Overtime pay calculator

How this calculator works

It turns a monthly salary into an hourly rate by spreading a year's pay over a year's normal hours: monthly salary × 12 ÷ (52 weeks × weekly hours). On a 40-hour week, that's 2,080 hours a year. Each overtime hour is then paid at the hourly rate multiplied by your overtime rate.

Rates are set by your contracts, policies or collective agreement. Time and a half on working days and double time on rest days and public holidays are common.

What the law says

• Ghana: normal hours are a maximum of eight a day or 40 a week, and you can't require overtime unless you've fixed overtime rates (Labour Act, sections 33 and 35). Overtime for eligible junior staff is taxed at special rates; use thebonus and overtime tax calculator for the tax.
• Nigeria and elsewhere: overtime rates and limits usually come from the contract or collective agreement.

For how to keep overtime under control, read managing overtime before it turns into a payroll dispute.

Questions we often hear

Why not just divide the monthly salary by 160 hours?

Because months aren't four weeks long. A 40-hour week averages about 173 hours a month, so dividing by 160 overpays every overtime hour by around 8%.