How APA Overtime Works

When does APA overtime start?

Under APA Recommended Terms 2025, the Basic Working Day is 11 hours in total: 10 working hours plus 1 hour for lunch. Your basic daily rate (BDR) covers those 11 hours. Overtime applies to every hour worked beyond that.

On a Continuous Working Day (no breaks, 9 hours), overtime applies after 9 hours from call time. Overtime is charged per minute and rounded up to the nearest 30 minutes.

How APA overtime rates work

This is where many crew get it wrong: APA overtime is not a flat 1.5× rate for everyone. Your overtime coefficient depends on your basic daily rate (BDR), the amount you agreed to be paid for the day. There are three grades:

• Grade I (BDR up to £444): overtime at 1.5× your basic hourly rate
• Grade II (BDR £445–£676): overtime at 1.25× your basic hourly rate
• Grade III (BDR £677 and above): overtime at 1.0× your basic hourly rate, the same as your normal hourly rate

Your basic hourly rate (BHR) = your BDR ÷ 10. Overtime is paid at BHR × your grade coefficient for every hour worked beyond the standard day.

After midnight (and continuously until wrap), all crew are paid at 3× BHR (triple time), regardless of grade.

Worked example: Grade I crew, 14-hour day

Role: Carpenter. BDR: £386. BHR: £39. OT rate: £39 × 1.5 = £58/hr

Call 0800, wrap 2200 (14 hours from call to wrap):

• Hours 1–11 (0800–1900): BDR = £386
• Hours 12–14 (1900–2200): 3 hours × £58 = £174
• Total: £560

Worked example: Grade II crew, 14-hour day

Role: Construction Manager. BDR: £532. BHR: £53. OT rate: £53 × 1.25 = £67/hr

Call 0800, wrap 2200 (14 hours from call to wrap):

• Hours 1–11 (0800–1900): BDR = £532
• Hours 12–14 (1900–2200): 3 hours × £67 = £201
• Total: £733

Worked example: Grade III crew, 14-hour day

Role: DoP. BDR: £1,516. BHR: £152. OT rate: £152 × 1.0 = £152/hr

Call 0800, wrap 2200 (14 hours from call to wrap):

• Hours 1–11 (0800–1900): BDR = £1,516
• Hours 12–14 (1900–2200): 3 hours × £152 = £456
• Total: £1,972

Triple time after midnight

Under Section 4.4 of the APA Recommended Terms, all overtime worked between midnight and 5am, and continuously thereafter until wrap, is paid at 3× your basic hourly rate, regardless of your grade. This applies to all crew on the same engagement. If a shoot runs past midnight, that premium kicks in and stays on until the day ends.

Common mistakes when calculating APA overtime

• Assuming a flat 1.5× overtime rate. Your overtime coefficient is 1.0, 1.25, or 1.5 depending on your BDR grade, not a uniform rate across all crew.
• Forgetting the 11-hour standard day. The Basic Working Day is 10 working hours plus 1 hour for lunch, 11 hours total from call. Overtime starts at hour 12 from call, not hour 11.
• Ignoring the triple time rule. Any overtime after midnight is paid at 3× BHR, which can significantly increase totals on late-running shoots.
• Missing meal break penalties. If lunch isn't provided within 5½ hours of commencing work, a £10 delay penalty applies. If it's missed entirely at the 6½-hour mark, the day converts to a Continuous Working Day.
• Using the wrong base rate. If you negotiated above the APA minimum, all overtime coefficients apply to your agreed BDR, not the published minimum.

Why manual calculation fails

APA overtime is more complex than it appears. Your grade, the exact number of worked minutes (rounded to 30), meal break timing, and whether the shoot crossed midnight all affect the total. Any error in your BHR carries through every calculation. Most crew undercharge simply because they apply the wrong coefficient or forget the triple time threshold.

How CrewDock handles it

CrewDock is built around the APA Recommended Terms 2025. Enter your BDR, call time, wrap time, and meal break details. CrewDock applies the correct overtime grade, calculates every worked minute, applies triple time after midnight where applicable, and flags any meal break penalties. You can then generate a PDF invoice or push the job directly to Xero, FreeAgent, or QuickBooks.