Percentage uplift
Your base rate plus a percentage, applied only to the qualifying hours. The most common shape, and the only one that grows automatically when your base pay rises.
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Shift Differential Calculator
Not every hour of the clock pays the same. Drag your shift across the day below and watch the hours that fall inside the night window turn into premium pay — then see what that does to your overtime rate.
Pick your country, drag your shift, and the qualifying hours price themselves.
What a shift differential actually is
A shift differential is extra pay for working hours most people do not want: nights, evenings, weekends, public holidays. It is not overtime. Overtime is about how MANY hours you worked; a differential is about WHEN you worked them — you can earn a differential on hour one of a normal-length shift.
It is usually paid one of three ways: a percentage uplift on your base rate, a flat amount added to every qualifying hour, or a separate, higher hourly rate for the whole shift. The calculator above handles all three, because which one you get is set by your employer or your collective agreement, not by you.
Which hours count as night, country by country
The window is the part people get wrong. Two shifts that look identical can pay differently because one country starts counting night at 21:00 and another at 23:00. These are the statutory definitions — a collective agreement can always be more generous, never less.
Rates shown are the statutory floor or, where the law sets none, the common market level. Always check your own contract or collective agreement.
The three ways a differential is paid
Same shift, same intention, three different sums. Check which one your contract uses before you compare offers.
Flat amount per hour
A fixed sum added to every night hour, whatever you earn. Worth more to lower-paid staff and worth relatively less every year unless it is renegotiated.
A separate night rate
The whole shift is paid at a different, higher hourly rate. Simple on a payslip, but it hides the size of the premium — work it out before you compare.
The differential changes your overtime rate
This is the part that gets underpaid. If you earned a differential during the week, your overtime is not 1.5× your base rate — it is 1.5× the blended regular rate, which includes the differential. In the United States that is not optional: it is how the FLSA defines the regular rate.
- 1Add up everything you earned this week, differential included.
- 2Divide by the hours you actually worked. That is your regular rate.
- 3Overtime is paid on that number, not on your base rate.
The same logic runs in most of Europe, though the base for the calculation is set by the collective agreement rather than by statute.
How to calculate shift differential pay
Four steps, and the calculator above does all of them live.
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1
Find the qualifying hours
Lay the shift over the night window and count only the overlap. A 22:00–06:00 shift against a 23:00–06:00 window earns the premium on seven hours, not eight.
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2
Apply the differential to those hours only
Unless your contract pays a single night rate for the whole shift, the hours outside the window stay at base rate.
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3
Add the base pay back
Base hours at base rate, premium hours at the uplifted rate. That sum is the shift.
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4
Re-do your overtime on the blend
Total weekly pay divided by total weekly hours gives the regular rate; overtime multiplies that, not your base rate.
Who this is for
Nurses and care staff
Rotating days, nights and weekends in the same fortnight, each with its own premium.
Manufacturing and logistics
Three-shift patterns where the differential is the difference between two otherwise identical jobs.
Hospitality and security
Shifts that routinely cross midnight, so half the hours sit in one window and half in another.
Payroll and HR
Checking a rota against the rules before it becomes a back-pay claim.
Know exactly which hours were worked
A differential is only as accurate as the clock-in behind it. WebWork timestamps every shift, so night hours are counted, not estimated.
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From the rota to the payslip
Shift premiums fall apart when start and end times are typed in from memory at the end of the month. WebWork records each shift as it happens, splits the hours by when they were worked, and hands payroll a total it can defend — see how it fits a shift operation in workforce management software.
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Time tracking built for teams that do not all work nine to five.
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One-tap clock in and out from desktop, mobile or a shared kiosk — exact times kept for you.
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Explore workforce managementShift differential FAQ
Extra pay for working hours that are less desirable — nights, evenings, weekends or public holidays. It is paid on top of your base rate for the qualifying hours, and it is separate from overtime, which depends on how many hours you work rather than when.
Count the hours of your shift that fall inside the premium window, apply the differential to those hours only, and pay the rest at base rate. On the default shift above that comes to $208.59 for the shift, of which $21.09 is the differential itself.
It depends where you work. There is no federal requirement in the United States and none in the United Kingdom; Germany, Russia, Spain, Brazil and France all require extra pay for night work, though only some of them set the actual percentage in statute rather than leaving it to collective bargaining.
Yes. Under the FLSA the differential is part of the regular rate, so overtime is 1.5× the blended rate rather than 1.5× your base rate. Most European systems reach the same result through the collective agreement. The "Overtime blend" tab shows the gap.
The window is set by law where you work: 23:00–06:00 in Germany and the United Kingdom, 22:00–06:00 in Russia and Spain, 22:00–05:00 in Brazil, 21:00–06:00 in France. In the United States there is no statutory window, so your employer defines it.
Around 10–15% for evening shifts and 15–25% for nights is common where the rate is contractual. Where the law sets a floor it tends to sit at 20% (Russia, Brazil) or around 25% (Germany by case law, Spain by agreement).
Under CLT article 73 an hour worked between 22:00 and 05:00 counts as 52 minutes and 30 seconds. Seven clock hours in that window are therefore credited as eight paid hours, and the 20% adicional noturno is applied on top of that.
Only the hours inside the window, unless your contract says otherwise. Some employers pay a single night rate for any shift that touches the window at all — simpler, and usually better for short overlaps, worse for long ones.
It is the same idea applied to a different set of hours, and the rates are usually higher. Russia requires double pay for work on a rest day or holiday; Germany treats Sunday and holiday premiums separately from night pay for tax purposes. Use the "Weekend or holiday" tab for those.
In most countries it is ordinary taxable pay. Germany is the notable exception: under §3b EStG night, Sunday and holiday premiums are tax-free up to defined percentages of the base hourly rate. This calculator shows gross figures only.
The calculator splits it automatically — that is what the wrap around the end of the ribbon shows. Each part is measured against the window separately, which is exactly how payroll should do it.
It reduces the paid hours, and this calculator takes the break off base and premium hours in proportion. Some employers deduct it from the premium hours first, which pays less — worth checking on your own payslip.