Overtime Pay Calculator – Hourly and Daily

Overtime is time work above and beyond an employee’s contracted hours. It is often paid at either the standard hourly rate or an enhanced rate dependent on the company’s overtime policy. Sometimes overtime pay can be enhanced temporarily depending on an employer’s needs.

For most people, overtime means starting or finishing a shift early or later than usual. It may also mean picking up extra shifts on days they do not normally work.

An overtime pay calculator is any system employed by a business for working out the overtime pay of staff. This can be as simple as a written table in a ledger or as complex as a spreadsheet or dedicated HR software.

Overtime pay calculators work out the amount of overtime a staff member works and how much they will receive in pay. For many software systems, these calculations are often automatic.

Overtime is calculated by multiplying the number of hours an employee works by the rate of pay. For example, if an employee works 10 hours overtime at a rate of pay of £12 per hour, they would earn £120.

As both the number of hours worked and the rate of pay can change, any overtime pay calculator needs to be adaptable.

The benefits of using an overtime pay calculator are many and include:

1. Accurate pay for staff. A good overtime pay calculator will work out the amount of overtime pay staff members should receive automatically.

2. Less HR errors. Manual systems for working out overtime pay can lead to errors. Input and calculation failures are a common occurrence in HR departments. Rectifying problems can be time consuming and costly.

3. Less man hours needed for HR. This point comes hand in hand with the one above. A good overtime pay calculator will automate some of the processes of the HR team. This can reduce the number of hours required for human resource tasks.

4. Flexibility. Rigid systems struggle with the complex nature of overtime pay. With varying pay rates and varying hours to deal with, flexibility is vital to prevent errors. A good overtime pay calculator will provide the flexibility required.

All rights regarding working hours, including overtime, are set out in the Working Time Regulations. The most important limitation in the UK is that an employer cannot force an employee to work more than 48 hours per week. Employees can, however, opt out of this rule at their discretion.

In terms of overtime pay calculators, there are no specific laws governing them. There is, however, a requirement that any calculation relating to pay or holidays (see below) are accurate.

The rate of overtime pay an employee receives will be set out clearly in the terms and conditions of their contract. There is no legal requirement for your employer to pay extra money for overtime so long as the total wage is not less than the national minimum wage. Most employers, however, will offer incentives to staff covering extra hours, such as an increased rate of pay.

An overtime pay calculator will often calculate overtime pay automatically based on rates inputted by HR staff.

All types of overtime, including voluntary, must be included when calculating a worker’s statutory holiday pay entitlement. However, it does not need to be included if the employee only works overtime occasionally or infrequently.

As a result, any overtime pay calculator must be able to adjust holiday entitlement when an employee works extra hours. This is often done automatically by software-based systems.