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Overtime pay in the UAE is calculated as basic hourly wage multiplied by the applicable rate: 125% for normal overtime, 150% for night hours or rest days, and 250% for official holidays. To find the basic hourly wage, divide the monthly basic salary by 30, then by 8. Daily overtime is capped at 2 hours, with total working hours limited to 144 hours over three weeks under UAE labour law.
- Overtime is any hour clocked beyond the standard 8-hour day or 48-hour week, calculated off basic wage, not gross salary.
- Rates depend on when the hours fall: 125% for normal overtime, 150% for night or rest day hours, and 250% for official holidays.
- The formula that matters most: basic salary ÷ 30 ÷ 8 = basic hourly wage. Apply the relevant multiplier from there.
- Daily overtime is capped at 2 hours, and total working hours cannot exceed 144 hours over three weeks.
- Some categories are exempt, including board chairmen, certain supervisory roles, and maritime crews, based on actual authority, not job title.
- Accurate timesheets, approvals, and records are what make an overtime calculation defensible if it's ever disputed.
Just as payroll closes, you spot blips in the timesheet again. Outliers that show someone stayed late or clocked in on their rest day. Turning those extra hours into an actual AED figure can feel like a board full of math equations.
That’s overtime calculation in the UAE. Whether it’s the uplift percentage or the right hourly rate, arriving at the right payout is trickier than it looks. This guide covers what overtime means, rates to remember, the maths, and exceptions.
What counts as overtime in the UAE?
Overtime is any hour clocked beyond normal working hours. What counts as "normal" is where it gets legal. Under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and its Executive Regulations, anything beyond that must be paid at an uplifted rate, not your standard hourly wage.
Three things to pin down before you touch a calculator:
- Normal working hours: 8 hours a day, or 48 hours a week.
- Overtime threshold: Hours beyond that can count as overtime, subject to legal conditions and limits.
- Uplift: The extra percentage or rate multiplier on top of the normal rate.
Overtime is calculated off basic wage, not total salary. Allowances like housing and transport don't count toward that figure. If you're pulling numbers from a payslip, the "basic" line is the one that matters, not the gross.
What are the overtime rates in the UAE?
| Situation | Minimum rate | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Normal overtime | 125% | Additional hours beyond normal working hours |
| Night The rate depends on when the hours happen, not how many. All four are multipliers of the basic hourly wage, never the whole monthly package. Normal overtimeIf your employee has clocked in beyond the standard 8-hour day, the extra hours start counting immediately. It's not treated as a favour or "just this once," and pay is 125% of the basic hourly wage. Night hoursThis overtime comes out with the moon. For someone on the team working between 10 pm and 4 am, pay bumps up to 150% of the basic hourly wage. Night hours don't apply to workers on shifts covered under Article 19(3). So, check the shift pattern before crunching numbers. Weekly rest dayUAE contracts must build in a weekly rest day. If you're calling someone in on it, they're owed either a substitute day off or 150% overtime pay. Pick one approach and stick with it across the team. Creating consistency keeps your payroll defensible. Official holidayBeing called in on a public holiday is rarely anyone’s favourite calendar surprise. That may be why it comes with the highest uplift on the table: 250%, or 2.5 times the basic hourly wage. It’s also the rate most likely to get miscalculated when basic wage and gross salary get mixed up. A bigger multiplier only makes that small payroll mix-up more expensive. Once overtime spans multiple teams, tracking who worked what, when, and who signed off on it can get messy. That trail is usually where spend management tools quietly earn their keep. How do you get from a monthly salary to an hourly rate?This is the calculation most payroll teams get stuck on. Not the rates, but what comes before them. Get this part right, and every overtime number you calculate after this holds up. Step 1: Start with the basic salaryUse basic salary, not total salary. UAE packages often bundle in housing and transport allowances, and neither counts toward overtime. Using the gross figure inflates the hourly rate, and every calculation built on it after that is wrong too. What to spot: If the payslip has more than one line item, basic salary is usually a separate line in the list. Search for the number next to 'basic' and not the total at the bottom. Step 2: Convert basic pay into a daily rateUAE payroll treats every month as having 30 days, regardless of the actual calendar. Dividing by 30 gives you a consistent daily figure, whether the month has 28 days or 31. Formula: Daily rate = basic salary ÷ 30 Step 3: Arrive at your hourly wageA standard working day is 8 hours. Divide the daily rate by that to reach the hourly basic wage, the figure every overtime multiplier gets applied to. Formula: Hourly rate = daily rate ÷ 8 Step 4: Apply the overtime multiplierOnce you have the hourly rate, multiply it by whichever uplift applies to the situation: normal hours, night hours, rest day, or holiday. Formula: Overtime pay = hourly rate × applicable multiplier Here's a quick list of the multipliers:
Quick hack: Basic hourly wage = Monthly basic salary ÷ 240 How does overtime calculation work in three real-life scenarios?Same starting salary, three different Tuesdays. Here's how the maths plays out once real hours enter the picture. 1. An employee stayed late on Tuesday: What do two hours of overtime cost?Say the employee's basic salary is AED 6,000 a month, and they stayed back two extra hours on a weekday.
For 2 hours worked, total overtime pay comes to 2 x 31.25 = AED 62.50 2. Their rest day became a workday: What happens to the pay?Same salary of AED 6,000, but this time it's the employee's weekly rest day, and they're asked in for 4 hours.
For 4 hours worked on a rest day, total overtime pay comes to 4 x 37.50 = AED 150. 3. A public holiday turned into a work shift: How much does it cost?Same AED 25 hourly rate, but the employee is called in for 3 hours on an official holiday.
For 3 hours of work on a public holiday, total overtime pay comes to 3 x 62.50 = AED 187.50 Same starting point, different multiplier. That's the entire overtime maths in miniature. Who is not entitled to overtime under UAE labour law?Not every worker gets the same statutory protection here. The Executive Regulations name specific categories exempt from the maximum working-hours provisions, and by extension, overtime pay. Overtime pay doesn't apply to:
Whether someone's exempt comes down to the actual role, not the label. As Ashish Mehta, founder of a veteran Dubai law firm, puts it in response to reader queries on this exact question: managerial exclusions ride on what the job actually involves. A fancy title with no real authority behind it doesn't get you out of paying overtime. How many overtime hours can you legally work in the UAE?UAE labour law caps daily overtime at 2 hours. Plus, total working hours cannot exceed 144 hours over 3 weeks. Both daily and weekly overtime limits are active independently of each other. The law does allow exceptions, mainly for circumstances like preventing substantial loss, a serious accident, or addressing its effects. More working factors to account for:
What do you need to get overtime right in payroll?Nailing overtime requires diligent timesheets, clear workflows, and audit-ready documentation. You're about to pay more than the usual rate, but it's work you asked them for. Getting it right on payroll is what keeps that extra pay defensible for finance teams. Record the hoursLogging what's done diligently is what keeps payroll gears moving. Timesheets that map hours to categories clear up the multiplier before anyone has to guess. Skip a category, and the wrong rate slips through without anyone noticing until it's disputed. When recording overtime, always log:
Get every overtime hour approved ahead of timeEverything from an extended weekday to a public holiday shift needs sign-off before the hours are worked, not after. Verbal approval doesn't hold up months later. A named approver attached to every request does. Tools that make this easy:
Build an audit-ready paper trailWhether it's an enquiry from MOHRE or an employee disputing hours clocked, documents settle it, not memory. Every overtime calculation in the UAE must be backed by a record that matches it line for line, the same discipline good expense management runs on. Keeping indisputable paper trails:
Cover all three, and overtime feels like HR operations, not panic budgeting. To bring timesheet sync and workflows into one tool, you have Alaan's spend management. Its payment tracking and real-time spend visibility also end month-end surprises. Solve the overtime payroll puzzle with an intelligent toolOvertime involves shelling out more, so it starts with arriving at the right wage and the ability to show proof. Miss one record or approval, and the whole calculation wobbles. You need one tool to take the maths and manual chasing off your plate, while padding up the visibility. Prioritise timesheet sync, workflow approvals, and payment tracking into one place. That way nothing's stitched together manually, and you're never guessing where the numbers stand. Tap into spend management, so overtime doesn't eat your afternoon every payroll cycle. Start free with Alaan and let the paper trail build itself. FAQsWhat is the formula for overtime calculation in the UAE?Overtime pay is the basic hourly wage multiplied by the applicable overtime rate. Use 125% (1.25x) for normal overtime, 150% (1.5x) for qualifying night or rest-day work, and 250% (2.5x) for official holidays. Start with the basic wage, not the gross salary, to avoid a surprisingly large dent in the final figure. How do you calculate the hourly rate from a monthly salary in the UAE?Divide the monthly basic salary by 30 (days), then by 8 (hours) to get the hourly wage. The shortcut is basic monthly salary ÷ 240 = basic hourly wage. For example, AED 6,000 works out to AED 25 an hour. From there, apply the overtime multiplier for the relevant situation. What is the overtime rate on a public holiday in the UAE?250% of the basic hourly wage, the highest rate on the table. That's double the 125% rate applied to normal weekday overtime. Holiday hours always cost more to authorise. How many overtime hours are allowed in the UAE?UAE labour law allows a maximum of 2 additional hours a day. Total working hours also cannot exceed 144 hours over three weeks. That said, it does make exceptions for circumstances like preventing substantial loss or a serious accident. Who is not entitled to overtime in the UAE?Categories the Executive Regulations specifically exclude: board chairmen and members, senior supervisory roles with employer-like authority, and maritime crews. A job title alone doesn't decide this. Actual role and authority do. Gain control over business expenses with Alaan corporate cardsInvygo earned AED 100,000 in cashback using Alaan cardsPersonalise approval workflows to align with your business needs with Alaan's Spend Management platformDiscover the power of automated expense tracking and smarter spend control with AlaanTurn data into actionable insights with Alaan's spend management toolsStay Tax Compliant with UAE's #1 Corporate Card and Spend Management PlatformCustomisable corporate card policy templateKnow how much Corporate Tax you have to pay this fiscal yearEasily integrate Alaan with your ERP for accurate, real-time expense trackingClose books faster with Alaan's AI-powered accounting automationReconcile your books in minutes instead of hours, every single month.Keep petty cash organized with Alaan corporate cards and automated expense managementAbout the AUTHOR Ali is a Finance Content Specialist at Alaan, where he writes about AI and how it's changing finance work. He studied Economics and spent two years in finance before moving into content. He also builds finance tools, writes guides, and runs events for the finance community.  Ali Alyazji Finance Content Specialist إذا كانت لدى شركتك مصاريف، آلان هو الحل لك.تحكّم أكبر | توفير أكثر | أتمتة أكثر   سوف يستغرق الأمر أقل من 30 دقيقة لتقع في حب Alaan 🚀Enter your Email for instant access |
