Overtime pay with 208 standard hours: hourly rate, 150%, 200%, 300% and the night premium
Overtime is the easiest item on the payroll to get wrong, because the same hour of work can be paid at six different multipliers depending on whether it falls on a normal working day, a rest day or a public holiday, and whether it is worked at night. This article follows the exact method of the calculator at the top of the page: take the monthly salary divided by 208 as the hourly rate, apply the multiplier for each type of hour, then add up the results. It also works through an example of 30 overtime hours and covers the legal limits on hours and the part of overtime pay that is not taxed.
What the law says about overtime pay
Article 98 of the Labour Code 2019 (Bộ luật Lao động 2019) sets three minimum levels for overtime pay: at least 150% on normal working days, 200% on weekly rest days, and 300% on public holidays, Tet and other paid days off, not counting the holiday pay itself for daily-paid workers. Night work, from 22:00 to 6:00 the next morning, is paid at least 30% extra; overtime worked at night earns a further 20% calculated on the rate for the corresponding day.
- Normal working day
- 150%Overtime hours after the standard 8 hours of a working day
- Weekly rest day
- 200%Usually Sunday, or Saturday and Sunday depending on the company
- Public holidays and Tet
- 300%Not counting holiday pay for daily-paid workers
- Limit
- 40 hours/month200 hours/year, 300 hours in certain sectors; requires the employee's consent
These are minimums: a company may pay more but never less, whatever its pay regulations say.
The hourly rate: monthly salary divided by 208
Every calculation starts from the hourly rate. The calculator takes the salary actually paid for the job, usually the monthly salary in the contract, and divides it by 208 hours, which is 26 working days of 8 hours, the common conversion for companies working 6 days a week within the limits of 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week (Article 105). A salary of 20.8 million divided by 208 gives a round rate of 100,000 VND per hour. A company working 5 days a week can enter its actual hours instead, for example 176 hours for 22 working days; the rate is then 118,182 VND.
| Monthly salary | Standard hours in the month | Hourly rate | One normal-day hour at 150% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10,400,000 | Standard hours in the month208 | Hourly rate50,000 | One normal-day hour at 150%75,000 |
| 20,800,000 | Standard hours in the month208 | Hourly rate100,000 | One normal-day hour at 150%150,000 |
| 20,800,000 | Standard hours in the month176 | Hourly rate118,182 | One normal-day hour at 150%177,273 |
| 15,000,000 | Standard hours in the month208 | Hourly rate72,115 | One normal-day hour at 150%108,173 |
The six overtime multipliers and how the calculator adds the night premium
For overtime at night, the calculator adds two components in the order the law sets out: 30% of the hourly rate for night work, then 20% calculated on the rate for that type of day. Weekly rest days and public holidays have daytime rates of 200% and 300%, so the corresponding 20% is 40% and 60%, giving multipliers of 270% and 390%. For normal working days, the calculator takes 20% of 150%, giving 210%: the safe approach for the business, and correct where the employee has already worked daytime overtime before working overtime at night. If there was no daytime overtime that day, many payrolls take 20% of 100% and arrive at 200%. The detailed formula is in Decree 145/2020/ND-CP; the pay regulations should choose one method and state it clearly.
| Type of overtime hour | How the multiplier is built | Multiplier | Pay per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal day, daytime | How the multiplier is built150% | Multiplier1.5 | Pay per hour150,000 |
| Weekly rest day, daytime | How the multiplier is built200% | Multiplier2.0 | Pay per hour200,000 |
| Public holiday or Tet, daytime | How the multiplier is built300% | Multiplier3.0 | Pay per hour300,000 |
| Normal day, night | How the multiplier is built150% + 30% + 20% of 150% | Multiplier2.1 | Pay per hour210,000 |
| Weekly rest day, night | How the multiplier is built200% + 30% + 20% of 200% | Multiplier2.7 | Pay per hour270,000 |
| Public holiday or Tet, night | How the multiplier is built300% + 30% + 20% of 300% | Multiplier3.9 | Pay per hour390,000 |
Example: 30 overtime hours in a month for an employee on 20.8 million
- Monthly salaryActually paid for the job
- Divide by 208 hoursHourly rate
- Apply the multiplier1.5 to 3.9 by type of hour
- Multiply by the hoursEach overtime line
- Overtime paySum of the lines
Assume a warehouse employee on 20.8 million VND, with 208 standard hours in the month, who works 10 hours of overtime on weekday afternoons, 8 hours on one Sunday, 8 hours on one public holiday and 4 hours on a weekday night for a stocktake.
| Type of hour | Hours | Multiplier | Pay per hour | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal day, daytime | Hours10 | Multiplier1.5 | Pay per hour150,000 | Amount1,500,000 |
| Weekly rest day | Hours8 | Multiplier2.0 | Pay per hour200,000 | Amount1,600,000 |
| Public holiday | Hours8 | Multiplier3.0 | Pay per hour300,000 | Amount2,400,000 |
| Normal day, night | Hours4 | Multiplier2.1 | Pay per hour210,000 | Amount840,000 |
| Total | Hours30 | Multiplier | Pay per hour | Amount6,340,000 |
The same 30 hours would come to only 4.5 million if they all fell in the daytime on normal days, and 9 million if they were all on public holidays, so the timesheet must record the type of day and the time band of every shift.
Sample overtime lines on the October 2026 payslip
Overtime on normal days: 10 hours × 100,000 × 150% = 1,500,000 VND.
Overtime on Sunday 18 October: 8 hours × 100,000 × 200% = 1,600,000 VND.
Night overtime on a normal day (22:00 to 2:00 on 23 October): 4 hours × 100,000 × 210% = 840,000 VND.
Total: 3,940,000 VND, of which 1,740,000 VND is the amount above normal hourly pay and is not counted as taxable income.
Overtime limits and what to do before scheduling shifts
Article 107 caps overtime at 40 hours a month and 200 hours a year; certain sectors may go up to 300 hours a year, and the employee's consent is always required. Two mistakes are common: having no written consent, and scheduling more than 40 hours in a peak month and making up for it the following month, when the limit applies to each month separately.
- The employee's written consent to overtime, stating the time, place and work; kept with the timesheet.
- Overtime hours tracked for each person by month and cumulatively for the year, capped at 40 hours a month and 200 hours a year, or 300 hours in permitted sectors.
- A timesheet that records the type of day and the time band of each shift, clearly separating the hours from 22:00 to 6:00.
- Pay regulations that state the standard hours per month and how the night overtime multiplier for normal working days is calculated.
- Overtime paid as a separate line on the payslip, showing the hours and multipliers so the employee can check them.
Overtime pay, insurance and personal income tax
Under current rules, the part of overtime pay above normal hourly pay is not counted as income subject to personal income tax; the part equal to the normal hourly rate is still taxed. In the 30-hour example above, 3 million VND (30 hours times 100,000 VND) is taxable, while the 3.34 million difference created by the multipliers is excluded. Accountants need to separate these two parts on the payroll so that the employee is not over-taxed.
Using the overtime pay calculator on Việc Hot
Enter the monthly salary, change the standard hours if the company does not use 208, then fill in the hours in the six boxes by type of day and by daytime or night. The calculator at the top of the page shows the hourly rate, the amount for each box and the total payable. Employees use it to check their payslip; HR staff use it to give department heads a quick figure before overtime is approved.
Frequently asked questions
The hourly rate is 20.8 million divided by 208, which is 100,000 VND; daytime overtime on a normal working day is paid at 150%, or 150,000 VND per hour, on a weekly rest day 200,000 VND and on a public holiday 300,000 VND.
On top of that day's overtime multiplier, the employee receives an extra 30% of the hourly rate for night work plus 20% calculated on the rate for the corresponding day. The calculator arrives at multipliers of 2.1 for normal working days, 2.7 for weekly rest days and 3.9 for public holidays and Tet.
No more than 40 hours a month and 200 hours a year; certain sectors and jobs may go up to 300 hours a year, and the employee's consent is always required.
The part paid above normal hourly pay is excluded from taxable income; the part equal to the normal hourly rate is still taxed. For 30 overtime hours earning 6.34 million at a rate of 100,000 VND, 3 million is taxable and 3.34 million is not.