How should overtime hours for shift workers be calculated?

Question

Accepted Answer

You need to pay overtime allowance if your employee is required to work either:

More than 44 hours over three weeks.
Or, more than contractual working hours per week, which can be agreed at less than 44 hours per week over three weeks.

This is an example on how overtime hours for shift workers can be computed. The scenario is based on a 44-hours work week.

Week	Actual working hours	Total working hours for continuous 3 weeks	Total OT hours for continuous 3 weeks	OT hours already paid in past 2 weeks^*	OT hours payable for this week^*
1	50	To be computed in week 3	To be computed in week 3	To be computed in week 3	-
2	40	To be computed in week 3	To be computed in week 3	To be computed in week 3	-
3	46	50 + 40 + 46 = 136	136 - (44 × 3) = 4	0 + 0 = 0	4 - 0 = 4
4	42	40 + 46 + 42 = 128	128 - (44 × 3) → 0	0 + 4 = 4	0 - 4 → 0
5	50	46 + 42 + 50 = 138	138 - (44 × 3) = 6	4 + 0 = 4	6 - 4 = 2
6	45	42 + 50 + 45 = 137	137 - (44 × 3) = 5	0 + 2 = 2	5 - 2 = 3

^* Overtime hours incurred from previous weeks are deducted to prevent double-counting.

You are advised to adapt the method for your own calculations.

My company operates on rotating shifts, with different rates of shift allowance. What salary should I pay an employee going on annual leave?