Overtime Calculator UK

How to calculate overtime pay

Working out overtime pay in the UK comes down to one simple formula, once you know three things: your normal hourly rate, the overtime multiplier that applies, and the number of overtime hours you have worked.

For example, if your normal hourly rate is £14, your contract pays time and a half (1.5×) for overtime, and you worked 6 extra hours this week, your overtime pay is £14 × 1.5 × 6 = £126. Add that to your normal weekly pay and you have your total gross pay for the week.

If you are paid a fixed salary rather than an hourly rate, you first need to convert your salary into an hourly figure. The usual method is to divide your annual salary by 52 weeks, then divide the result by your normal contracted weekly hours. Our calculator above does this step automatically when you choose the "Annual salary" option, and our dedicated salary to hourly calculator covers this conversion in more depth, including monthly and daily breakdowns.

Once you have an hourly figure, the same overtime formula applies whether you are paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Multiply the hourly rate by the agreed overtime multiplier, then by the hours worked, and you will have the gross overtime amount for that pay period.

UK overtime rates: what employers actually pay

A common misconception is that UK law sets a fixed overtime rate, such as automatic time and a half or double time. It does not. There is no general statutory right in the UK to be paid extra for working overtime, and no fixed overtime multiplier written into employment law. Instead, whether you get paid extra for overtime, and at what rate, depends on what is agreed in your employment contract, staff handbook, or any applicable workplace or collective agreement.

In practice, many UK employers do pay enhanced overtime rates, because it helps with recruitment and retention and reflects the extra demand on staff time. Common arrangements include a flat rate (1×, the same as normal pay), time and a half (1.5×) for weekday or Saturday overtime, and double time (2×) for Sundays or bank holidays. Some employers instead offer time off in lieu (TOIL) rather than extra pay, again depending on what the contract says.

The one legal safeguard that does apply across almost all UK jobs is the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage. Even where overtime is unpaid or paid at a flat rate, your average pay per hour across the relevant pay reference period must not fall below the statutory minimum wage for your age band. If unpaid or poorly paid overtime would drag your average hourly pay below the minimum wage, that is a minimum wage compliance issue for the employer to address, regardless of what the contract says about overtime.

Time and a half explained

Time and a half means being paid 1.5 times your normal hourly rate for each hour of overtime. It is one of the most common overtime arrangements in the UK, often applied to weekday overtime beyond contracted hours, or to Saturday working in some sectors. At a £12 hourly rate, time and a half comes to £18 per overtime hour; at £16 per hour, it comes to £24 per overtime hour. Our dedicated time and a half calculator is pre-set to this multiplier if you only need a quick 1.5× figure.

Double time explained

Double time means being paid twice your normal hourly rate. UK employers most commonly reserve double time for premium occasions, such as bank holidays, Sundays, or overtime worked at very short notice, though again this is entirely down to what the contract or workplace policy states rather than any statutory requirement. At a £15 hourly rate, double time comes to £30 per overtime hour. Use our double time calculator for a quick 2× figure without needing to fill in the full form above.

Overtime calculated from an annual salary

If you are on a fixed annual salary rather than an hourly wage, working out your overtime rate takes one extra step: converting your salary into an equivalent hourly rate. The standard approach is annual salary ÷ 52 ÷ normal weekly hours. For example, a £31,200 salary with a 40-hour working week gives an hourly rate of £31,200 ÷ 52 ÷ 40 = £15 per hour. From there, the usual overtime formula applies: multiply that hourly rate by your agreed multiplier and the hours worked.

It is worth checking your contract carefully here, because some salaried roles are explicitly stated to include a certain amount of overtime as "unmeasured" or already compensated within the salary, meaning no additional pay is due for occasional extra hours. Other salaried contracts pay overtime for any hours worked beyond a defined threshold. Both arrangements are lawful provided average pay does not fall below the National Minimum Wage.

Overtime, tax and PAYE

Overtime pay in the UK is not taxed differently from your normal wages. It is simply added to your gross pay for that period and taxed through the standard Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system, at whatever your marginal Income Tax rate is once your personal allowance and any lower tax bands have been used up. If a large chunk of overtime pushes your total pay for that period into a higher tax band, that overtime may be taxed at a higher marginal rate for that pay period, but this evens out over the tax year through PAYE's cumulative calculation, and any overpayment is normally corrected automatically. For a rough idea of how a set amount of overtime affects your take-home pay, see our overtime tax calculator, which gives an estimate rather than an exact HMRC figure.

Overtime and National Insurance

In the same way as Income Tax, overtime pay counts towards your gross earnings for National Insurance purposes. Class 1 National Insurance contributions are deducted by your employer through payroll once your earnings for that pay period exceed the relevant threshold, and overtime pay simply forms part of the total figure those contributions are calculated on. There is no separate or reduced National Insurance treatment for overtime specifically.

Overtime and holiday pay

Holiday pay is one of the areas where regularly worked overtime genuinely does have a legal impact, even though the overtime rate itself is not fixed by law. Where overtime is a normal and regular part of how you are paid, UK case law has established that this overtime should generally be reflected when calculating statutory holiday pay for your annual leave, rather than holiday pay being based on basic salary alone. This is particularly relevant for staff who regularly work overtime as part of their normal working pattern, rather than only doing so occasionally. If you think your holiday pay does not reflect your usual overtime earnings, this is worth raising with your employer or checking against current GOV.UK guidance.

Weekend, Sunday and bank holiday overtime

There is no general UK law that automatically entitles staff to enhanced pay for working weekends, Sundays or bank holidays. Bank holidays themselves are not even a universal statutory entitlement on top of your normal annual leave; whether you get bank holidays off, get paid extra for working them, or have them counted as part of your existing holiday allowance, depends on your contract. The same applies to Sunday and Saturday overtime: any enhanced rate is a matter of what your employer has agreed to pay, not a fixed legal requirement, with retail workers who have Sunday-specific statutory protections around working patterns being a notable but distinct exception under different legislation.

The 48-hour working week

Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, most UK workers should not be required to work more than an average of 48 hours per week, usually averaged over a 17-week reference period. Overtime hours count towards this limit alongside normal contracted hours. However, workers can choose to opt out of the 48-hour limit in writing, and many contracts include this option, particularly in sectors where longer hours are common. An opt-out must be voluntary and can normally be withdrawn later, subject to a notice period. If you are regularly working well beyond 48 hours a week and have not agreed to opt out, it is worth checking your contract and, if needed, seeking advice from Acas.

Compulsory overtime

Some contracts include a compulsory (or "guaranteed") overtime clause, meaning the employer can require you to work a certain number of extra hours when needed, and you are contractually obliged to do so, subject to your rights under the Working Time Regulations. Other contracts describe overtime as voluntary, meaning it is offered but you are not required to accept it. A middle category, sometimes called "non-guaranteed compulsory overtime", means the employer does not promise to offer overtime, but if it is offered, you must work it. Which category applies to you depends entirely on the wording of your contract or staff handbook, so it is worth reading this carefully if overtime expectations are unclear.

Can employees refuse overtime?

Whether you can refuse overtime depends on your contract type. If your contract does not require overtime, or explicitly describes it as voluntary, you can generally decline a request to work extra hours without it being a breach of contract, although persistent refusal alongside genuine business need could still affect the working relationship. If your contract includes a compulsory overtime clause, refusing may be treated as a breach of contract, unless working the overtime would take your average hours beyond the 48-hour limit and you have not signed an opt-out, or there is a genuine health, safety, caring responsibility or other reasonable justification. If you are unsure which category your contract falls into, Acas provides free, impartial guidance for both employees and employers.

Does an employer have to pay overtime?

There is no blanket UK legal requirement for an employer to pay extra for overtime hours. What matters legally is that, averaged across the relevant pay reference period, your total pay divided by total hours worked (including overtime) does not fall below the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for your age group. Beyond that minimum wage safeguard, whether overtime is paid, at what rate, or given as time off in lieu instead, is a matter of contract between employer and employee. If your contract or staff handbook promises a specific overtime rate, that promise is contractually binding and enforceable, even though the underlying rate itself was a matter of agreement rather than statutory law.