Why use this calculator
Overtime is where payslips most often go wrong, because the rules stack: a weekly ordinary-hours cap, a first block of overtime at one rate, a second rate after that, and separate penalty rates for Sundays and public holidays that replace rather than add to overtime.
Online pay calculators either ignore the tiers or hard-code one award's figures. This calculator lets you enter the exact percentages from your own award or enterprise agreement, splits the week's hours into ordinary, first-tier overtime, second-tier overtime and penalty hours, and shows the pay for each slice, so you can check a payslip line by line, see what an extra shift is really worth, and work out the effective hourly rate of a long week. Employers can use the same page to cost a roster before offering overtime.
How to use it
- Enter your base hourly rate from your payslip or the award pay guide.
- Enter every hour worked in the week, then the ordinary hours before overtime begins, which is 38 for most full-time awards.
- Enter how many overtime hours your award pays at the first rate, commonly the first two or three hours, and the two overtime percentages; the award's overtime clause lists them, and 150 and 200 are the usual figures.
- If any of the week's hours fell on a Sunday or public holiday, enter those hours and the penalty percentage from the award's penalty rates clause; those hours are paid at the penalty rate and taken out of the ordinary and overtime count.
- The results show each slice of pay and the week's total.
What each result means
- Gross pay for the week
- Everything earned for the hours entered before tax: ordinary pay plus overtime pay plus Sunday and public holiday pay.
- Ordinary pay
- Hours up to the ordinary weekly cap, after penalty hours are removed, at the base rate.
- Overtime hours
- Hours beyond the ordinary cap that were not Sunday or public holiday hours, split into the first-rate block and the rest.
- Overtime pay
- The first block of overtime at the first percentage plus any further hours at the second percentage, each applied to the base rate.
- Sunday and public holiday pay
- Penalty hours at base rate times the penalty percentage. These hours are paid at that rate alone, not as overtime on top.
- Extra earned above the base rate
- How much more the week pays than every hour at base: the money overtime and penalty rates added.
- Effective hourly rate
- Gross pay divided by all hours worked, for comparing a long week with a flat-rate or salaried alternative.
The formula
Penalty hours are removed first and paid at base rate multiplied by the penalty percentage. Ordinary hours equal the lesser of the remaining hours and the ordinary weekly cap, paid at the base rate. Overtime hours equal the remainder; the first block up to the first-rate hours is paid at base rate multiplied by the first percentage, 150 per cent by default, and any further hours at base rate multiplied by the second percentage, 200 per cent by default. Gross pay equals ordinary pay plus overtime pay plus penalty pay. The effective hourly rate equals gross pay divided by all hours worked, and the extra above base equals gross pay less hours worked multiplied by the base rate.
How this number is used in practice
Under the National Employment Standards an employer can only ask for hours beyond 38 a week if the request is reasonable, and the award then sets what those hours cost. The typical pattern of time-and-a-half for the first two or three hours and double time after that means the eighth hour of overtime in a week costs the employer twice what an ordinary hour does, which is why rosters that spread extra hours across several employees are cheaper than one person working a 50-hour week.
Employees checking a payslip should look for where the second tier starts; a payslip that shows all overtime at 150 per cent is a common underpayment.
Penalty rates for Sundays and public holidays replace overtime rather than stacking with it under most awards, and the percentages differ widely: retail and hospitality pay different Sunday rates from manufacturing, and casuals have their 25 per cent loading built into some penalty rates and not others.
Salaried employees are usually paid no overtime at all, but only where the salary genuinely covers the extra hours; since the 2025 Fair Work Act changes, award overtime and penalty rates cannot be reduced, so an annual salary must still leave the employee better off than the award for the hours actually worked.
Worked examples
$30 an hour, 45 hours in a 38-hour week, first 2 overtime hours at 150%, then 200%
Gross pay $1,530.00: ordinary pay $1,140.00 plus overtime of $390.00 (2 hours at $45 and 5 hours at $60). That is $180.00 more than 45 hours at base, an effective $34.00 an hour.
$28 an hour, 40 hours, 2 hours of overtime at 150%
Gross pay $1,148.00: $1,064.00 ordinary plus $84.00 overtime for the 2 hours at $42.
$32 an hour, 46 hours including an 8-hour Sunday at 200%
Gross pay $1,728.00: the Sunday earns $512.00, the other 38 hours are ordinary at $1,216.00, and no overtime applies. $256.00 above base pay, an effective $37.57 an hour.
When people use it
- Checking a payslip that includes overtime, line by line against the award rates.
- Working out what an extra shift or a few hours of overtime are worth before accepting them.
- Costing a roster for a small business before offering overtime or a weekend shift.
- Comparing a long week on award rates with a flat salary offer that includes overtime.
- Estimating the pay difference between a Sunday shift and a weekday overtime shift.
Tips
- Find your award on the Fair Work Ombudsman site and read the overtime and penalty rates clauses; enter the exact percentages rather than the defaults.
- Check whether your award triggers overtime daily as well as weekly; if it does, calculate each day that went over separately.
- Keep a record of start and finish times; the award's overtime rules depend on the hours actually worked, not on the roster.
- Time off in lieu of overtime pay has to be agreed in writing and is usually hour for hour at the overtime equivalent; the pay figure here shows what you would be giving up.
- Superannuation is generally not paid on genuine overtime, so a week heavy with overtime pays more now but adds less to super.
- If you are on an annual salary, use the calculator to confirm the salary covers the award pay for a typical week including overtime; if it does not, the employer owes the difference.
What it assumes, and where it stops being accurate
- Overtime is counted against a weekly ordinary-hours cap. Awards that trigger overtime daily, for example after 7.6 or 10 hours in a day, or over a roster cycle, will give different results for the same weekly total.
- Sunday and public holiday hours are paid at the penalty rate only and are removed from the overtime count. Awards that pay overtime on top of a Sunday rate, or a different public holiday rate from the Sunday rate, need those hours calculated separately.
- Casual loading, shift allowances, meal allowances and minimum engagement rules are not included; enter the base rate your award uses as the starting point for penalties.
- Overtime percentages apply to the base rate entered. Some awards calculate penalties on a different base for casuals or part-timers.
- The result is gross pay. Tax, superannuation on overtime, which is generally not payable on genuine overtime, and salary sacrifice are not applied.
Terms used on this page
- Ordinary hours
- The hours an award or agreement treats as normal, usually up to 38 a week within a set daily span; pay beyond them is overtime.
- Penalty rate
- A higher rate for hours worked at unsocial times such as Sundays, public holidays, nights and early mornings, set by the award.
- Time off in lieu
- Paid time off taken instead of overtime pay, by written agreement, at the rate the award specifies.
- Annualised salary
- A yearly salary that includes overtime and penalties, which the employer must reconcile against award pay for the hours actually worked.
Questions people ask
- What is time and a half and double time?
- Time and a half means the hour is paid at 150 per cent of the base rate, so $30 becomes $45. Double time is 200 per cent, $30 becomes $60. Most Australian awards pay time and a half for the first two or three hours of overtime and double time after that, with double time for all Sunday overtime, but the exact split is set by each award.
- When does overtime start?
- Under most awards, when you work more than 38 ordinary hours in a week, more than the ordinary hours in a day set by the award, or outside the span of ordinary hours, for example before 6 am or after 6 pm. Part-time employees often earn overtime for hours beyond their agreed hours. The award's hours of work and overtime clauses say which triggers apply to you.
- Do I get overtime on a salary?
- Only if your salary does not genuinely cover the overtime you work. Many awards allow an annualised salary that includes overtime, but the employer must reconcile it against what the award would have paid for the actual hours and top it up if the salary falls short. A salary set well above the award minimum is treated as covering reasonable extra hours.
- Are Sunday hours paid as overtime as well as penalty rates?
- Usually not. Most awards pay a single Sunday or public holiday penalty rate for the hours worked that day, and that rate replaces the ordinary and overtime rates for those hours. A few awards pay a higher overtime rate for overtime that falls on a Sunday, which is why the calculator lets you set the penalty percentage yourself.
- Can my employer make me work overtime?
- An employer can ask you to work reasonable additional hours beyond 38 a week, and you can refuse unreasonable ones. Whether a request is reasonable depends on health and safety, your personal circumstances, notice given, the pay for the extra hours and the usual pattern in the industry. If you work the hours, the award overtime rate is payable regardless of whether the request was reasonable.
- Is super paid on overtime?
- Generally no. Superannuation guarantee is calculated on ordinary time earnings, and genuine overtime paid at overtime rates is excluded. Penalty rates and loadings for ordinary hours, such as a Sunday rate on a rostered ordinary shift, usually do count. That is why a week of overtime raises take-home pay more than it raises super.
Use this with
Overtime Pay Calculator answers one part of the question. These pick up where it stops: Hours Calculator, Annual Leave Calculator, Hourly to Salary Converter, Salary After Tax Calculator, Unpaid Wages Claim Calculator and Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator.
Where these figures come from
Figures and rules on this page follow Australian law and ATO guidance.
- Fair Work Ombudsman: Penalty rates. Overtime, weekend and public holiday rates come from the award or agreement
- Fair Work Ombudsman: Protecting penalty and overtime rates, Fair Work Act changes. Award penalty and overtime rates cannot be reduced (from 30 August 2025)
Overtime Pay Calculator produces an estimate for general information. It is not financial, tax, medical, legal or engineering advice. read the full disclaimer. Spotted a wrong number? Report it and it gets fixed. The form picks up this calculator and the inputs you used.