Chef Overtime Rules: US, UK, Singapore and Australia Compared

Kitchens run long hours, and overtime is where many restaurant pay disputes start. The rules differ sharply between countries. In the US, overtime is a weekly calculation with a salary exemption for managers. In the UK, there is no legal right to overtime pay at all, but a cap on average weekly hours. Singapore protects lower-paid staff only. Australia's award sets detailed rates by day of the week.

This guide summarises the rules we checked in official sources in September 2026, for chefs and cooks in restaurants. Read it with your contract lawyer, not instead of one.

1. Summary table

2. United States: FLSA

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, covered employees must receive overtime at not less than one and a half times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. The workweek is a fixed period of 168 hours, which can start on any day. The FLSA does not require daily overtime, and it sets no limit on hours for employees aged 16 and over. Weekend and holiday work only earns overtime if weekly hours go over 40. State laws can add to this, so check your state.

Which chefs are exempt?

An employee is exempt only if both the salary and duties tests are met. As of September 2026, the federal salary level in 29 CFR 541.600 is $684 a week.

• Executive exemption: primary duty of managing the enterprise or a recognised department (such as the kitchen), customarily directing at least two full-time employees, and authority to hire or fire, or recommendations that carry particular weight. A head chef who really runs the kitchen may qualify. A "head chef" who works the line under someone else's direction probably does not.
• Learned professional exemption: the regulations say chefs such as executive chefs and sous chefs who have a four-year specialised academic degree in a culinary arts program generally meet the duties requirement. They also say the exemption is not available to cooks who perform predominantly routine mental, manual, mechanical or physical work.

Most sushi chefs and line cooks recruited from Japan will be non-exempt. Pay them hourly or salaried with overtime, and keep time records.

If you pay a service charge share, DOL says these sums are part of total compensation and must be included in the regular rate used to calculate overtime. See tip pooling rules for kitchen staff.

3. United Kingdom: Working Time Regulations

• No legal right to overtime pay. GOV.UK states that employers do not have to pay workers for overtime, but average pay for the total hours worked must not fall below the National Minimum Wage. The National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour from April 2026. A salaried chef working very long weeks can drop below it, so check the hourly equivalent.
• 48-hour average. Workers cannot work more than 48 hours a week on average, normally averaged over 17 weeks, unless they opt out.
• Opting out must be voluntary and in writing. A worker cannot be dismissed or treated unfairly for refusing. They can cancel it with at least 7 days' notice, or up to three months if the agreement says so. The employer must keep a record of who has opted out.
• Rest. Workers over 18 are entitled to a 20-minute uninterrupted break if they work more than six hours a day, 11 hours' rest between working days, and either 24 hours off each week or 48 hours each fortnight.

Whether overtime is paid, and at what rate, is a matter for the contract. Write it down clearly. Note that new overseas sponsorship of chefs is currently very limited (see hiring a Japanese chef in the UK).

4. Singapore: Employment Act Part 4

Part 4 of the Employment Act covers a workman earning a basic monthly salary of S$4,500 or less and a non-workman earning S$2,600 or less. For those employees, MOM sets these rules:

• Normal hours up to 44 a week: up to 9 hours a day if working five days or fewer a week, or up to 8 hours a day otherwise.
• Overtime at least 1.5 times the hourly basic rate, calculated as 12 × monthly basic rate ÷ (52 × 44), paid within 14 days after the end of the salary period.
• No more than 12 hours of work a day in normal circumstances, and no more than 72 overtime hours a month.
• One rest day a week.

Most Japanese chefs in Singapore hold an Employment Pass (qualifying salary from S$5,600) or an S Pass (from S$3,300). Their salary puts them above the non-workman limit, so whether Part 4 applies to a cook on an S Pass earning under S$4,500 depends on whether the role counts as a "workman" under the Act. Ask MOM or an employment lawyer, and if in doubt, write overtime terms into the contract. See hiring a Japanese chef in Singapore.

5. Australia: Restaurant Industry Award

The Restaurant Industry Award 2020 covers restaurant businesses and their employees. Check its coverage clause: it excludes, among others, the fast food industry and hotels, which have their own awards. Under the award, full-time employees work an average of 38 ordinary hours a week, with no more than 11.5 ordinary hours on any day. For a full-time employee, work outside the rostered or ordinary hours is paid at overtime rates:

Public holidays are handled separately under the award. Two ways employers manage the cost:

• Time off instead of payment. By written agreement, time off equivalent to the overtime payment (two hours at time and a half gives three hours off), taken within six months. The employee can ask to be paid instead at any time.
• Annualised wage. A written agreement for a full-time employee to be paid at least 25% above the award minimum wage × 52, covering overtime and penalty rates, subject to outer limits (an average of 12 overtime hours and 18 penalty-rate ordinary hours a week per roster cycle). The employer must compare the annualised wage against award entitlements every 12 months, pay any shortfall within 14 days, and keep start and finish records signed by the employee.

Under the National Employment Standards, an employee may refuse additional hours that are unreasonable. For a sponsored chef, remember that the Core Skills Income Threshold (A$79,423 from 1 July 2026) must be met from earnings excluding non-monetary benefits. See hiring a Japanese chef in Australia.

6. What a chef from Japan will compare you with

Japan's Labour Standards Act sets statutory hours at 40 a week and 8 a day (Article 32). Overtime must be paid at a premium of at least 25%, work on statutory days off at least 35%, and overtime beyond 60 hours in a month at least 50% (Article 37 and the related Cabinet Order). A chef from Japan will know these benchmarks, whatever their previous employer actually did. If your overtime terms are weaker, for example in the UK, explain why in the offer and show the total pay for the expected hours.

7. Getting it right in practice

• Record actual start and finish times for every cook, including split shifts and prep before opening.
• State in the contract the expected weekly hours, how overtime is paid or compensated, and any opt-out or annualised arrangement.
• Check the effective hourly rate of salaried chefs against the minimum wage or award rate at least every pay period in busy months.
• Translate the overtime terms into Japanese. See our contract checklist.
• Build realistic overtime into your cost model: budgeting an international chef hire.

General information, not legal advice. Overtime rules depend on the employee's classification, contract, award or state law, and they change. Confirm with an employment lawyer or the relevant labour authority before setting pay.