UAE Overtime Guide · Updated August 2026
UAE Overtime Calculation: 125%, 150%, Shift Workers and Rest Days
The rates, how the hourly figure is derived, and the two exceptions that make most overtime calculators overstate what is owed.
Quick answer
UAE overtime is paid at the remuneration for normal working hours — which the UAE Government states is based on basic salary — plus 25%. Where the overtime falls between 10pm and 4am the uplift is at least 50% instead, though this does not apply to workers on shift patterns. Overtime should not exceed two hours in one day.
Want the number rather than the method? Our UAE Overtime Calculator works out the hourly rate and the totals at both rates.
Key takeaways
- Normal working hours: 8 a day, or 48 a week.
- Ordinary overtime: normal hourly remuneration plus 25%.
- Between 10pm and 4am: plus at least 50% — but not for shift workers.
- Rest-day work: a substitute rest day or the day's pay plus 50%, not both.
- Overtime is built on basic salary, not the total package.
- Maximum two hours a day, except to prevent substantial loss or serious accident.
The rates
| When the work is done | Entitlement |
|---|---|
| Ordinary overtime | Normal working hours' remuneration (based on basic salary) plus 25% |
| Between 10pm and 4am | Plus at least 50% — does not apply to workers on shift patterns |
| On a contractual rest day | Either a substitute rest day, or pay equal to normal working hours' remuneration plus 50% of that pay |
| Daily limit | Two hours, unless necessary to prevent substantial loss or serious accident |
| Normal hours | 8 per day or 48 per week |
Getting to an hourly figure
The rates are expressed as percentages of the remuneration for normal working hours, so an hourly figure is needed before they can be applied. The official guidance states the percentages and the basic-salary basis, but does not itself prescribe the arithmetic for converting a monthly salary into an hourly one.
The widely used approach — and the one our calculator applies — is basic monthly salary ÷ 30 ÷ contracted daily hours. A contract or a sector practice specifying a different divisor would produce a different rate, so it is worth checking yours rather than assuming.
Overtime is built on basic salary
This is why overtime is usually worth less than employees expect. The remuneration for normal working hours is based on basic salary, not the total package.
An employee on AED 8,000 basic plus AED 6,000 of allowances has an overtime rate built on the 8,000. At an 8-hour day that is about AED 33.33 an hour, so an hour of ordinary overtime is about AED 41.67 — not the AED 72 an hour the AED 14,000 package might suggest.
Worked examples
Example 1 — ordinary daytime overtime
Basic AED 8,000, 8-hour day, 10 hours of overtime
Hourly = 8,000 ÷ 30 ÷ 8 = AED 33.33
Rate at 125% = 33.33 × 1.25 = AED 41.67
Pay = 10 × 41.67 = AED 416.67
Example 2 — the same hours worked at night
Basic AED 8,000, 6 hours worked after 10pm
Rate at 150% = 33.33 × 1.50 = AED 50.00
Pay = 6 × 50.00 = AED 300.00
If the same employee works a rotating shift pattern, the night uplift does not apply and those six hours are paid at 125%, or AED 250.00 — a difference of AED 50 on one night.
Example 3 — a mixed month
Basic AED 12,000, 9-hour day, 14 ordinary hours and 5 night hours
Hourly = 12,000 ÷ 30 ÷ 9 = AED 44.44
Ordinary = 14 × 44.44 × 1.25 = AED 777.78
Night = 5 × 44.44 × 1.50 = AED 333.33
Total = AED 1,111.11
Nineteen hours across a month sits within the daily limit, provided no single day carried more than two.
The two exceptions most calculators miss
A plain 125%/150% calculator overstates the entitlement in two common situations. Both are worth checking before an employee raises a claim, or before an employer builds them into payroll.
Shift workers and the night uplift
The UAE Government states plainly that the enhanced rate for hours between 10pm and 4am "does not apply on workers who work on basis of shifts".
For a rotating shift operation — a workshop, a hotel, a 24-hour facility — the night uplift is simply not in play. Whether a given hour is ordinary working time or overtime still depends on the scheduled shift and the total hours worked, but the 50% is not available on the basis of the clock alone.
Rest-day work is a day, not an hour
Where circumstances require an employee to work on a rest day specified in the contract or work regulations, the entitlement is to a substitute rest day, orto pay equal to the normal working hours' remuneration plus 50% of that pay.
It is an alternative, not a combination — and it is expressed as a day-based entitlement, not an hourly uplift. Presenting rest-day work as hours to type into a 150% field, or as attracting both a premium and a day in lieu, are two of the more common errors in UAE payroll.
Where payroll usually goes wrong
- Deriving the hourly rate from gross salary instead of basic, which overstates every overtime line on the payslip.
- Applying the night uplift to shift workers whose roster already covers those hours.
- Paying a rest-day premium and granting a day in lieu, where the law offers a choice between them.
- Recording overtime in whole days rather than hours, so the two-hour daily limit is never visible until someone audits it.
- Collecting overtime on paper, away from the attendance record that produced it.
- Leaving overtime out of the WPS salary file, so the amount transferred does not match the payslip.
Most of these share a root cause: the hours are captured somewhere other than the system that pays them. Where fingerprint or facial-recognition terminals feed the HR system directly, hours arrive already split into ordinary and night bands against each employee's own shift pattern, and the daily limit is visible before payroll closes rather than after. Our HR and payroll platform covers that path from device to payslip to WPS file.
What this guide does not cover
The UAE Government guidance this article relies on sets out the rates, the daily limit and the two exceptions. Several related provisions sit in the full text of the law and its implementing regulations rather than in that summary, and are therefore not covered here:
- Limits on total working hours across multi-week periods.
- Break entitlements during the working day, and weekly rest.
- Reduced working hours during Ramadan.
- The categories of employee who fall outside the working-hours provisions.
- Sector-specific variations permitting longer normal hours.
For any of these, check the law and its implementing regulations, or ask MOHRE. We would rather leave a gap here than publish a figure we cannot point at a source for.
Run your own numbers → Enter basic salary, contracted daily hours and the hours worked at each rate. Rest-day work is not modelled, for the reason above.
Frequently asked questions
How is overtime calculated in the UAE?
Overtime is paid at the remuneration for normal working hours, which is based on basic salary, plus 25%. Where the overtime falls between 10pm and 4am, the uplift is at least 50% instead. The hourly figure is derived from the basic monthly salary and the contracted daily hours.
When does the 150% rate apply?
To overtime worked between 10pm and 4am. The UAE Government states this rule does not apply to workers who work on the basis of shifts, so a rostered night shift does not attract the uplift.
Are shift workers entitled to the night overtime rate?
No. The UAE Government states that the enhanced rate for hours between 10pm and 4am does not apply to workers who work on the basis of shifts. Whether a given hour is ordinary working time or overtime still depends on the scheduled shift and total hours worked.
How is work on a rest day paid?
It is a day-based entitlement, not an hourly uplift. Where circumstances require an employee to work on a rest day specified in the contract or work regulations, the employee is entitled either to a substitute rest day or to pay equal to the normal working hours' remuneration, based on basic salary, plus 50% of that pay. It is one or the other, not both.
What are normal working hours in the UAE?
Eight hours a day, or 48 hours a week, for private-sector employees, as stated by the UAE Government.
What is the maximum overtime per day?
Overtime should not exceed two hours in one day, unless the work is necessary to prevent substantial loss or a serious accident.
Is overtime calculated on basic salary or gross salary?
On the remuneration for normal working hours, which the UAE Government states is based on basic salary. Allowances such as housing and transport are not included, which is why overtime is usually worth less than employees expect.
Can my employer give time off instead of paying overtime?
For work on a rest day the law expressly offers a substitute rest day as an alternative to the payment. For ordinary weekday overtime the entitlement is to payment, so any time-off-in-lieu arrangement would be a matter of agreement and should be at least as favourable.
Estimate for guidance only — this is not legal advice. Entitlements vary by contract, sector and work model, and several of the rules above have exceptions that depend on facts this page cannot see. Confirm your position with MOHRE or a qualified adviser before relying on a figure.
Primary source: Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, summarised by the UAE Government on working hours and overtime. Reviewed August 2026.
Overtime still coming in on paper?
Avance HRMS reads biometric attendance, separates ordinary from night hours against each employee's shift pattern, and carries the result into payroll and the WPS file — so the hours worked and the hours paid are the same hours.