Overtime is working time performed in addition to an employee's planned working time as defined by law (collective agreements, contracts, legal regulations, and internal company policy). Many such laws and regulations concerning working time assume that times defined as overtime are first approved internally.
Overtime approvals can restrict the amount and the exact point in time when working time is recognized as "overtime." The type and amount of overtime compensation also depends upon this criteria.
The normal working time of an employee is used to determine overtime. Normal working time can also be calculated according to the specific time periods used to perform weekly or monthly overtime calculation analyses.