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How to ask for more hours at work

Asking for extra shifts is one of the most normal requests a manager gets. Say when you're free, how many hours you want, and that you're flexible. You don't need to explain your money situation.

Checked 2026-09-28 · All guides

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Put in your manager's name and the date you'd like extra shifts until. You'll get what to say in person, a text and an email, in the tone you pick.

Who are you asking? What are you asking for? Tone

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Your name

Your manager's name

Until when

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Is it rude to ask for more hours at work?

No. Managers who schedule shift work fill gaps every week: someone calls out, a busy weekend comes up, a coworker goes on leave. Someone who says "I want more hours" is solving a problem for them. It only goes wrong when the ask is vague, keeps coming back every few days, or turns into a long story about money.

How to politely ask for more hours

Say how many and until when. "Two extra shifts a week through November" is easy to act on. "Any hours you have" is easy to forget.
Say when you're free. The more open your availability, the more likely a shift fits. If you can do closing, weekends or early mornings, say so: those are often the hardest to fill.
Offer something useful. Covering call-outs at short notice, picking up swaps, or training in another station or department all make you the first person they think of.
Ask where to sign up. Many workplaces have an open-shift board in the scheduling app or a call-in list. Ask to be on it.

Timing: when to ask

Before the schedule is written, not the day it's posted. Ask when your manager usually builds the next schedule.
At a quiet moment, not during a rush or in front of the team.
Before a busy season (holidays, summer, back to school), when extra hands are needed anyway.

In person, by text or through the app?

In person works best the first time. It's quick, and you can talk through your availability.
Text is fine if that's how your manager already handles schedules. Keep it to two or three lines.
The scheduling app is the place for a specific open shift. Claim it there so it's on record, then thank your manager.
Email or a short letter suits an office, or a lasting change such as going from part time to more regular hours. There's a sample below.

How to frame it without oversharing

You don't owe your manager your budget. "I'm looking to pick up more hours" is a full reason. If they ask why, a short, true answer is enough: "I've got some extra costs this fall" or "I'd like to build up my savings." Keep the focus on what you can do for the team, not on what's going wrong at home. It keeps the talk professional and leaves the door open for more hours later.

Sample text and letter asking for more hours

Text: "Hi Dana, it's Maria. If any extra shifts come up before Nov 13, I'd love to take them. I'm free evenings and weekends and happy to cover call-outs. Thanks!"

Email or letter:

Subject: More hours

Hi Dana,

I'd like to pick up more hours, ideally two extra shifts a week through the end of November. I'm available evenings and all day on weekends, and I'm happy to cover call-outs at short notice or train on another station if that helps.

Is there a list I should be on, or a good time to talk about the next schedule?

Thanks,
Maria

What extra shifts add up to: a worked example

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees who aren't exempt must be paid at least one and a half times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. A workweek is a fixed, repeating 7-day period your employer sets, and hours can't be averaged across two weeks. Working a Saturday, Sunday or holiday doesn't earn overtime by itself under federal law; only the hours over 40 do (US Department of Labor, checked 2026-09-27).

Maria earns $16 an hour and usually works 32 hours a week. She picks up two extra 6-hour shifts: 12 extra hours.

If the 12 hours fall...	Regular hours	Overtime hours	Extra pay, before taxes
In the same workweek (44 hours that week)	8 x $16 = $128	4 x $24 = $96	$224
Split across two workweeks (38 hours each)	12 x $16 = $192	none	$192

The same 12 hours are worth $32 more when they land in one workweek, because 4 of them are over 40. If you have a choice of which shifts to take, it's worth knowing where your workweek starts and ends. Ask HR or payroll.

These figures are before taxes. Every paycheck loses a fixed 7.65% to Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%): on the $224, that's $13.89 + $3.25 = $17.14, leaving $206.86. On the $192, it's about $14.69. Federal income tax withholding comes out on top of that, and the amount varies with the W-4 you gave your employer and your total pay; state income tax, where your state has one, varies by state (IRS Topic 751 and Publication 15, checked 2026-09-28).

Before counting on overtime

Who gets overtime. If you're paid by the hour, you're almost always owed it. To be exempt under federal law, a worker has to be paid a fixed salary of at least $684 a week ($35,568 a year) and also do mainly executive, administrative or professional work. So a salaried worker paid less than $684 a week is generally owed overtime too. A 2024 rule that would have raised the $684 line was struck down by a federal court in November 2024, and the Department of Labor restored the $684 figure in its rules effective May 15, 2026 (29 CFR 541.600; 91 FR 27833; DOL Fact Sheet #17A). A few jobs have different tests: for example, computer employees paid at least $27.63 an hour can be exempt, and teachers, lawyers, doctors and outside salespeople have no salary test. Some states set a higher salary line, and where the state's line is higher, it's the one that counts. In 2026: Washington $1,541.70 a week, California $1,352 a week ($70,304 a year, twice the state minimum wage for full-time work), Alaska $1,120 a week (twice its minimum wage for 40 hours, from July 1, 2026), Colorado $57,784 a year (about $1,111 a week), Hawaii $4,000 a month guaranteed (about $923 a week) and Maine $45,300 a year (about $871 a week). So a salaried worker in Washington paid $1,200 a week is generally owed overtime, even though that's well above $684.
Some states count overtime by the day. Most states follow the federal rule: overtime after 40 hours in a workweek. A few add daily overtime: California pays time and a half after 8 hours in a day and double time after 12, plus time and a half for the first 8 hours on the seventh day worked in a workweek. Alaska pays overtime after 8 hours in a day at employers with 4 or more workers, Colorado after 12 hours in a day (or 12 in a row), and Nevada after 8 hours in a day for workers earning less than 1.5 times its minimum wage. Kentucky pays time and a half on the seventh day if you work all seven days of the workweek. Oregon requires overtime after 10 hours a day in canneries, mills and factories. In California, one extra 10-hour shift in a 32-hour week adds 2 daily overtime hours even though the week stays under 40 (US Department of Labor state table; Cal. Labor Code 510).
Does my employer allow overtime, or do I need approval first? Some cap hours at 40 to avoid it.
Shift differentials and bonuses count in your overtime rate. Under federal law, night-shift and other shift differentials, and bonuses you were promised in advance (for attendance, production or hitting a target), are added into your "regular rate" before time and a half is worked out. Only bonuses the employer decides on freely at the end, with no earlier promise, and true gifts (such as a holiday gift not tied to hours or output) are left out (29 CFR 778.207 to 778.211; DOL Fact Sheet #56A). Example: Maria also earns a promised $44 attendance bonus in her 44-hour week. Her pay for the week at straight time is 44 x $16 + $44 = $748, so her regular rate is $748 / 44 = $17, not $16. Her 4 overtime hours then earn an extra half of $17 ($8.50) each, or $34, instead of $32: the bonus adds $2 of overtime pay on top of itself. You can check this against your pay stub.

Minimum wage: know your floor

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, in effect since July 24, 2009. Many states set a higher minimum, and your employer has to follow both, so you get the higher one. The Department of Labor's state minimum wage table (updated July 1, 2026) lists the current rate for every state:

30 states and D.C. pay more than $7.25, from $8.75 in West Virginia to $18.40 in D.C. The highest state rates include Washington ($17.13), Connecticut ($16.94) and California ($16.90).
Florida goes from $14.00 to $15.00 an hour on September 30, 2026 (Florida Constitution, art. X, s. 24).
20 states stay at $7.25. Five of them (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee) have no minimum wage law of their own, so the federal rate applies to most jobs.
Some state rates apply only above an employer size (for example 4 or more employees in Arkansas, Illinois and Nebraska, 6 or more at one location in West Virginia), and some cities set their own, higher rates.

At $7.25, Maria's 12 extra hours in one workweek would be 8 x $7.25 ($58) plus 4 x $10.875 ($43.50): $101.50 before taxes.

Scheduling laws that may help

Some states and cities have "predictive scheduling," "secure scheduling" or "fair workweek" laws for certain employers. Oregon is the only state with one, and there are eleven local laws in cities and one county. Here's each, from its own official page (checked 2026-09-28):

Oregon (statewide): retail, hospitality and food service employers with 500 or more employees worldwide must give written schedules at least 14 days ahead. They may keep a voluntary standby list for workers who want extra hours, but you have to agree to it in writing.
Seattle: covered retail and food service employers must post available hours for three days and offer them to qualified current employees before hiring new ones, unless an exception applies.
New York City (Fair Workweek Law): fast food chains with 30 or more locations nationally, franchisees included, must give schedules 14 days ahead, pay $10 to $75 for each shift change made with less than 14 days' notice, let workers say no to extra hours, and give current workers the chance to work more regular hours before hiring new ones. Retail employers with 20 or more employees in the city must post schedules 72 hours before the first shift, can't use on-call shifts, and can't make you work with less than 72 hours' notice unless you agree. Complaints go to the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, online or by calling 311.
California cities: San Francisco (chain stores with 40 or more locations worldwide and 20 or more employees in the city), Berkeley (10 or more employees in Berkeley and 56 or more worldwide in listed industries; 100 or more for restaurants), Emeryville (retail and fast food with 56 or more employees worldwide) and the City of Los Angeles (retail with 300 or more employees worldwide) all require schedules about two weeks ahead and make employers offer extra hours to current staff before hiring (to part-time staff in San Francisco, Berkeley and Emeryville; with 72 hours' written notice in Los Angeles). Los Angeles County has the same kind of rule for large retailers in its unincorporated areas since July 1, 2025. San Jose sets no schedule notice but also requires extra hours to go to current staff first.
Chicago: employers with 100 or more employees worldwide in seven industries (restaurants: 250 employees and 30 locations) must give schedules in advance and pay "predictability pay" for changes made within 14 days, for workers earning up to $33.85 an hour. Evanston (100 or more employees worldwide in covered industries; restaurants: 30 locations and 200 employees) requires schedules 14 days ahead and offers of extra hours to current staff first.
Philadelphia: retail, food and hospitality employers with 250 or more employees and 30 or more locations worldwide must give schedules 14 days ahead and offer extra hours to current staff first.

Where one of these laws covers your job and requires offering hours to current staff first (every one above except Oregon and, on the pages we read, NYC retail and Chicago), your ask for more hours has the law behind it: extra shifts have to be offered to you before the employer hires someone new. Oregon uses the voluntary standby list instead. Coverage depends on the industry and the employer's size. In other states and cities we found no such law, so the ask rests on your manager and the tips above.

If there aren't any extra hours

Ask to be on the call-in or standby list for when someone cancels.
Ask whether hours will open up later in the month, or when the next busy stretch starts.
Ask about another department or location that's short-staffed.
If you need money before payday, an employer pay advance usually costs nothing. See how to ask for one.
Look at the cheaper options before a cash-advance app or a payday loan.

Thinking about a second job? Check your handbook first for any rules about outside work.

Sources

Sources checked 2026-09-28.

General information, not legal or financial advice. You send every message yourself; we never contact anyone on your behalf.