Overtime is one of the few numbers on a construction payroll run that changes every single month, for every single worker, depending on exactly how many hours they worked and when. Getting the rate right is straightforward in principle; applying it consistently across a few hundred workers by hand, every month, is where mistakes creep in.
The baseline: 8 hours a day, 48 a week
Normal working time under UAE labour law is 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week. Routine overtime on top of that is capped at 2 additional hours a day.
Overtime rates
- Standard overtime (beyond 8 hours/day or 48 hours/week): 125% of the hourly basic wage, basic pay plus 25%.
- Night overtime (10pm–4am): 150% of the hourly basic wage, basic pay plus 50%.
In both cases, the calculation is based on basic salary only: allowances are excluded, the same rule that applies to end-of-service gratuity.
Rest days
Every employee is entitled to at least one paid rest day a week. Work on that rest day is paid at full pay plus a 50% premium, or compensated with an alternative rest day instead. Which day counts as the rest day is flexible. It doesn’t have to be Friday, and employers can designate whichever day fits their business.
Daily break requirements
Workers can’t be scheduled more than 5 consecutive hours without a break, and total breaks across the day must add up to at least an hour. Relevant when planning shift patterns across a large site workforce, not just an individual worker’s hours.
Why this is hard to apply by hand at scale
None of these rules are complicated individually. What’s hard is applying the right rate to the right hour (standard, night, rest-day) consistently across hundreds of workers with different shift patterns, every single month, without a system that flags the exception automatically as hours come in rather than at month-end reconciliation.
Applying these rules consistently is easier when hours are captured once: see timesheet software for UAE construction and manpower teams and how approved hours flow into WPS payroll.
Overtime changes what a worker earns, but not the basic salary that gratuity is built on. To see what a leaver is owed, use the free UAE gratuity calculator.