Why didn't the calculator add extra pay for a night shift?
Because the only premium the calculator knows is overtime: minutes above the daily threshold you set, paid at your multiplier. An 8-hour night shift with an 8-hour threshold has no minutes above it, so no premium appears. Working at night does not change the pay on its own; if you pay a night allowance, add it using one of the methods below.
What the calculator does with a night shift
An employee works 22:00 to 07:00 with an hour's break, at 30 SAR an hour, with an 8-hour daily threshold and a multiplier of 2. The calculator sees the shift crossed midnight, adds the '+1 day' badge and counts 8:00. Overtime is 0:00 because the shift did not pass the threshold, and pay is 240.00 SAR, exactly what an 8-hour day shift would earn.
The badge is information and nothing more. It shows how the two times were read; it does not mean a different rate. The calculator has no notion of night hours and does not treat three in the morning any differently from three in the afternoon.
Make the shift longer and overtime works as usual. The same employee from 22:00 to 08:00 with an hour's break works 9:00, of which 1:00 is overtime at the multiplier of 2, so pay is 300.00 SAR. The extra came from the length of the shift, not from it being at night.
Why there is no night allowance built in
Because there is no single night rule. Some employers add a percentage to every hour of the shift, some only to hours between two set times, some pay a flat sum per night, and many pay nothing extra. Any rate or condition comes from the employment contract, company policy or the authority in your country, not from the calculator and not from this article. The calculator sticks to what it can count exactly: hours, and overtime above a threshold you choose.
Three ways to add a night allowance
- A separate sheet at a higher rate: if the allowance raises the hourly rate, open the Timesheet calculator and enter the night shifts alone at the higher rate. The same shift at 36 instead of 30 gives 288.00 SAR. Enter the day shifts on another sheet at the normal rate and add the two totals.
- A flat sum per night: calculate hours and pay as usual on one sheet, then read the 'Shifts ending the next day' line under the result, multiply that count by the flat allowance and add it on the payslip.
- A percentage on certain hours only, such as after midnight: split each shift into two rows at the point your contract names, and put the night part's rows on their own sheet at the higher rate.
Do not try to use the overtime field for this, for example by setting a low threshold so part of each night counts as overtime. The figures will look right on one day and be wrong on a longer or shorter one, because the threshold applies equally to every row, day or night.
Check before you pay
- Look for the '+1 day' badge on every night shift; it confirms the times were read as you meant.
- If you use two sheets at two rates, keep a PDF of each; every file states the hourly rate it used.
- Put the night allowance on its own line of the payslip, so the employee can see where each amount comes from.
Common questions
Can one sheet hold two different hourly rates?
No. There is one rate per sheet, which is why night shifts go on a separate sheet when the rate differs.
Does the multiplier apply to night shifts?
It applies only to minutes above the daily threshold, on any shift, night or day.
Does the calculator know the night allowance rate in my country?
No. It knows no employment rules, so take the rate from your contract or the relevant authority.