We have recently had a number of queries on our support staff overtime.

Historically, we have a number of different contracts all stating different overtime entitlements. As far as I can tell, since 1999 all staff with the exception of 1 have been paid overtime on the same basis – according to the company policy. A few are now disputing this as it has not been based on their contract. The majority have not lost out – in fact some have actually benefitted from this historical oversight however one individual has lost some money.

My question is – do we need to backpay this employee and how far back would we go? I’m not sure if we would need to honour the contract as each month the employee and his manager sign a form agreeing to be paid on the company-wide basis. Would the contract over ride this on this basis?
Samantha King