NHS Overtime Calculator
Work out what your extra hours are worth at your trust's agreed overtime rate.
Short answer
There is no single national NHS overtime rate — unlike unsocial hours pay, which is fixed nationally at 30% or 60% under Section 2 of the Agenda for Change handbook, overtime multipliers are agreed locally, trust by trust. The formula itself is simple — hourly rate × extra hours worked × your trust's multiplier — but you have to supply the multiplier yourself, because it commonly ranges from plain time (1.0x) up to double time (2.0x) depending on where you work and your local policy.
NHS overtime pay, explained
Overtime is different from unsocial hours pay, and it's a distinction worth understanding properly. Unsocial hours enhancements — the extra 30% for nights and Saturdays, or 60% for Sundays and bank holidays — are set nationally under Section 2 of the Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions Handbook and apply to Bands 1–7 wherever you work in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. They're about when you work.
Overtime is about working more than your contracted hours, and there is no equivalent national rate for it. Whether you're paid plain time, time-and-a-half, double time, or something else entirely for additional hours depends on your individual trust's local policy, any collective agreement in place, and sometimes your specific role or department. Some trusts pay a flat overtime rate for all extra hours; others only pay enhanced overtime above a certain threshold, or not at all for staff at Band 8a and above, who are generally expected to reflect additional hours within their overall salary.
Because the multiplier genuinely varies, this calculator asks you to enter your own agreed rate rather than assuming one on your behalf. If in doubt, check your payslip against a recent shift you know was paid as overtime, or ask your line manager or payroll team to confirm your trust's overtime policy in writing.
If the extra hours you worked were also during unsocial time — a night, a Saturday, a Sunday, or a bank holiday — you may be entitled to both the overtime multiplier and the separate, nationally fixed unsocial hours enhancement. Read our guide to NHS unsocial hours payments explained for the national Section 2 rates, and use the NHS Unsocial Hours Calculator alongside this one if that applies to you.
Common overtime multiplier conventions
Because there's no single national NHS overtime rate, the table below isn't a set of official figures — it's a summary of the multipliers most trusts choose from when they set local overtime policy. Always confirm which one your trust actually applies rather than assuming.
| Multiplier | Common name | Typically used for | Key caveat |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0x | Plain time | Part-time staff working additional hours up to the full-time weekly equivalent | Not really "overtime" in the enhanced sense — often the default until you exceed full-time hours |
| 1.5x | Time-and-a-half | Extra hours beyond full-time contracted hours, or short-notice cover | The most common enhanced rate, but far from universal — some trusts pay 1.0x throughout |
| 2.0x | Double time | Bank holiday working or emergency short-notice recall in some local policies | Less common in Agenda for Change overtime specifically than in some other sectors — verify locally |
| Custom | Locally agreed rate | Whatever your trust's collective agreement or contract specifies | The only way to be certain is to check your own policy or payslip |
Worked example: the same extra shift at three different multipliers
To see why confirming your actual multiplier matters, take a Band 6 nurse with a basic hourly rate of £21.63 (based on the 2026/27 pay point 2 salary of £42,170) who picks up one extra 8-hour shift. Here's what that single shift is worth gross, before tax, under each common convention:
| Multiplier | Calculation | Gross pay for the shift |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0x (plain time) | £21.63 × 8 × 1.0 | £173.04 |
| 1.5x (time-and-a-half) | £21.63 × 8 × 1.5 | £259.56 |
| 2.0x (double time) | £21.63 × 8 × 2.0 | £346.08 |
That's a difference of over £170 for exactly the same shift, purely based on which multiplier the trust applies — which is precisely why this calculator won't guess on your behalf, and why it's worth the two minutes it takes to confirm your own trust's actual policy rather than assuming the most commonly quoted 1.5x rate applies to you.
How local overtime rates actually get decided
Unlike unsocial hours pay, which comes from a single national agreement negotiated through NHS Staff Council, overtime multipliers are typically set through local partnership working between an individual trust's management and its recognised staff-side unions — often as part of a wider local terms and conditions agreement, sometimes documented in a specific overtime or additional hours policy rather than the core Agenda for Change handbook itself. This is exactly why the rate can differ so much between two trusts in the same region, or even between different staff groups within the same trust, and why there's genuinely no shortcut to checking your own local policy.
Why your overtime payment might look different from what you expected
- Overtime is taxed at your marginal rate, not a special "overtime rate". Because your Personal Allowance and basic rate band are already largely used up by your normal salary, extra overtime income is usually taxed at whatever your highest band is — 20%, 40% or 45% — which can make a decent gross overtime payment feel much smaller once it lands.
- National Insurance still applies to your full pay for the period. NI is calculated on total gross pay in that pay period, including overtime, at 8% between the thresholds and 2% above — it doesn't treat overtime any differently from basic pay.
- Student loan deductions apply on top, if you have one. Because student loan repayments are calculated as 9% (6% for postgraduate loans) of income above your plan's threshold, a bigger overtime payment in a single period can noticeably increase that month's deduction even though your annual repayment total is unaffected.
- Pensionability varies, so the overtime itself might not build extra pension. Ad-hoc, non-contractual overtime is often non-pensionable under NHS Pension Scheme rules, unlike unsocial hours enhancements which are pensionable. That means a month with a lot of overtime can boost your take-home pay without boosting your pension accrual for that year — worth knowing if you're trying to estimate your pension growth.
ℹThis calculator asks for your rate on purpose
Why people trust this calculator
- ✓ Doesn't assume a fixed national overtime rate — asks for your trust's real, agreed multiplier
- ✓ Uses the same UK Income Tax and National Insurance logic as every other FrontlinePay calculator
- ✓ No data stored — every calculation runs entirely in your browser
- ✓ Built to be checked against your own payslip, not treated as a fixed national guide
More NHS pay tools & guides
NHS Pay Calculator
Get your exact hourly rate from your band and pay point first.
Unsocial Hours Calculator
Add nights, weekends and bank holidays if your overtime falls there too.
NHS Pension Calculator
Check whether extra hours are actually building your pension.
NHS Unsocial Hours Payments Explained
The national rates that overtime is often confused with.
Picking up a lot of extra hours? See the bigger picture
A heavy overtime year can shift your pay well above your usual level — and if any of it's pensionable, that matters for your Annual Allowance, not just your take-home. Pro shows you the full picture, not just this month's number.
- Annual Allowance & carry-forward calculator — check a high-earning year isn't heading for a surprise pension tax charge
- AI Retirement Strategist — plain-English risk flags and next actions, built from your own numbers
- McCloud remedy comparison & commutation lump sum optimiser for your NHS Pension
- Downloadable PDF report of everything, ready for your records or an adviser
Buy just one tool, a bundle, or everything from £44.99/quarter — or comparing overtime against locum shifts instead? Try the free Locum & Bank Rate Calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a national NHS overtime rate? +
No. Unlike unsocial hours enhancements — which are set nationally under Section 2 of the Agenda for Change handbook — overtime multipliers (time-and-a-half, double time, or plain time) are agreed locally between individual trusts and staff, or set out in a local policy or collective agreement. Always check your own trust's overtime policy or your contract rather than assuming a standard rate.
What's the difference between overtime pay and unsocial hours pay? +
Unsocial hours enhancements are paid because of WHEN you work — nights, Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays — and are fixed nationally at 30% or 60% under Section 2. Overtime pay is different: it's an extra payment for working hours beyond your contracted hours, regardless of the time of day, and the multiplier is whatever your trust has agreed. See our guide to NHS unsocial hours payments for the national rates.
Do all NHS staff get paid overtime? +
Not always. Many trusts pay overtime at plain time (1.0x) for staff below a certain band, and some Agenda for Change staff at Band 8a and above are not eligible for enhanced overtime at all, with additional hours instead reflected in their overall salary. Medical and dental staff have separate contractual arrangements for additional hours. Check your trust's local policy.
Can I work overtime and unsocial hours at the same time? +
Yes — if your extra overtime hours also fall within unsocial time windows (e.g. a night shift), you may be entitled to both the overtime multiplier and the unsocial hours enhancement, depending on your trust's policy. This calculator only covers the overtime multiplier; use the NHS Unsocial Hours Calculator alongside it if your extra hours are also unsocial.
Is overtime pay pensionable? +
This varies by scheme rules and how your trust classifies the payment. Non-contractual, ad-hoc overtime is often non-pensionable under the NHS Pension Scheme, while some regular or contractual additional hours may count. Check with your trust's payroll or the NHS Pension Scheme for your specific situation.
How do I actually find out my trust's overtime multiplier? +
Check your trust's local overtime or additional hours policy, usually available on the staff intranet under HR or workforce policies, or ask your line manager or payroll department directly. Your employment contract or a recent payslip that includes an overtime payment can also confirm the rate actually being applied — comparing the overtime line against your normal hourly rate for the same number of hours will reveal the multiplier used.
Does overtime count towards my annual leave entitlement? +
Generally no — NHS annual leave entitlement under Agenda for Change is based on your contracted hours and length of service, not on additional overtime worked. However, if you regularly and predictably work overtime as a settled pattern rather than an occasional extra, this can sometimes affect how holiday pay itself is calculated under working time regulations. This is a genuinely complex, fact-specific area — check with your trust's HR team if overtime is a regular feature of your role.
Can overtime affect my Annual Allowance pension tax charge? +
Only if the overtime is pensionable and it pushes your total pensionable pay growth for the year high enough to exceed your Annual Allowance — the limit on how much your pension can grow tax-free in a year. This is mainly a concern for higher earners, particularly senior doctors and dentists working significant additional sessions. Most ad-hoc, non-contractual overtime isn't pensionable in the first place, so it wouldn't count towards this at all. See our Annual Allowance Calculator if this might apply to you.
Is overtime handled differently for doctors and dentists? +
Yes. Medical and dental staff sit on entirely separate contracts from Agenda for Change — the current junior doctor and consultant contracts have their own defined rules for additional or extra programmed activities, on-call availability payments and locally agreed enhanced rates, rather than a simple hourly overtime multiplier. This calculator's plain-time/time-and-a-half/double-time model is built for Agenda for Change staff and may not map cleanly onto a doctor's contract — check your specific terms.
How do I know if extra hours count as overtime or just "additional hours"? +
For part-time staff, hours worked above your contracted hours but still below the equivalent full-time weekly hours (typically 37.5) are usually paid at plain time (1.0x) as "additional hours", not enhanced overtime — the enhanced multiplier normally only kicks in once you exceed what a full-time colleague in the same role would work. This distinction catches a lot of part-time staff out, so check which category your trust applies before assuming a time-and-a-half rate.