Premium time in a change: when overtime belongs in the price and how to show it
The owner wants an electrical change completed after the grocery store closes. The quotation says night work extra with one round number. The reviewer cannot see the base work, the premium or the conditions that make the proposed hours different.
Show base labour and additional premium-time inputs separately, tying each to the agreed timing and actual rate basis. Present a feasible normal-hours alternative where useful, with its different access or completion assumptions. Do not apply an assumed night-work productivity loss or standard overtime multiplier. Payroll and the commercial reviewer must confirm the employment arrangements, permitted pricing and supporting instruction before those inputs become a submitted amount.
Make the timing choice visible in the price
- Identify the instruction and available window. Record who requested the timing, the affected work and the authorized basis. Confirm store access and interfaces with the project team. An illustrative overnight window is not a recommendation for a crew's shift length.
- Price the base task clearly. Show planned hours and the agreed base-rate treatment. Identify which tasks and supervision are already included. Keep the base work visible so the reviewer can understand what the timing requirement adds rather than comparing two unexplained totals.
- Build the additional labour inputs. Have payroll confirm applicable premiums and benefit treatment; have the commercial lead confirm chargeable rates. State any differential and whether it is already included in an overtime rate. Avoid applying the same increment under two labels.
- Support different hours and resources. Discuss access restrictions, work sequencing and proposed output with the foreman. Explain any adjusted hours from those conditions without claiming every night shift loses a fixed percentage. Identify genuinely extra supervision, lighting or other resources from approved planning.
- Compare options and confirm the decision. Show timing, assumptions, base amount and additions for each feasible option. Reference the required safety and technical planning separately. Obtain the authorized commercial instruction and retain the selected basis before the crew is briefed.
Common mistakes
- Adding a shift differential already included in the quoted rate.
- Using a general night-work percentage with no project basis.
- Calling a requested completion date an approved premium-time price.
Checklist
The premium-time pricing lines
- Authorized timing request.
- Base work and hours basis.
- Confirmed premium and differential treatment.
- Evidence for adjusted hours.
- Extra resources without duplication.
- Option assumptions and approved selection.
Check your understanding
The crew must work at night, but there is no evidence for a fixed productivity reduction. Should you add a standard loss percentage?
