Free overtime request form template

Check your workplace policy or contract first to see whether a specific overtime request form is required and how much notice you need to give. Then prepare the details — the exact dates and hours, the reason the work cannot be done in normal hours, and the business benefit — and submit them to your manager for review well in advance. This free overtime request form captures all of that in one document so approval is straightforward.

Keep the request concise and factual: state the specific task, the estimated hours and the expected completion date, and explain why it cannot wait for normal hours. Submitting a completed form rather than a verbal ask shows you have thought it through and makes it easy for your manager to sign off. Avoid leaving it to the last minute — give as much notice as you can.

Best practice is to request and approve overtime before the hours are worked, except in genuine emergencies. Submit the form ahead of the shift — many workplaces ask for around 48 hours notice for planned overtime — and wait for written sign-off before you start. Pre-approval protects you from doing unpaid extra hours and helps your manager control labour costs.

Under the Fair Work Act an employer can ask an employee to work reasonable additional hours, and an employee can refuse hours that are unreasonable. Factors include the notice given, the employee’s personal circumstances, health and safety, the needs of the business and any pattern of overtime. Regular excessive overtime can be a sign of understaffing. See our Australian employment law guide for detail.