The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Power and Light’s new overtime policy would cap planned overtime for some workers at 20 hours a month, subject employees who repeatedly hit overtime limits to management review and require senior scrutiny when overtime exceeds specified proportions of a worker’s salary.

The policy, obtained by The Tribune, lays out in detail the controls the utility intends to use as it seeks to rein in an overtime bill the Davis administration says is approaching $20m annually.

Among its most significant provisions, non-field office employees would generally be limited to 20 hours of planned overtime per month or 15 percent of their monthly base salary, whichever is lower. Technical field workers would generally be capped at 40 hours of planned overtime per month, although exceptions could be permitted during peak operational periods.

Annual planned overtime for technical field workers exceeding 30 percent of base salary would require what the policy calls a strategic review by the relevant division head and BPL’s C-suite.

The policy also seeks to identify workers who repeatedly rely on substantial overtime. Employees who reach their monthly caps for three consecutive months would be reviewed to determine whether their workload should be redistributed or their shift schedule changed.

Division heads would also be required to review and justify individual employees whose overtime exceeds 50 percent of their salary.

The rules form the centrepiece of BPL’s response to scrutiny of overtime spending after an internal review identified unusual patterns and anomalies.

The Davis administration said the reforms are intended to make overtime necessary, fairly allocated, properly authorised and fully documented, while addressing fatigue risks associated with excessive working hours.

The policy itself says overtime should only be authorised where it is essential to operations or public safety, unavoidable because of unforeseen events, or necessary to complete time-sensitive work that cannot be scheduled during normal working hours.

It explicitly says overtime is “not guaranteed” and should not be relied upon as a regular source of income.

Planned overtime would have to be approved before the work is performed.

Under the policy, a division head must approve planned overtime using a designated request form. Junior staff submissions require the approval of a supervisor or manager and department head before ultimately receiving division-head approval.

Emergency overtime is treated differently because it may arise without warning. A manager may initially approve it verbally, but the overtime must subsequently be documented and supported by relevant material, including fault reports, post-fault repair reports or transformer fault reports where applicable.

The policy is particularly strict about timekeeping.

All overtime must be recorded through the approved timekeeping system or on a signed timesheet, and every overtime submission must be approved by at least two of the employee’s leaders.

Where an employee reports directly to the division head, the second level of approval must come from BPL’s senior executive ranks.

The policy also makes clear that merely remaining at work and clocking the hours will not be enough to secure payment.

“Clock-in/out entries alone do not qualify for payment without prior approval,” the policy says.

It further provides that unauthorised overtime will not be compensated.

The controls extend beyond individual workers to departmental overtime spending.

Planned overtime should not exceed 25 percent of the monthly or annual salaries budget, while total overtime should not exceed 75 percent of that budget.

BPL would conduct monthly overtime budget reviews involving division heads, department heads and Compensation and Benefits officials to assess spending against budget and identify corrective action where necessary.

For non-field office workers, routine administrative duties would not qualify for overtime. The policy says overtime for those employees would only be authorised for urgent deliverables or critical work spanning departments.

For technical field employees, the 40-hour monthly cap applies to planned overtime, with exceptions allowed for peak operational periods.

The document says the limits are intended to encourage better workload planning and prevent excessive dependence on overtime.

The policy also assigns responsibility throughout BPL’s management structure rather than placing it solely on workers.

Division heads are required to keep overtime within budget, justify deviations, review and approve planned overtime requests, approve overtime for senior staff and periodically review emergency overtime documentation.

Department heads are responsible for staffing and workload planning, monitoring planned and emergency overtime costs and providing monthly justification for overtime worked.

Supervisors, managers, engineers and foremen are required to determine whether overtime is needed, plan and assign the work and ensure supporting documentation is provided where necessary.

Employees, meanwhile, are responsible for clocking in and out when performing overtime work and ensuring that their timekeeping entries are accurate before they are submitted for payment.

Compensation and Benefits officials are responsible for processing overtime payments, validating time records and providing monthly overtime reports to division heads.

The new system also introduces explicit fatigue protections.

Employees should not work more than 16 continuous hours, according to the policy.

Relief planning must begin once a worker reaches 12 continuous hours, and the employee must receive mandatory rest before returning to duty.

The policy does not eliminate premium overtime rates.

For junior staff, it sets varying rates depending on when the overtime occurs. Work during lunch without receiving the required break attracts time-and-a-half, while certain work on days off or public holidays attracts higher rates.

Work on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Good Friday and Labour Day attracts double time plus one-half, according to the compensation table. The same rate applies after midnight on those holidays until the start of normal working time the following day.

Senior staff generally receive time-and-a-half for categories of planned and emergency overtime outlined in the policy. The policy applies to employees covered by the industrial agreements of the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union and Bahamas Electrical Utility Managerial Union, as well as temporary and contract workers whose contracts provide for overtime compensation.

It comes amid resistance from BEWU, which has instructed members to work only their normal hours and then go home and has filed a trade dispute over the changes.

BEMU has also defended employees against being blamed for overtime that it says was required, authorised, approved, monitored and paid through BPL’s management processes.

The document itself carries a revision date of August 31, 2025 and identifies the policy as approved by BPL’s board, although the space marked “Effective Date” is blank.

The Davis administration has said the policy is expected to be implemented consistently and fairly across BPL as it attempts to prevent the unusual overtime patterns identified during its review from recurring.