NHS additional hours for part-time staff

If you work part-time on Agenda for Change terms and pick up extra shifts, the extra hours are paid at plain time until your total for the week passes 37.5. Only the hours above 37.5 count as overtime, paid at time and a half, or double time on a general public holiday.

These rules are from version 63 of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook. Your employer or union rep can confirm how your trust applies them.

Plain time first, overtime after 37.5

The handbook, in Section 3, says part-time employees receive payments for additional hours at plain time rates until their hours exceed 37.5 in the week that the additional hours are worked. Plain time is your usual hourly rate from basic pay, without a premium.

Say you are contracted for 22.5 hours a week and you agree to a further 7.5 hours one week. Your total is 30 hours, still below 37.5, so those extra 7.5 hours are paid at plain time. This is a hypothetical example. If you instead worked 20 extra hours, your total would be 42.5, and the 5 hours above 37.5 would be overtime under the rules in our guide to NHS overtime pay.

The test is made week by week, using the hours in the week the extra work is done.

Who can get the overtime rate

Overtime applies to bands 1 to 7. Staff in bands 8 and 9 are not entitled to overtime payments, so a part-timer in band 8a or above who works beyond 37.5 hours has no overtime right under the handbook. Overtime also needs the agreement of your line manager or team leader.

Unsocial hours on additional hours

Part-time staff working fewer than 37.5 hours a week are eligible for unsocial hours payments. If some of your additional hours fall at the times in the table, which are Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and weekdays between 8pm and 6am, the band enhancement applies to those hours. You get a single rate for each hour. The full table is in our guide to NHS unsocial hours pay.

The handbook also says unsocial hours payments are not counted when overtime is calculated, so an hour above 37.5 is paid on basic pay with the overtime multiplier. Ask your payroll team how the two are shown on your payslip when an extra shift is both late at night and over 37.5 hours.

Pension

NHSBSA’s pensionable pay factsheet says additional hours up to whole time are pensionable for part-time staff, at the basic hourly rate. Overtime in excess of whole time is not pensionable, and nor is the premium element, such as the extra 50% in time and a half. So an extra shift that keeps you under 37.5 hours counts towards your pension, while the hours above that do not.

Our NHS Pension Scheme guide explains how contributions work. For help with how your own extra hours have been treated, contact NHSBSA or your employer’s payroll team.

Shift patterns and extra shifts

Many part-time staff pick up extra shifts through the bank or by agreeing a one-off with their manager. How extra hours are arranged, whether as a substantive change or a one-off, varies by employer, and rota rules differ between wards and departments. Our guide to NHS shift patterns shows how common rotas are set up.

What to check with your employer

Ask how your employer records additional hours, and whether they are paid in the same pay period as the work. Check that hours up to 37.5 are paid at plain time and not left unpaid, and that any hours above 37.5 have been agreed as overtime in advance. If you work on a general public holiday, ask about both the enhancement and any time off in lieu. If your contract hours change as a result of regular extra shifts, ask HR whether your contract should be updated.

If you think hours have been paid at the wrong rate, start with payroll, then your union rep. Acas can advise on pay disputes.