

This means there isn’t a designated standard per se on how shift differential should be calculated. Holiday shifts: Shifts on widely celebrated holidays, such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, and JuneteenthĪs previously mentioned, shift differential pay is not legally mandated compensation.Weekend shifts: Shifts scheduled on Saturday and Sunday generally, in a context where weekend shifts are outside normal business hours.Extended hour shifts: Shifts that exceed the general eight-hour standard.Third shift (Graveyard/Night shift): An eight-hour shift that may range between 1:00 AM and 9:00 AM.Second shift (Swing/Evening shift): An eight-hour shift that may range between 4:30 PM and 1:00 AM.

Here’s a quick overview of shift hours that tend to use shift differential pay: Think of these as a night pay differential, a weekend pay differential, holiday shift differentials, and the like. Hours that lend themselves to shift differential pay are irregular compared to those standard first-shift hours. Although not all industries follow the nine-to-five workday format, this is the standard point of comparison when determining what an “irregular” hour is. The typical workweek consists of first shift work, also known as the day shift: An eight-hour shift that generally ranges anywhere between 5:00 AM and 6:00 PM. While not a legal requirement like overtime pay, shift differential pay has evolved as a simple, elegant solution for industries that struggle to maintain consistent scheduling for uncompetitive shift hours. Shift differential makes scheduling easier and helps employers retain staff, which is essential to your business’s long-term stability. Working undesirable hours can be grating to workers. By paying a staff member a premium rate to work hours that are odd or extended, you’re adding a financial incentive that offsets their lack of desirability. Shift differential pay modifies a staff member’s compensation rate when they work hard-to-fill shifts to make them more competitive. Undesirable shifts have more value because they are harder to fill shift differential pay is the solution to that reality. Let’s explore what shift differential pay is, how you calculate it, and why it’s an essential component of your scheduling program. This is a modified compensation strategy that turns those less desirable shifts into more attractive ones.

When you need to schedule coverage for unfavorable shifts such as weekends, holidays, or extended hours, addressing the struggle to fill these shifts requires acknowledgment that these shifts have a different value to you and your staff than standard shifts.Įnter shift differential pay. Staffing challenges paired with business demands can create complications for planning and scheduling the right coverage of workers.ĭifferent shifts have different needs.
