What Is Time and a Half?
Time and a half means being paid 1.5 times your normal hourly rate, usually for overtime, weekends or bank holidays.
In short
Time and a half is an hourly rate 1.5 times your normal rate: on 14 an hour it is 21. Double time is twice the normal rate. In the UK there is no legal right to overtime pay at any enhanced rate; it depends entirely on your contract, though your average pay for all hours worked must not fall below the minimum wage. Many US workers are entitled to time and a half for hours over 40 a week.
The phrase is everywhere in job adverts and contracts and it means exactly what it says: one and a half times the normal hourly rate for the hours it applies to. The arithmetic is simple. The question of when you are entitled to it is not.
The calculation
Take your normal hourly rate and multiply by 1.5.
- 12 an hour becomes 18
- 14 an hour becomes 21
- 20 an hour becomes 30
Double time is the normal rate times 2. Time and a quarter, occasionally seen, is times 1.25.
For salaried staff, the hourly rate is not printed anywhere, so work it out: annual salary divided by 52 gives weekly pay; weekly pay divided by contracted hours gives the hourly rate.
Someone on 30,000 for 37.5 hours a week: 30,000 ÷ 52 = 576.92 a week; ÷ 37.5 = 15.38 an hour; × 1.5 = 23.08 for time and a half.
When it is paid
In the UK, there is no statutory right to any enhanced rate for overtime, weekends, nights or bank holidays. Whether you get time and a half depends on your contract, a collective agreement, or your employer’s policy.
The legal floor is different: your employer must pay you for every hour you are required to work, and your average pay across all hours in a pay period must not fall below the National Minimum Wage. An employer paying a flat salary and demanding unpaid overtime can breach that floor if the hours are high enough.
In the United States, the Fair Labor Standards Act requires most hourly workers to be paid time and a half for hours beyond 40 in a week, which is why the phrase is so much more familiar there.
Common contract terms
- Time and a half for hours over the contracted week, sometimes only after a threshold such as 40 hours.
- Time and a half on Saturdays, double time on Sundays and bank holidays, common in retail, hospitality and manufacturing.
- Time off in lieu instead of enhanced pay: an hour of overtime earns an hour of leave.
- Overtime unpaid, stated openly in many salaried professional contracts, usually alongside a note that hours are expected to be reasonable.
If your contract is silent, the default is payment at the normal rate for any overtime you are required to work, and no right to overtime at all if it is voluntary and the employer chooses not to offer it.
Working time limits
Separately from pay, the Working Time Regulations cap average working hours at 48 a week, averaged over 17 weeks, unless you have signed an opt-out. Rest breaks and daily rest periods also apply regardless of what you are paid.
Checking your own position
Read the overtime clause in your contract. If there is one, it will state the rate and the conditions. If there is none, ask in writing what the policy is. And if you are regularly working well beyond your contracted hours unpaid, divide your salary by the hours you actually work; if the figure is below the minimum wage, that is not a grey area.
Common questions
How do I calculate time and a half from a salary?
Divide annual salary by 52 to get weekly pay, then by contracted weekly hours to get the hourly rate, then multiply by 1.5. On 30,000 for a 37.5-hour week, the hourly rate is about 15.38 and time and a half is about 23.08.
Do I have to be paid extra for overtime in the UK?
No, unless your contract says so. Employers must pay for overtime if they require it, but only at your normal rate, provided your average hourly pay stays at or above the National Minimum Wage. Enhanced rates are a matter of contract or custom.
Can I be made to work overtime?
Only if your contract allows it. Even then, you cannot normally be required to work more than an average of 48 hours a week unless you have signed an opt-out from the Working Time Regulations.
Sources
Every factual claim above traces to one of these. Follow them rather than taking this article's word for it.
- Overtime: your rights GOV.UK
- Part-time workers' rights GOV.UK
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