How do I use the night shift hours calculator?
- Enter the shift start and end, such as 7:00 PM and 7:30 AM, and any unpaid break.
- Set the night window your employer uses for the differential. The default is 10 PM to 6 AM.
- Enter the base rate and differential as dollars per hour or a percentage.
- Read night hours, other hours and shift pay. The blended rate shows what the shift paid per hour overall.
Hospitals, warehouses, security firms, call centers and factories often pay more for hours worked at night. The extra pay only applies to some of the shift, so you need to know how many hours fell inside the qualifying window. This calculator works that out for shifts that cross midnight and then applies a flat or percentage differential.
How is night pay calculated?
Night pay = night hours × differential. A flat differential adds a fixed amount, such as $2 per night hour. A percentage differential adds a share of the base rate, so 10% of $20 is $2 per night hour. Total shift pay is all hours × base rate plus the differential. Because the overlap is figured on real clock times, a 7 PM to 7:30 AM shift gets the full 8 hours from 10 PM to 6 AM, not a guess.
Worked examples
Example 1: a graveyard shift with a 10% differential
11:00 PM to 7:30 AM with a 30-minute break, night window 10 PM–6 AM, $20/hour plus 10%. Worked time is 8:00. The shift overlaps the window from 11 PM to 6 AM (7:00), minus the break = 6:30 night hours. Pay: $160.00 base + $13.00 differential = $173.00.
Example 2: an evening (second) shift
3:00 PM to 11:30 PM, 30-minute break, evening differential of $2/hour after 6 PM, base $18. Hours from 6 PM to 11:30 PM are 5:30, minus the break = 5:00 qualifying hours. Pay: $144.00 + $10.00 = $154.00.
Example 3: overtime when every hour has a differential
A night worker earns $20 plus $1.50 on every hour and works 45 hours in the week. The regular rate for overtime is $21.50, not $20, so overtime pays 1.5 × $21.50 = $32.25. Total: 40 × $21.50 + 5 × $32.25 = $1,021.25.
What should I check on a night shift paycheck?
- Night hours on the stub match the hours inside the window, minus the break.
- Overtime is figured on the base rate plus differential, not the base rate alone.
- Overnight shifts land in the right workweek. Record each shift on the day it started.
To total a full week of overnight shifts, use the time card calculator. For the hours between any two times, use the hours calculator. To see weekly overtime pay, try the overtime calculator. To read 24-hour schedules, see the military time converter.