PayCalcFlow
Guide

Work hours and overtime guide

Work-hour estimates become unreliable when paid time, unpaid breaks, overtime rules, and shift boundaries are mixed together. Separate those pieces first and the calculator result becomes much easier to understand.

Paid hours versus time on site

A shift from 09:00 to 17:30 is 8.5 hours on site. If 30 minutes are unpaid, the paid time estimate is 8.0 hours. If the break is paid, the paid time estimate stays at 8.5 hours. That one assumption changes the pay result every shift.

Time-card estimate End time - start time - unpaid break = estimated paid hours.

Overtime depends on the rule

Overtime is not always the same as "any time after normal hours". Some roles use daily overtime, some use weekly overtime, some use different weekend rates, and some salaried roles do not pay extra hours separately. PayCalcFlow lets you enter the multiplier because the correct multiplier depends on your situation.

MultiplierPlain-English meaningGBP 16 x 5 overtime hours
1.25One and a quarter timeGBP 100.00
1.5Time and a halfGBP 120.00
2.0Double timeGBP 160.00

Checks before using the calculator

  • Confirm whether breaks are paid or unpaid.
  • Check whether the overtime threshold is daily, weekly, monthly, or contract-specific.
  • Use the correct hourly rate for the period you are estimating.
  • Keep regular hours and overtime hours separate.
  • Check whether the employer rounds time entries up, down, or to the nearest set interval.