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Overtime worked out the way you pay it

Set your overtime policy once and WagePilot applies it to every shift. Overtime can start after a number of hours in a day, a number of hours in a pay week, or both, with escalating bands if your policy pays more the longer someone works. Bank holiday, Sunday and night premiums sit alongside, and any of it can be set differently for one site or one person.

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Overtime and premiums in the app

Daily and weekly overtime, escalating bands and bank holiday, Sunday and night premiums, set for the business, a site or one person.

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Timesheets: shifts needing action, flagged exceptions and Approve

What you get

  • Daily overtime, weekly overtime, or both, each with its own multiplier

  • Escalating bands, for example 1.5x after 8 hours and 2x after 12

  • Set rules for the whole business, then override them for a site or a person

  • Bank holiday premium as a multiplier or a flat extra per hour

  • Sunday and night premiums, never stacked on the same hour

  • Staff see overtime building live on their phone while they work

Pricing: from £29 a site See all features

How it works, step by step

  1. 1

    Set your business overtime policy

    Turn overtime on and choose when it starts: after a number of hours in a single shift, after a number of hours in the pay week, or both. Give each its multiplier, for example time and a half. Weekly overtime can have a different multiplier from daily.

  2. 2

    Add escalating bands if you need them

    If your policy pays more the longer someone works, add bands: 1.5x after 8 hours, 2x after 12, and so on. Bands work for daily and weekly overtime alike.

  3. 3

    Override for a site or a person

    A late-night venue or a single salaried supervisor may need different rules. Override the policy at site level or for one person; everything you leave alone is inherited from the business default.

  4. 4

    Add bank holiday, Sunday and night premiums

    Set a bank holiday premium as a multiplier or a flat extra per hour, and optional Sunday and night premiums with the night window you use. On a premium day the night premium is not added on top, so the highest premium wins and no hour is paid twice.

  5. 5

    Review, approve and export

    Pay weeks are worked out in UK time, whatever device anyone uses, with the week ending on the day you choose. Timesheets show normal and overtime hours side by side, and the export carries them through as estimated gross pay for your payroll. Staff see their overtime building live on their own phone during the shift.

Who it is for

Overtime rules are for any business that pays more beyond a set number of hours: kitchens covering a long Saturday, care teams picking up extra shifts, security officers on long rotations, and trades teams on site until the job is done. If you have ever worked out time and a half on a calculator on a Sunday night, this replaces that.

The cascade is built for owners with more than one site or more than one kind of contract. A city-centre bar and a daytime café can sit in the same account with different rules, and a single person on a special arrangement does not force a policy change for everyone else.

Related tools, guides and comparisons

More of what WagePilot does

Geofenced clock-in Tap to clock in; we check location once, at that moment. GPS with a QR code by the till: no buddy-punching. Live labour cost A running total of what every site is costing right now, summed from everyone on shift. Catch an over-staffed shift before it is paid. Rota builder A week grid you fill in minutes. Copy last week, publish, and staff are notified instantly. No more Sunday-night spreadsheets. Holiday and leave Staff see their balance and request in taps. You approve from an inbox with a clash warning. Accrual and bank holidays handled. Audited timesheets Review, flag and approve. Every edit needs a reason and is logged: staff can see it too. Disputes get a paper trail. CSV export to payroll Approved hours out to your payroll in one click. Works alongside Xero, Sage & BrightPay; we never touch the pay run itself.

Overtime and premiums: common questions

Is overtime a legal requirement in the UK?
No. UK law does not require an overtime premium; it is set by your contracts and policy. What the law does require is that average pay for all hours worked, including overtime, does not fall below the minimum wage. WagePilot applies whatever policy you set and runs the minimum wage check separately.
Can I have daily and weekly overtime at the same time?
Yes. Set a daily threshold, a weekly threshold, or both, each with its own multiplier. Weekly overtime is reconciled across the whole pay week, so hours already paid as daily overtime are not counted twice.
Can one site or one person have different overtime rules?
Yes. Rules cascade: set the business default, override it for a site, and override it again for an individual. Anything you do not override is inherited from the level above.
How are bank holiday hours paid?
You choose: a multiplier on the base rate (for example 1.5x), or a flat extra amount per hour. With the flat extra, you can also choose whether overtime multipliers apply to the base rate only or to the uplifted rate.
Does WagePilot pay the overtime?
No. WagePilot is pre-payroll. It records the hours, splits normal and overtime time, and estimates gross pay before tax, NI and pension. You export that to your payroll software or accountant, who runs the actual pay.
Is overtime included on the Free plan?
Yes. Overtime rules and premiums are on every plan, including Free. Paid plans are £29 (Core) or £59 (Pro) a site a month, with unlimited staff.

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