Best Practices for Overtime & Penalty Claims

Because each agreement or policy expresses the rules on overtime and penalties in slightly different ways, we’ve boiled them down into these six high-level principles which underlie all the rules.

Prior approval

You must secure Engager approval of overtime and penalties before they occur — engagers have a right to be able to monitor and plan for their labour expenses. Your approval contact is the person identified on your contract for that purpose. If no one is specifically listed in that capacity, then it is the person who signed your contract, or whomever that person designates.

Deemed prior approval

If the Engager schedules work hours that incur overtime or penalties (e.g. the Engager schedules a long travel day on tour), the overtime or penalties arising from that schedule are deemed to be preapproved by the Engager.

Self-approval as a limited privilege

Where the agreement allows an SM to self-approve overtime in certain instances, that ability is not carte blanche to do so. It is not an end run, nor a loophole, nor an escape clause from the obligation to get prior approval. It is a limited privilege for the SM to be able to tackle immediately necessary work at a time, or in circumstances where the Engager can’t be contacted to secure prior approval. Further, the work must be necessary for the safe and efficient running of the production at the time it is done.

Don’t abuse this self-approval privilege — it’s mere existence already gives many Engagers hives.

Responsible arrangement of workload

You have an obligation to arrange your workload so that, if reasonably possible, it can be done at times that do not incur overtime or penalties.

Requirement to attend

Stage managers (and the ASM as appropriate) are required to be present at all scene change rehearsals and cueing sessions for the production which will come under the supervision of stage management during rehearsals or performances. You cannot be asked to be absent from necessary rehearsals or tech sessions, or not do work required for the safe running of the production, in order for the engager to avoid payment that would arise from you reasonably doing your job as contracted.

Obligation for timely claim and payment

If you incur overtime or a penalty, you have an obligation to file the claim for those amounts in a timely manner — engagers have a right to know about extraordinary expenses without unreasonable delay.

The Engager has a similar obligation to pay the claim on the next available pay cycle.

So, what does all of this mean in the real world? The following are best practices compiled from stage managers with experience in a wide range of theatrical settings.

If you see unplanned overtime or a penalty coming, and the work must necessarily be done at that time, always seek approval before doing it.

Don’t set yourself up for later conflict or ill will by avoiding or neglecting to do this. Along with your request, provide an explanation for the work that needs doing, and an estimate of the time it is going to take.

Do this in writing if possible. Send an email or a text, so that both parties have a record of the question and the response. If the approval is verbal — the person is present, or you get them on the phone — take a moment when you have one to drop them a note confirming the approval and thanking them for it.

The stickiest issue in overtime/penalty claims is when there is a difference of view on whether it was pre-approved or not. Getting it in writing helps. A lot.

If you see planned overtime or a penalty coming, advise the theatre anyhow.

Take time during prep week to review the master schedule with this in mind. Even though a scheduled overtime or penalty is deemed pre-approved, it’s possible that the theatre does not realise that they’ve baked this into the schedule, and they may want to change the schedule in order to avoid the cost.

If the pre-approval is denied, accept the decision.

It may mean walking away from work that you feel is important, or doing it at a different time, but deal with it. If you really feel that the work is necessary at that time, identify that to the engager and explain your reasoning, so there is a record of the situation if things really do go off the rails as a result. This is especially important in situations where health and safety will be affected.

If you need to invoke the self-approved exception, ask yourself:

• Is it really necessary to do the work at that point in time, such that you cannot defer it?
• Is there no one else, not in an overtime situation, able to do the work instead, or do it at a different time?
• Can you really not reach your approval contact at that time?

If all of these are true (and bear in mind that people are much more easily contacted these days at odd hours), then go ahead and do the work, exposing the theatre to the least degree of overtime or penalty you reasonably can. In the last five minutes before you go home, send an email to your approval contact, detailing the work you did, your reasoning for going ahead with it, and the time you spent. Don’t leave it until later.

If you have incurred overtime or penalties in the past week, file the claim at the end of the week, or the top of the next one.

Waiting beyond that needs a really good reason. Engagers have a right to expect timely notice of what payments they are on the hook for.

File timesheets, even for weeks where no overtime is payable.

If there is any kind of payment or contractual dispute, for any reason, it’s far easier to reconstruct your work from a timesheet compiled each week than from notes and memory after the fact.

Check your cheque.

Compare payments each week to the overtime or penalty amounts you filed, and deal with any discrepancies promptly.

If there is a dispute about overtime or a penalty, contact your Equity Business Rep promptly.

They can help, and they also need to know that they should not release the security bond until the matter is resolved.

Here are a few scenarios you may recognise, and suggestions on how to deal with them.

It’s the end of a tech day, and you have a ton of notes to type up so that the production shops can have them first thing in the morning.

• If you know this before the approval contact leaves for the evening, seek pre-approval.
• If the approval contact has left, phone, text or email for pre-approval as soon as the need becomes evident.
• If you can’t get a response, do the work as quickly as you reasonably can and email the approval contact about the overtime.
• If this looks like it is going to be a repeated occurrence, get pre-approval before it happens again the following day.
• If this looks like it is going to be a repeated occurrence, ask production departments or the TD to take their own notes. (They can do that!)

You’ve reached the end of the last lighting call, and you’re an hour away from completing the whole show.

The TD approves the call to extend for the crew, but they are not your approval contact.

• Reach out to the approval contact as soon as the need becomes evident.
• If you can’t get a response, stay for the remainder of the call (you are expected to attend levels sessions), and email the contact about the overtime before leaving.

A meal break is invaded by: a scheduled meeting; prep for a performance; a move from the rehearsal hall to the stage; a massive reset for the next chunk of rehearsal.

Even if a meal is provided by the theatre, scheduling a meeting through a meal break is not a break.

The other examples are fairly common oversights in scheduling: part A of the day is ok, and part B is ok, but there’s a significant amount of invisible work that needs to be done in between. By virtue of the engager having scheduled the day in this way, the meal penalty is deemed pre-approved, however there are still some things you should do and consider.

• As soon as the time conflict becomes evident, notify your approval contact.
• Be flexible: adjust team schedules where possible to provide necessary breaks for all without compromising presence for required work.
• Propose a longer meal break, if it can be done without creating a span of day or overtime issues for anyone.
• If a shortened meal break was voted on by the company, un-shorten it (You can do that with due notice!)
• Ask your PM or TD to provide help with the move or reset, so that it can be completed faster.
• Schedule your preset time to be part of the work call after the meal.

The absolute best practice for managing workload and overtime is this: take care of yourself.

• Look ahead at your schedule, and do foreseeable work in advance of the crazy time, when there is more air in the schedule.
• Take your breaks, even if some bit of work is nagging you to get it done.
• Time-shift your team, if that means they can accomplish work more efficiently. (You are allowed to do that!)
• If some work habit of yours consumes time you don’t have (rearranging the callboard to your personal standard of aesthetic perfection), skip it or save it for later when you aren’t crunched for time.
• When your brain stops working well, turn out the lights and leave, even if the work is not complete. You’re not at your best, and your work won’t be, either.

Last bit of advice?

Overtime is payment for extraordinarily long work hours, and penalties are payment for infringement of mandatory breaks. However, that money won’t buy you less stress, proper meal breaks, or the sleep you need to work to the best of your capabilities. Your engager is counting on you to be able to do that, and you won’t be of much use when everyone turns to you to solve a problem and your brain is already fried.

If you were taught that a stage manager is expected to sacrifice themselves for the show, just remember this: sacrifices never turn out well for the sacrificed. When the necessary work is done, don’t look for more. Go home.