Night differential is an additional 10% of the applicable wage for each hour worked between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. It is a per-hour premium, not a flat allowance for the whole shift. A shift that starts at 8 p.m. and ends at 6 a.m. has eight night hours, not ten.
Article 86 of the Labor Code calls it a night shift differential. The rate is a minimum; a CBA or company policy can pay more.
Who is entitled to it?
As a rule, rank-and-file private-sector employees are entitled to night differential. The same exclusions that apply to the hours-of-work rules generally matter here too: managerial employees, field personnel whose time and performance are unsupervised, government employees, kasambahay, and certain other groups are treated differently or are outside the Labor Code chapter.
Government employees have a separate night shift differential rule under Republic Act No. 11701, with a different rate and coverage. Do not use the private-sector 10% rule for a government payslip.
The formula
night differential = applicable hourly rate × 10% × night hours
The phrase applicable hourly rate matters. If the hour is also overtime or falls on a rest day or holiday, the 10% is applied to the rate for that hour, not just the base rate. The premiums stack.
How it stacks
| Work situation | Rate before ND | Rate with 10% ND |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary day, regular hours | 100% | 110% |
| Rest day or special non-working day | 130% | 143% |
| Special day on a rest day | 150% | 165% |
| Regular holiday | 200% | 220% |
| Ordinary day overtime | 125% | 137.5% |
| Rest day overtime | 169% | 185.9% |
| Regular holiday overtime | 260% | 286% |
A concrete example
An employee has a ₱1,000 daily basic rate, so the hourly rate is ₱125. They work 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on an ordinary day, with no unpaid break.
- Regular pay for eight hours: 8 × ₱125 = ₱1,000.
- Night differential: ₱1,000 × 10% = ₱100.
- Total: ₱1,100.
If the same eight hours fell on a rest day, the regular pay would be ₱1,300 and the night differential would be ₱130, for a total of ₱1,430.
Night differential is not an overtime premium
A night shift is not automatically overtime. If the schedule is within the normal eight hours, the employee gets the night differential but not overtime pay. Conversely, an overtime hour at night gets both the overtime premium and the night differential.
Overnight shifts and holiday boundaries
For a shift that crosses midnight, the day can change while the employee is still working. A shift that starts at 10 p.m. on a regular holiday and ends at 6 a.m. the next day may have two hours of holiday work and six hours of ordinary work, depending on the calendar. The night differential applies to all eight hours, but the day premium applies only to the hours that fall on the holiday.
The calculator splits the shift at midnight and at the 10 p.m./6 a.m. boundaries. If the next day has a different day type, set it in the “After midnight” section.
Breaks and partial hours
An unpaid meal break is not hours worked, so it does not earn night differential. A 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. shift with a one-hour unpaid break has eight paid hours. If the break falls inside the 10 p.m.–6 a.m. window, only seven of those hours are night hours; the night differential is based on those paid night hours.
A break is only unpaid if it is a genuine meal or rest period under the applicable rules. Shorter meal periods can be compensable under specific conditions, and short rest breaks are counted as working time. If you are unsure, check your company’s timekeeping policy and the DOLE guidance on hours worked.
What to check on your payslip
- Is the night differential shown as a separate line?
- Does it use the correct day rate for holiday or rest-day hours?
- Are the night hours based on actual paid time, excluding unpaid breaks?
- Does overtime at night include both premiums?
Use the calculator to compare your payslip, or read the overtime computation guide for the day-rate side.