Free tool for SA employers

Overtime Calculator South Africa

Enter the salary, the work pattern and this month's extra hours, and get the overtime, Sunday and public holiday pay per employee with the BCEA section behind each rate, plus a flag when the 10-hour weekly limit or the earnings threshold is crossed.

BCEA s10, s16 & s18Hourly rate from s3510-hour cap flaggedFree, no sign-up

Overtime Calculator

Enter each employee’s salary and the hours worked this month beyond ordinary time. The calculator gives the hourly rate from the BCEA section 35 conversion, then the overtime pay at 1.5 times (section 10), Sunday pay (section 16) and public holiday pay (section 18).

Work week:5-day6-day

Ordinary hours per day:

Monthly remuneration (R)

Overtime hours (weekdays, Saturdays)

Sunday hours

Public holiday hours

Sunday is an ordinary working day for this employee (1.5 times instead of double, s16)

Overtime at 1.5 times (BCEA s10(2)); Sunday at double, or 1.5 times where Sunday is ordinarily worked (s16); a public holiday worked at double the hourly rate (s18(2)). Time off in lieu may replace overtime pay by agreement (s10(3)). Figures are pre-tax.

You have the number. Here's the part it can't tell you.

You came for the number. You have it, and it is right.

The rate is the easy part. Applying it consistently across overtime, short time and terminations, months later, is where payroll and HR quietly disagree.

See how Synthro keeps pay data straight Minimum Wage 2026

Not your call to make? Send this to whoever decides.

How it works

Set the work pattern

Days per week and ordinary hours per day. This fixes the hourly rate: a 40-hour and a 45-hour employee on the same salary have different overtime rates.

Enter the salary and the hours

Monthly remuneration, then the month’s overtime, Sunday and public holiday hours. Tick the box if Sunday is an ordinary working day for that person.

Read the schedule

Overtime, Sunday and public holiday pay per employee and the total, with the section behind each. Email the rate card to payroll so the same rates are applied.

What this calculator does

It turns a month of extra hours into the amount the payslip must show. Overtime in South Africa is not one rate: weekday and Saturday hours beyond ordinary time are paid at 1.5 times, Sunday hours at double (or 1.5 times when Sunday is an ordinary working day for that employee), and public holiday hours at double. All three start from the same number, the ordinary hourly rate, and that is where most payslips go wrong.

BCEA s35 and s10

monthly × 12 ÷ 52 ÷ weekly hours = hourly · hourly × 1.5 × overtime hours = overtime pay

The divisor is the whole argument

A 40-hour contract divides the weekly rate by 40; a 45-hour contract by 45. Payroll that uses 195 hours a month for everyone underpays the 40-hour employee’s overtime by about 11% every month. The calculator takes the pattern per employee, which is why it asks for days and hours before it asks for the salary.

Worked example: R15,000 a month, 45-hour week, 8 overtime hours and 4 Sunday hours

Weekly rate	R15,000 × 12 ÷ 52	R3,461.54
Hourly rate	R3,461.54 ÷ 45	R76.92
Overtime	8 × R76.92 × 1.5	R923.08
Sunday (not a usual day)	4 × R76.92 × 2	R615.38
Premium pay this month	R923.08 + R615.38	R1,538.46

Five cases, with numbers

Everyone’s case is different. These are the ones people ask about, on R15,000 a month and a 45-hour week (R76.92 an hour).

5 hours on a Tuesday night, 18:00 to 23:00: 5 × R76.92 × 1.5 = R576.92 overtime, plus the section 17 night allowance or shorter hours the contract sets, and transport home.
5 hours on a Saturday, Monday-to-Friday employee: overtime at 1.5 times, R576.92. Saturday is not a Sunday.
5 hours on a Sunday, not a usual Sunday worker: double, R769.23. If double works out below the daily wage (R692.31), pay the daily wage (s16(2)).
5 hours on Freedom Day, an ordinary working day: the greater of double the day (R1,384.62) or the day plus the hours (R1,076.92): R1,384.62 (s18(2)).
Same hours on R24,000 a month: above the threshold; the contract decides, and if it is silent nothing is owed.

What the Act requires around the number

Agreement. Overtime may only be worked in terms of an agreement (s10(1)); one made in the first three months lapses after a year (s10(1A)).
Limits. Three hours a day, ten a week, or 15 by collective agreement for two months in a year (s10(1), (6)).
Time off instead. 90 minutes’ paid time off per overtime hour, or pay plus 30 minutes off, within a month (s10(3), (4)).
Records. Hours worked and pay, kept for three years (s31). An overtime claim at the CCMA is decided on them.

The rules in full, with the earnings threshold and the Sunday and public holiday tables, are in the overtime guide. The hours themselves come from a roster and a clock: the timesheets feature records them against the limits.

The whole method in one block - copy it for your accountant, your records, or an AI assistant

SOUTH AFRICAN OVERTIME PAY - THE STATUTORY METHOD (BCEA)

ORDINARY HOURLY RATE
Weekly rate = monthly remuneration x 12 / 52                 (BCEA s35(4))
Hourly rate = weekly rate / ordinary weekly hours (max 45, s9)

PREMIUM RATES
Overtime (s10(2)) ................ 1.5 x hourly. By agreement; 3 h/day, 10 h/week cap (15 by collective agreement, 2 months a year).
Sunday, not ordinarily (s16(1)) .. 2.0 x hourly, and at least the ordinary daily wage.
Sunday, ordinarily (s16(1)) ...... 1.5 x hourly.
Public holiday worked (s18(2)) ... at least 2 x the ordinary pay for the day.
Time off instead (s10(3)) ........ 90 minutes paid time off per overtime hour, or pay + 30 minutes.

WHO IS OUTSIDE s10, s16, s18(3)
Earnings above R269,600.90 a year (R22,466.74 a month) from 1 May 2026; senior managers;
travelling sales staff who set their own hours; employees working under 24 hours a month.

WORKED EXAMPLE
R15,000/month, 5-day week, 9 ordinary hours a day (45 a week):
  Weekly:   15,000 x 12 / 52 = R3,461.54
  Hourly:   3,461.54 / 45    = R76.92
  8 overtime hours:  8 x 76.92 x 1.5 = R923.08
  4 Sunday hours (not usual):  4 x 76.92 x 2 = R615.38
  Premium pay this month:  R1,538.46

Source: Synthro - Overtime Calculator (South Africa)
https://www.synthro.io/tools/overtime-calculator-south-africa
Figures reviewed October 2026 against the BCEA and the 1 May 2026 earnings threshold.

About this calculator

Built on BCEA sections 35(4), 9, 10, 16 and 18 and the earnings threshold of R269,600.90 a year from 1 May 2026 (Government Notice 7384). It computes the statutory minimum; a contract, a sectoral determination or a bargaining council agreement can set a higher rate, never a lower one. A calculation tool, not legal advice.

Questions we get asked.

How is overtime calculated in South Africa?

Work out the ordinary hourly rate first: monthly salary × 12 ÷ 52 ÷ ordinary weekly hours (BCEA section 35). Multiply by 1.5 for each overtime hour (section 10(2)). R15,000 a month on a 45-hour week is R76.92 an hour, so one overtime hour is R115.38.

What is the overtime rate in South Africa?

At least one and a half times the ordinary wage (BCEA section 10(2)). Sunday work is double, or one and a half times for an employee who ordinarily works Sundays (section 16). Work on a public holiday that is an ordinary working day is at least double (section 18).

How many hours of overtime can an employee work per week?

Ten hours a week and three hours a day, by agreement (section 10(1)). A collective agreement can raise the weekly limit to 15 hours for up to two months in a 12-month period. The pay is owed whether or not the limit was respected; exceeding it is the employer’s contravention.

Is overtime calculated on basic salary or total remuneration?

On the ordinary wage, which for most monthly-paid staff is the basic salary plus regular allowances that form part of the package. Reimbursements of expenses are left out. If the contract defines the hourly rate, use that, provided it is not below the Act’s result.

Can an employee refuse to work overtime?

Yes, unless they agreed to it. Overtime is lawful only in accordance with an agreement (section 10(1)). An agreement made when the employee started, or in the first three months, lapses after a year (section 10(1A)) and has to be renewed.

Who is not entitled to overtime pay?

Employees earning more than the BCEA earnings threshold, R269,600.90 a year (about R22,466 a month) from 1 May 2026, and senior managers, travelling sales staff who set their own hours, and employees working under 24 hours a month. For them, overtime is whatever the contract says.

Can overtime be paid as time off instead of money?

Yes, by agreement (section 10(3)). Paid time off of at least 90 minutes for each overtime hour, or the normal rate for the hour plus 30 minutes’ paid time off, taken within one month (or 12 months by agreement). Record the hours and when the time was taken.

How is Sunday pay calculated?

Double the hourly rate for an employee who does not ordinarily work on Sundays; one and a half times for one who does (section 16(1)). If the Sunday pay works out to less than the ordinary daily wage, the employee is paid the daily wage (section 16(2)).

Is overtime taxed differently in South Africa?

No. Overtime is remuneration and is taxed through PAYE at the employee’s marginal rate in the month it is paid. UIF contributions apply to it as well, up to the monthly ceiling.

Does overtime count towards the minimum wage?

No. The national minimum wage is tested on the ordinary hourly rate for ordinary hours. Overtime premiums, Sunday and public holiday pay are on top of it and cannot be used to lift a sub-minimum ordinary rate.

Keep reading

Overtime in South Africa: rates, limits and the threshold Working days and hours per month Public holidays 2027 and how to pay them Night shift allowance Restaurant labour laws Timesheets and clock-in in Synthro

Overtime hours, approved before they are paid

Synthro records clock-in and clock-out, routes extra hours to the manager for approval and sends the approved hours to payroll with the rate the Act requires. Book a demo and see a month of overtime from the roster to the payslip.

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Statutory pay, and the integrations that stop double-entry at month-end.