Shift and timesheet pay calculator
Weekly shift pay is the hours worked each day, less any unpaid break, multiplied by the hourly rate, with overtime paid at a separate rate above the contracted hours: for example, 15 hours at £13.80 an hour gives £207.00 for the week. Unpaid rest breaks follow gov.uk's rules on rest breaks at work. This calculator adds up any week of shifts entered.
How do I read my week, day by day?
| Day | Hours | Rate applied | Pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 5 | £13.80 | £69.00 |
| Tuesday | 10 | £13.80 | £138.00 |
| Wednesday | 0 | No shift | £0.00 |
| Thursday | 0 | No shift | £0.00 |
| Friday | 0 | No shift | £0.00 |
| Saturday | 0 | No shift | £0.00 |
| Sunday | 0 | No shift | £0.00 |
| Week total | 15 | £207.00 |
How is shift pay worked out?
The sum is simple once the week is written down properly. Each step below happens live as you change a day.
- Take the hours for one day, for example 5 hours on Monday.
- Take off the unpaid break for that day, so 30 minutes of break turns 5 hours into 4.5 paid hours.
- Do the same for all seven days and add them up. That is your total hours for the week.
- Compare the total with your contracted hours. Anything up to the contract is normal hours, anything above it is overtime.
- Normal hours are multiplied by your hourly rate.
- Overtime hours are multiplied by your hourly rate times the overtime multiplier, so time and a half at £13.80 an hour is £20.70 an hour.
- Add the two amounts together. That is the pay for the week before tax.
Two points are often misunderstood. Breaks are normally unpaid under gov.uk's rest breaks at work rules, so a nine hour shift with a half hour break is paid as 8.5 hours. Extra hours are not automatically worth more, because there is no legal right to overtime pay in the UK. Unless your contract promises a higher rate, leave the multiplier on 1.0 and your extra hours are simply paid at the normal rate.
What does a worked shift pay example look like?
Someone is contracted to 20 hours a week at £13.80 an hour. They work 5 hours on day one and 10 hours on day two, with no unpaid breaks. Day one is worth £69.00 and day two is worth £138.00. The week comes to 15 hours and £207.00, which is 5 hours short of the 20 they are contracted to, so this is a quiet week rather than an overtime one.
Now add a third day of 8 hours, with the contract paying time and a half above 20 hours. The week is 23 hours: the first 20 at £13.80 an hour, and the last 3 at £20.70 an hour. That is £276.00 plus £62.10, so £338.10 for the week. The three extra hours are worth £20.70 more than they would be at the normal rate.
Keeping the week written down like this matters if you are paid by timesheet. It gives you a figure to check the payslip against, and it shows at a glance whether you are regularly working above the hours you were contracted for, which is the evidence you need if you want those hours written into the contract.
Common questions
How do I work out my weekly pay from my shifts?
Write down the hours you worked on each day, take off any unpaid break, then add the days together to get the hours for the week. Multiply those hours by your hourly rate. If some hours are paid at a higher overtime rate, split the week into normal hours and overtime hours and multiply each part by its own rate, then add the two together. This calculator does that for you as you type each day in.
Do I get overtime if I work more than my contracted hours?
Not automatically. There is no legal right to extra pay for extra hours in the UK. Employers only have to make sure your total pay for the total hours worked does not drop below the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for your age. Many contracts do pay time and a quarter, time and a half or double time above a set number of hours, so check your contract or staff handbook and set the multiplier here to match it.
Are breaks paid in the UK?
Usually not. If you work more than 6 hours a day you have a right to an uninterrupted rest break of at least 20 minutes, but your employer does not have to pay you for it unless your contract says so. That is why unpaid break minutes are taken off the hours before the pay is worked out here. Set the break to 0 if your employer pays through breaks.
How many hours can I be asked to work in a week?
The legal average is 48 hours a week, measured over 17 weeks, unless you have signed an opt out. Workers under 18 have a lower limit of 40 hours. Nothing stops a single busy week going above the average, so a 55 hour week is not itself a breach, but a settled pattern of long weeks with no opt out usually is.
Is my hourly rate below the minimum wage?
Compare your rate with the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage band for your age on gov.uk, which is updated every April. The check is done on average pay across the pay reference period, so unpaid extra time, unpaid training or deductions for uniforms can pull an apparently legal rate below the floor. If the average falls short, the employer has to make it up.
How do I read my week, day by day?
Each row shows the hours worked that day, the rate that applied, and the pay for that day, with unpaid breaks already taken off. The final row totals the hours and pay for the whole week. Compare it against your own timesheet or rota to check the numbers match before the week is submitted for payroll.
How is shift pay worked out?
Hours for each day are added up after taking off any unpaid break, then compared with the contracted hours for the week. Hours up to the contract are paid at the normal rate, and anything above it is paid at the rate set by the overtime multiplier, if the contract provides one. There is no legal right to a higher rate for extra hours in the UK.
What does a worked shift pay example look like?
Someone contracted to 20 hours a week at £13.80 an hour who works 5 hours on day one and 10 hours on day two earns an estimated £207.00 for those 15 hours. Adding a third day with an overtime multiplier applied above the contracted hours changes the total, because the extra hours are then paid at the higher rate rather than the normal one.
Sources & Rate Verification
Rates verified against official statutory guidance on 6 September 2026.