Overtime & Sunday Pay Rules
3 min read — Updated February 2026
Overtime Rules (BCEA)
Under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), normal working hours are a maximum of 45 hours per week (9 hours/day for a 5-day week, or 8 hours/day for a 6-day week). Any hours beyond this are overtime.
- Maximum overtime: 10 hours per week
- Overtime must be agreed upon by the employee
- Overtime pay is at least 1.5× the normal hourly rate
Employees cannot be forced to work overtime. It must be by agreement, and there are weekly limits.
Rate Breakdown
SA Wages Pro automatically applies the correct rate multipliers:
- Weekday overtime: 1.5× normal hourly rate
- Sunday work: 2× normal hourly rate (if the employee doesn't normally work Sundays)
- Public holiday work: 2× normal hourly rate
When creating a payslip, enter overtime hours by type (weekday, Sunday, public holiday) and the correct rates are applied automatically.
Adding Overtime to a Payslip
When generating a payslip, you'll see fields for weekday overtime hours, Sunday hours, and public holiday hours. Enter the number of extra hours for each type. SA Wages Pro calculates the amounts using the employee's normal hourly rate and the correct multiplier.
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