When overtime starts
Under the SCHADS Award, overtime applies to time worked beyond the ordinary hours. Two common triggers in disability support are:
- working more than 10 hours in a shift
- working beyond the 12-hour span of a broken shift
There are also weekly limits on ordinary hours, and part-time employees have their own rules about working beyond their agreed hours.
Overtime rates
| When | Rate |
|---|---|
| Monday to Saturday, first 2 hours | 150% |
| Monday to Saturday, after 2 hours | 200% |
| Sunday | 200% |
| Public holiday | 250% |
Example: a part-time worker works an 11-hour weekday shift. The first 10 hours are paid at the ordinary rate and the last hour at 150%.
How the casual loading applies to overtime can differ, so check the Fair Work pay guide for casual overtime rates.
The 10-hour break between shifts
Employees should get a break of at least 10 hours between the end of one shift and the start of the next. If the break is shorter, for example a shift finishing at 10:00pm and the next starting at 6:00am, overtime rates may apply until the employee has had a proper break.
Common mistakes
- Paying long shifts at the ordinary rate all the way through
- Rostering a “close then open”, a late finish followed by an early start, without adjusting pay
- Forgetting that broken shift span overtime is double time from the first minute
Checking overtime
The pay checker applies overtime after 10 hours in a shift and beyond a broken shift’s 12-hour span. It also flags when there’s less than a 10-hour break between shifts. Weekly overtime isn’t covered yet.