Overtime & Sunday Pay Rules
3 min read — Updated September 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: 3 hours per day and 10 hours per week
- Overtime must be agreed upon by the employee
- Overtime pay is a flat 1.5× the normal hourly rate - the 3-hour figure is a daily limit, not a point where the rate doubles
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
Overtime is derived from the timesheet rather than typed in. Record the hours actually worked each day and mark Sundays and public holidays with the right day type - SA Wages Pro turns anything above the ordinary working day into overtime and applies the correct multiplier to each category.
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