Definition: A pay period is the recurring span of days for which an employee's wages are calculated and paid, such as weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly. Each pay period ends with a payday on which wages for that period are paid.
Choosing a pay period affects payroll workload, employee cash flow, and compliance. It also shapes how managers approve timecards and when timekeeping cutoffs fall. For hourly teams, the most important thing to remember is that the pay period and the overtime workweek are not the same thing.
| Pay period | Paychecks per year | Gross pay per check on $52,000/year | Typical notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 52 | $1,000.00 | Matches the workweek; frequent processing |
| Biweekly | 26 | $2,000.00 | Two workweeks per period; some years have 27 paydays |
| Semimonthly | 24 | $2,166.67 | Fixed dates (e.g., 15th and last day); periods vary in length |
| Monthly | 12 | $4,333.33 | Least frequent; restricted for some workers in some states |
A biweekly schedule produces 26 paydays in most years, but because a year is slightly longer than 52 weeks, some years contain 27. Budget for that extra payday in advance. See biweekly pay for more.
The Department of Labor's Fact Sheet #23 defines the workweek as "a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours" and states that "averaging of hours over two or more weeks is not permitted." That means overtime is calculated per workweek, regardless of how long the pay period is.
Dana is a non-exempt employee paid $20.00 per hour on a biweekly schedule. In week 1 Dana works 45 hours; in week 2, 35 hours. The pay period total is 80 hours.
| Workweek | Hours | Straight time | Overtime (1.5x) | Pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 45 | 40 x $20 = $800.00 | 5 x $30 = $150.00 | $950.00 |
| Week 2 | 35 | 35 x $20 = $700.00 | 0 | $700.00 |
| Pay period | 80 | $1,650.00 |
If the employer had looked only at the 80-hour pay period total, it would have paid $1,600.00 and missed $50.00 in overtime premium. The time card calculator can help total hours by week.
| Term | What it means | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Workweek | A fixed, recurring 168-hour period chosen by the employer | Federal overtime is calculated per workweek |
| Pay period | The span of days covered by one paycheck | Determines which hours are paid on which payday |
| Payday | The date wages for a pay period are paid | State laws set how soon after the period ends pay is due |
| Timecard cutoff | Internal deadline to approve hours | Leaves time to correct errors before payroll runs |
Keeping these four dates straight in your payroll calendar prevents most timing problems. For example, a business with a Sunday-to-Saturday workweek, a biweekly pay period, and a Friday payday might set the timecard cutoff for Monday at noon, giving managers time to review exceptions such as missed punches and unapproved overtime before the payroll file is sent.
When you change any of these dates, such as moving the workweek start, do it deliberately and document the change. Make the change for a genuine business reason, not to reduce overtime, and review the transition week carefully so no hours are dropped or double-counted.
EZTime lets you close each pay period with confidence. Hours come in from a GPS mobile time clock with geofencing, NFC tags, a tablet kiosk, or biometric clocks; overtime and break alerts flag issues during the week; and timecard corrections are logged with an audit trail so you can approve hours before the cutoff. PTO and absence management keeps leave separate from worked time. When the period ends, payroll-ready Excel and PDF exports work with any payroll software, organized so overtime can be reviewed by workweek. EZTime does not run payroll itself. Pricing starts at $2 per employee per month with a 14-day trial. See the attendance clock or pricing.
This is general information, not legal advice.
A pay period is how often you pay employees. A workweek is the fixed 168-hour period used to calculate FLSA overtime. A biweekly pay period contains two workweeks, and overtime is calculated separately for each one.
Weekly (52 paychecks a year), biweekly (26), semimonthly (24), and monthly (12). The right choice depends on your state’s payday rules, your workforce, and payroll processing costs.
Pay frequency is set mainly by state law. The Department of Labor publishes a state-by-state table of payday requirements, and some states set different frequencies for different types of workers.
The Department of Labor says overtime earned in a particular workweek must generally be paid on the regular payday for the pay period in which the wages were earned.