How does overtime pay work in the UK?

Short answer: there is no legal right to extra pay for overtime in the UK — it’s whatever your contract says. Many employers pay time-and-a-half (1.5×) or double time (2×) by convention, but the only hard rules are that average pay must never drop below minimum wage, and the working week is capped at 48 hours on average unless the worker has opted out.

Is overtime pay a legal requirement?

No. This surprises people, but UK law sets no automatic overtime premium. An employer can pay the same hourly rate for hour 41 as for hour 1, provided the contract allows the extra hours and the pay rules below are met. Higher overtime rates are a convention and a retention tool, not a statutory entitlement.

What is required is that you honour whatever the contract promises. If it says time-and-a-half after 40 hours, that becomes legally enforceable.

How to calculate time-and-a-half and double time

It’s straightforward multiplication of the basic hourly rate:

• Time-and-a-half (1.5×): £12.00/hr becomes £18.00/hr.
• Double time (2×): £12.00/hr becomes £24.00/hr.
• Quarter extra (1.25×): £12.00/hr becomes £15.00/hr.

Add the overtime pay to the normal week’s pay for the total. Our overtime pay calculator does this and also shows the blended rate — your average across all hours — which matters for the next point.

The two rules you can’t ignore

1. Minimum wage still applies to the average. Pay across the pay reference period must not fall below the National Minimum or Living Wage once all hours are counted. Unpaid overtime, or “rolled-up” arrangements, can quietly breach this. (See our guide to the 2026 minimum wage rates.)

2. The 48-hour week. Under the Working Time Regulations, a worker cannot be required to work more than 48 hours a week on average (usually over a 17-week reference period) unless they’ve signed an opt-out. Overtime counts towards that average.

Does overtime affect holiday pay?

Often, yes. Where overtime is regular enough to count as part of someone’s normal pay, it should be reflected in their holiday pay, which is based on average earnings — typically over the previous 52 weeks. Genuinely one-off overtime is treated differently. Either way you need a clean record of the hours, which is the part that trips up a spreadsheet.

The faster way

WagePilot applies each site’s overtime and pay-policy rules automatically as people clock in, so the right rate lands on every hour and feeds straight into audited timesheets and your payroll export — no end-of-week reconstruction. To keep your wage bill under control while you’re at it, see how to reduce labour costs.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check GOV.UK or a qualified adviser for your situation. WagePilot handles the tracking automatically, but you remain responsible for your own compliance.