Free tool

Overtime calculator

Work out regular and overtime pay against the weekly threshold that actually applies in your jurisdiction, with the statute behind each one.

Regular hours40
Overtime hours8
Threshold used40h / week
Regular pay720.00
Overtime pay216.00
Total936.00

How this is calculated

Hours above 40 in the week are overtime. Regular pay is 40 times 18.00. Overtime pay is 8 times 18.00 times 1.5.

The 40 hour threshold for US (federal baseline) reads from: FLSA 29 U.S.C. §207(a) — overtime after 40h/week.

The multiplier is your figure, not ours. We model the weekly threshold for each jurisdiction, not the premium rate, because premiums vary by sector and by agreement even within one country. 1.5 is the US federal default and is not universal. This is an estimate for planning, not payroll advice.

Why the weekly threshold is not 40 hours everywhere

Forty hours is the United States federal figure, set by the Fair Labor Standards Act, and it is the number most overtime calculators quietly assume. It is not the international norm. Among the jurisdictions modelled here the weekly threshold ranges from 40 to 52 hours, and using the wrong one does not produce a slightly wrong answer, it produces a confidently wrong one.

That matters most for anyone running a team across borders, where the same 48-hour week is unremarkable in one country and overtime in another. It also matters for the reverse case: assuming a higher threshold than applies means underpaying somebody who was entitled to a premium, which is the expensive direction to be wrong in.

Why this tool will not tell you your overtime rate

The multiplier is an input here rather than an output, and that is deliberate. We model the weekly threshold for each jurisdiction because our scheduling engine enforces it and each rule cites its instrument. We do not model the premium rate, because premiums vary by sector, by contract and by collective agreement even inside a single country.

A calculator that filled that in for you would be guessing and presenting the guess as arithmetic. The 1.5 default is the US federal figure and it is not universal. If you do not know your local premium, that is the question worth answering before you use any calculator, including this one.

What this calculator is not

It is an estimate for planning a schedule, not a payroll run and not legal advice. It works on a single week at a single rate, so it does not handle blended rates across two jobs, shift differentials, salaried exempt status, daily overtime rules that run alongside weekly ones, or the averaging arrangements some jurisdictions permit over a reference period.

Where it should be useful is the moment before you publish a rota: seeing that Thursday tips somebody over their threshold while the shift can still be moved. Overtime you decided on is a cost. Overtime you discovered during payroll is the same money and a worse conversation.

The full cross-jurisdiction table, including daily rest, break rules and consecutive-day limits, is published on the compliance thresholds page.

Questions

Overtime, answered.

How is overtime calculated?+
Hours worked above the weekly threshold are overtime, and they are paid at the normal rate multiplied by the overtime premium. The threshold varies by jurisdiction, from 40 hours in the United States and Ghana to 52 in Kenya. The premium varies by sector and agreement, which is why this tool asks you for it rather than assuming one.
Is overtime always time and a half?+
No. Time and a half is the United States federal minimum under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Other jurisdictions set different premiums, some set different rates for rest days and public holidays, and in some the premium is set by a collective agreement rather than by statute. Check the rule that applies to you rather than assuming 1.5.
Does overtime count per week or per day?+
Both exist. This calculator works on a weekly threshold, which is the most widely applicable form. Some jurisdictions, including California, also apply a daily threshold, so hours over a daily limit can be overtime even in a week that never crosses the weekly one. Where both apply, the daily rule is checked as well and this tool does not model it.
Do hours across two locations count together?+
For the same employer, generally yes: it is the person's total hours in the week that matter, not how they were split across sites. Counting per site is a common way to understate overtime, and it understates it for exactly the staff who move around most. Formclock totals hours across locations for this reason.
Where do these thresholds come from?+
The same compliance packs the Formclock scheduler enforces before it publishes a schedule. Each threshold renders the statute it reads from and the date it was last reviewed, so you can check it rather than trust it. The cross-jurisdiction table is published in full on the compliance thresholds page.

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