Night shift differential is extra pay owed to anyone working during that period — cooks, waiters, and delivery drivers, for example.
It's a right guaranteed by the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT) so it's important for restaurant owners to be familiar with the legislation.
In this article, understand how it works and see how to calculate it. Keep reading!
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What is night shift differential pay?
Working nights takes a greater physical toll and carries a number of consequences for a worker's health.
People who swap days for nights tend to experience more fatigue and insomnia, which hurts their quality of life. Reversed schedules can also contribute to the development of certain health conditions.
For that reason, labor law requires that night shift workers receive extra pay compared to those who work only during the day. This extra amount is known as night shift differential pay.
Businesses that operate at night and in the early morning hours — as is the case for many restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, for example — need to pay close attention to what the CLT requires, to ensure their employees' labor rights are respected.
This matters not just for complying with the law and avoiding labor lawsuits, but also for keeping your team satisfied and well. Here's how it works.
Leia também: Restaurant work schedules: 5 tips for building one
How does night shift differential pay work?
Night shift differential pay is a right guaranteed by the Federal Constitution and regulated by the CLT. Check out the rules below.
How much is night shift differential pay?
According to the CLT, night shift workers' pay must include an increase of at least 20% over the daytime rate. Esse valor pode ser maior de acordo com as convenções coletivas ou acordos sindicais.
In other words: if a daytime employee earns X, a nighttime employee earns X + 20%.
For rural workers, the increase is 25% — as set out in Article 7 of Law 5,889/73.
Who is entitled to night shift differential pay?
Night shift differential pay is a right for everyone who works during the night period, according to the CLT:
Art. 73, § 2 — For the purposes of this article, night work is considered to be work performed between 10 p.m. on one day and 5 a.m. the following day.
That said, there's also a distinction between the hours that apply to urban, rural, and port workers. Let's look at that more closely in the next section.
What are the hours for night shift differential pay?
Night working hours can vary depending on the type of work:
- Urban workers: 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
- Rural workers:
- Farming: 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
- Livestock: 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.
- Port workers: 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Restaurant, bar, and nightclub employees, for example, are classified as urban workers. So, in these cases, the applicable hours are between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
How are night shift hours counted?
Beyond the pay increase, night working hours are also calculated differently:
- Daytime hour = 60 minutes
- Nighttime hour = 52 minutes and 30 seconds
In other words: every 52 minutes and 30 seconds worked counts as one full hour. That's why a 7-hour night shift is equivalent to an 8-hour day shift.
If that threshold is exceeded, the employee must be paid overtime.
Also check out: The waiter's 10%: how to calculate it and understand how it works
How do you calculate night shift differential pay? See the step-by-step guide
Follow the step-by-step guide below to make the calculation:
- Calculating the regular hourly rate
First, you need to calculate the regular hourly rate paid to employees who work during the day. To do this, simply divide the monthly base salary by the total hours worked in the month:
Regular hourly rate = Monthly salary / Total hours worked per month
Regular hourly rate = R$ 2.000,00 / 160 hours
Regular hourly rate = R$ 12,50 per hour
- Calculating night shift differential pay
Next, multiply the regular hourly rate by the night shift differential percentage. The minimum is 20%, but this can vary depending on the collective bargaining agreement or union agreements.
Night shift differential = Regular hour x 20%
Night shift differential = R$ 12,50 x 20%
Night shift differential = R$ 2,50 per hour
- Calculating the nighttime hourly rate
To calculate the nighttime hourly rate, add the regular hourly rate to the night shift differential amount. Considering that the regular hour is R$ 12,50 and the night shift differential is R$ 2,50, then:
Nighttime hour = Regular hour + Night shift differential
Nighttime hour = R$ 12,50 + R$ 2,50
Nighttime hour = R$ 15 per hour
- Total night shift differential
To calculate the total pay including night shift differential, first count how many hours were worked during the night period. Then multiply the nighttime hourly rate by the hours worked during that period.
For example, considering that 160 hours were worked during the night period and the nighttime hour is R$ 15:
Total night shift differential = Total hours worked in the night period x Nighttime hourly rate
Total night shift differential = 160 hours x R$ 15 per hour
Total night shift differential = R$ 2.400,00
How do you calculate night shift overtime?
When overtime falls within the night period (10 p.m. to 5 a.m.), you need to pay both the overtime rate and the night shift differential.
So, if an employee works their shift from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., and on a given day needs to work 2 hours of overtime after 10 p.m., those 2 overtime hours must be paid with the night shift differential included.
Overtime is at least 50% above the regular hourly rate, but this can vary depending on the agreed schedule and the collective bargaining agreement. It's important to check the reference rates in effect to calculate it correctly.
For example, considering a regular hourly rate of R$ 12,50 + 50% overtime + 20% night shift differential.
Calculating the overtime rate
First, calculate the percentage and the value of the overtime rate:
% Overtime = Regular hour x 50%
% Overtime = R$ 12,50 x 0,5
% Overtime = R$ 6,25
Overtime hour = 12,50 + 6,25
Overtime hour = 18,75
Calculating the night overtime rate
Next, apply the night shift differential to the overtime rate:
% Night shift differential = 18,75 x 20%
% Night shift differential = 3,75
Night overtime hour = 18,75 (Overtime) + 3,75 (Night shift differential)
Night overtime hour = 22,50
This amount should then be multiplied by the number of night overtime hours worked. In this example, that was 2h. So the total comes to: R$ 22,50 x 2 = R$ 45.
Check out more tips for restaurant management
People management is one of the biggest challenges in running a restaurant, especially because of high staff turnover.
That's why complying with labor laws and offering good working conditions can be a competitive edge — it attracts the best talent to your restaurant and lets you deliver outstanding service.
Now that you know how to calculate night shift differential pay, how about checking out other tips to simplify your business management? Check out more content from EPOC blog and use one of our free tools!
