Shift Differential Calculator
Add a night, evening or weekend shift differential to your base rate — as dollars per hour or a percentage — and see the rate for those hours and your total pay.
Enter your base rate and the differential.
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What a shift differential is
A shift differential is extra pay for working less popular hours — evenings, nights, weekends or holidays. It's set by your employer or union contract, as a flat amount (such as $2 an hour for nights) or a percentage of your base rate (such as 10% for weekends). Federal law doesn't require one; it's common in healthcare, manufacturing, warehouses, retail and call centers.
Worked example: $18.00 base, $2.00 night differential, 16 night hours and 24 day hours
- Night rate: $18.00 + $2.00 = $20.00 an hour.
- Pay: 24 × $18.00 + 16 × $20.00 = $432.00 + $320.00 = $752.00.
- The differential added 16 × $2.00 = $32.00.
Shift differentials and overtime
Under federal rules, shift differentials are part of your regular rate — the rate overtime is based on. So when you work over 40 hours, overtime isn't just 1.5 × your base rate:
Worked example: 45 hours at $20.00, 15 of them on nights at +$2.00
- Straight-time pay: 45 × $20.00 + 15 × $2.00 = $930.00.
- Regular rate: $930.00 ÷ 45 = $20.67 an hour.
- Overtime premium: 5 hours × ½ × $20.67 = $51.67.
- Total: $981.67 — a little more than if overtime were based on $20.00 alone ($980.00).
Use the overtime calculator for the basic overtime split.
Frequently asked questions
What is a typical night shift differential?
It varies a lot by industry and employer. Flat differentials of a dollar or a few dollars an hour, or percentages around 5% to 15%, are common; some healthcare jobs pay more for nights and weekends.
Is a shift differential required by law?
Not under federal law. It's paid when your employer's policy or your union contract says so.
Does the differential apply to the whole shift?
That depends on the policy: some pay it for the whole shift if most of it falls in the evening or night, others only for the hours inside the differential window.
Sources
- 29 CFR 778.207(b): shift differentials are included in the regular rate for overtime (U.S. Department of Labor).
- For information only, not legal or payroll advice. How we calculate.