Work out the extra pay for night, weekend or other less popular shifts, as a flat amount or a percentage.
Differential per hour = base rate × percent ÷ 100, or the fixed dollar amount.
Premium = differential per hour × hours on differential shifts.
Total straight-time pay = base rate × all hours + premium. The average hourly rate is shown because, for non-exempt employees, premiums are usually included when the overtime rate is worked out.
A care assistant earns $18 an hour and receives a 10% night differential. In one week she works 24 night hours and 16 day hours. The differential is $1.80 an hour, so the premium is $43.20. Straight-time pay is $18 × 40 + $43.20 = $763.20, an average of $19.08 an hour.
Use it when you design a night or weekend premium, when you check a paycheck, or when you compare what a premium costs across a month of schedules.
A differential is usually set by company policy or a union contract rather than by federal law. If the employee is non-exempt, the differential generally also affects the rate used for overtime.
A warehouse pays a flat $2.50 an hour extra for weekend shifts. A picker earning $21 an hour works 30 weekend hours and 10 weekday hours, so choose the fixed dollar option and enter 2.50. The premium is $2.50 x 30 = $75.00, and straight-time pay is $21 x 40 + $75 = $915.00. The average hourly rate for the week is $22.88, the figure to start from if the picker also works overtime.
The premium line is what the differential adds on top of base pay, and the average hourly rate shows how much it lifts the whole week. Every hour you enter is treated as straight time, so if the week went over 40 hours, work out the overtime premium separately on the average rate. The tool cannot tell which hours qualify, so if your policy pays the premium only after 11 PM, enter just those hours, not the whole shift.
Generally not under federal law. It is set by policy, contract or collective agreement. Check state and local rules.
For non-exempt employees, premiums are usually part of the regular rate used to calculate overtime. Use the overtime calculator together with this one.
A percentage grows with pay rates. A flat amount is simpler to explain. Both are common.
Commonly nights, weekends, holidays or split shifts. Write the rule down so it is applied consistently.
Only if your written policy says so. Many employers pay PTO at the base rate, while others pay the rate the person would have earned on the scheduled night shift. State the rule so a night worker taking a vacation day knows which rate will show on the stub.
Most payroll systems list it as its own earnings line, such as ‘Night diff 24.00 h at $1.80’. A separate line lets employees check that only qualifying hours got the premium, and it makes the premium easy to include in the overtime regular rate.
More for the same job
Instead of adding up timesheets before you open the shift differential calculator, let EZTime total employee hours. Book a demo to see it with your team.