules, work correspondence, and a date-by-date chronology of starting and finishing times may be useful. The court examines not only the arithmetic, but also whether consent was informed, whether the salary components were genuinely separated, whether the pay slips were transparent, and whether the actual hours can be verified.

FAQ

Is a fixed amount every month automatically unlawful?

No. A fixed amount is permissible if it is listed separately, based on a clear agreement, corresponds to the actual average amount of overtime, and is accompanied by time records. The fixed nature of the payment does not in itself prove a violation.

Can an additional payment be claimed for one particularly busy month?

A single month is generally not considered in isolation: the court may assess payments and hours for the entire relevant period of employment. Underpayment in busy months may be reduced by overpayment for months with little overtime, but any final uncovered balance must be paid.

What should be done if the employer kept no time records at all?

The absence of records breaches the employer’s duty to record working time and seriously complicates the justification of a global supplement. Any existing time sheets should be requested, and the employee’s own documents that make it possible to reconstruct working time should be retained.

Can global overtime be paid to an hourly employee?

Yes. The National Labor Court held that there is no fundamental prohibition. Case No. 18539-10-23 concerned a supplement of 6 shekels for each hour worked, but its validity depended on the genuineness of the agreement, the transparency of the records, and its correspondence with the actual overtime.

What to do next

Collect the contract, notice of employment conditions, pay slips, and time sheets, and then compile the actual hours and supplements received by month. Ask the employer to provide a calculation showing how much overtime work the fixed amount covers. If there is a significant overall discrepancy, the documents may be submitted to a labor law specialist or a workers’ rights protection service for an individual review.