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Overtime Pay Calculator South Africa

This free Overtime Pay Calculator South Africa tool works out your overtime hourly rate and total overtime pay in seconds, whether you're paid an hourly rate, a weekly salary, or a monthly salary. It applies the standard South African overtime rate of 1.5 times your normal wage, or a 2x rate for Sundays and public holidays, so you know exactly what you should be earning for the extra hours you've worked. As an Overtime Calculator South Africa employees and employers can both rely on, it follows the same logic used under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA).

Written by: MKR Dimension Research Team  |  Reviewed by: SA Tax Guide Editorial Team  |  Sources: SARS, National Treasury, Department of Employment and Labour  |  Who maintains SA Tax Guide?

Enter your hourly rate, weekly salary, or monthly salary, matching the pay type selected above.
BCEA default is 45 hours a week. Adjust if your contract sets a different figure.

Enter your normal pay and overtime hours to see your overtime pay breakdown.

How This Overtime Pay Calculator South Africa Tool Works

Whether your payslip shows an hourly rate, a weekly salary, or a monthly salary, this overtime pay calculator South Africa employees and payroll teams can rely on reduces everything to a single normal hourly rate first. A weekly salary is divided by your normal working hours per week; a monthly salary is annualised, converted to a weekly figure, and divided the same way. Once that hourly rate is known, it's multiplied by your chosen overtime rate, usually 1.5 times, and then by the number of overtime hours you actually worked, to give you an overtime hourly rate calculator result you can check against your payslip.

The result panel also shows your normal pay for the period alongside your total overtime pay, so you can see the total pay including overtime in one place rather than doing the addition yourself.

How Is Overtime Pay Calculated in South Africa?

Under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), overtime pay South Africa rules are straightforward in principle: an employee's normal hourly wage is multiplied by 1.5 for every hour of overtime worked, unless a collective agreement or bargaining council provides for a different rate. To calculate overtime pay, an employer first needs a reliable hourly figure. For employees already paid hourly, that's simple. For employees on a weekly or monthly salary, the salary has to be converted into an hourly rate using their normal working hours, which is exactly what this calculator automates.

As a South African overtime calculator, this tool follows that same BCEA logic: normal hourly rate × overtime multiplier × overtime hours worked = total overtime pay. Adding that figure to your normal pay for the period gives your total pay including overtime.

Overtime Rates in South Africa: 1.5× vs 2×

The default overtime rate in South Africa under the BCEA is 1.5 times an employee's normal wage. A different, higher rate can apply in specific circumstances: work on a Sunday is paid at double the normal wage if Sunday isn't ordinarily a working day for that employee, or at 1.5 times if it is. Work on a public holiday that falls on a day the employee wouldn't normally work follows a similar double-pay principle. Employers and employees can also agree contractually to rates above the statutory minimum, which is why this calculator includes a custom overtime rate option alongside the standard 1.5× and 2× choices.

Who Qualifies for Overtime Pay in South Africa?

Not every employee is automatically covered by the BCEA's overtime rules. Employees earning above the annually adjusted BCEA earnings threshold, roughly R261,748 a year (about R21,812 a month) as most recently set from April 2025, are excluded from the sections of the BCEA covering ordinary hours of work and overtime, unless their employment contract specifically provides for overtime pay anyway. Employees earning below the threshold retain the statutory right to overtime pay, a maximum working week, and rest periods. Because this threshold is reviewed and adjusted periodically, it's worth confirming the current figure with the Department of Employment and Labour or a labour law professional if your earnings sit close to it.

Maximum Overtime Hours Allowed

The BCEA sets limits on how much overtime an employee can work, not just how it's paid. Ordinary hours of work are generally capped at 45 hours a week, and overtime worked by agreement is limited to a further 10 hours a week, or 15 hours where a collective agreement extends that limit. Combined, an employee's total working time, including overtime, is generally capped at 12 hours on any single day. Overtime also has to be worked by agreement between employer and employee; it can't simply be imposed unilaterally, and that agreement can be limited to a set period.

Worked Example

Say an employee's normal hourly rate is R100.00, and they work 5 hours of overtime in a week at the standard rate. Their overtime hourly rate becomes R150.00, and their total overtime pay for those hours is R750.00. Added to their normal pay for a 45-hour week of R4,500.00, their total pay including overtime comes to R5,250.00. If you're paid a monthly salary instead of an hourly rate, select "Monthly" as the pay type above and the calculator handles the conversion for you.

Tip: once you know your overtime earnings, run your full monthly income, including overtime, through our PAYE calculator to see how much tax and UIF is likely to be deducted from it.

Overtime pay FAQs

How is overtime pay calculated in South Africa?

Your normal hourly rate is multiplied by the overtime rate, usually 1.5 times, and then by the number of overtime hours worked. If you're paid a weekly or monthly salary rather than an hourly rate, it's first converted into an hourly figure using your normal working hours per week.

What is the overtime rate in South Africa?

Under the BCEA, the standard overtime rate is 1.5 times an employee's normal hourly wage. Work on a Sunday or a public holiday that isn't ordinarily a working day is generally paid at double time instead.

Is overtime paid at 1.5 times in South Africa?

Yes, 1.5 times the normal hourly wage is the statutory minimum overtime rate. Some contracts and bargaining council agreements set a higher rate, such as double time for Sunday or public holiday work.

How many overtime hours can an employee work in South Africa?

The BCEA generally limits overtime to 10 hours a week on top of the standard 45-hour working week, with total daily hours, including overtime, capped at 12. Overtime must be worked by agreement rather than imposed by the employer.

Who qualifies for overtime pay in South Africa?

Employees earning below the BCEA earnings threshold, roughly R261,748 a year from April 2025, qualify for statutory overtime protection. Employees earning above the threshold are excluded from the BCEA's overtime provisions unless their contract states otherwise.

How do I calculate overtime from my monthly salary?

Multiply your monthly salary by 12 and divide by 52 to get a weekly figure, then divide that by your normal weekly hours to get an hourly rate. Multiply that hourly rate by your overtime rate and by the overtime hours worked. Selecting "Monthly" above does this automatically.

Does working on a Sunday count as overtime in South Africa?

Sunday work is treated separately from ordinary overtime under the BCEA. It's typically paid at double the normal wage if Sunday isn't an ordinary working day, or 1.5 times if it is, regardless of whether those hours also push the employee over their normal weekly hours.

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