Overtime Sheet
Track the PREMIUM, not the gross. Gross rises with any hour worked.
BFCBrilliance · bfcbrilliance.com/tools/overtime-pay-calculator
The arithmetic
- OVERTIME HOUR PAYS
- base x multiplier
- THE PREMIUM IS
- base x (multiplier − 1) x hours
- Time and a half on $20
- $30 an hour — of which $10 is premium
- EFFECTIVE RATE
- gross ÷ TOTAL hours
- 8 OT hours on a 40h week
- $20 becomes $21.67 — only 8.3% up
- Why so small
- the multiplier hits the extra hours only
- ⚠ Thresholds are LAW and vary
- 40/week, 8/day, or your contract
- ⚠ Exempt workers
- may get none of this — check your status
- ⚠ All figures are GROSS
- tax and contributions come off after
Hours log
| Week | Base h | OT h | Higher tier h | Gross | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
This period
- Name
- Period
- Base rate
- Base hours
- OT hours
- OT multiplier
- Higher tier hours
- Tier multiplier
- GROSS
- PREMIUM EARNED
- EFFECTIVE RATE
- Uplift %
- Payslip figure
- Difference
- Question to ask
Checking a payslip
- Threshold confirmed — daily or weekly, and at what number
- Multiplier confirmed against contract or agreement
- Hours logged as you worked them, not reconstructed later
- Public holidays and Sundays checked for a separate tier
- Exempt status checked — some roles get no overtime at all
- Compared the PREMIUM, not just the gross
- Difference raised as a QUESTION before an accusation
- Anything unresolved taken to a union, adviser or labour authority
The multiplier is diluted
It applies to the extra hours only, then gets averaged across everything you worked. Eight overtime hours on a forty-hour week is 20% more time at 1.5x — and lifts the effective rate by 8.3%. That is the single most common misjudgement about overtime, and the more base hours you have the more diluted it becomes.
Track the premium, not the gross
Gross pay rises with ANY extra hour, so it says little about whether the arrangement is worth it. The premium — what the overtime rule earned above ordinary pay for the same time — is the figure to weigh against what the hours actually cost you in rest, family and the tired hours that follow.