Overtime vs Hire Comparison methodology

overtimeCostExTax = required additional hours × overtime cost per hour

hireCostExTax = whole hires required × (fixed cost per hire + available productive hours per hire × hire cost per productive hour)

requiredHireCount = ceil(required additional hours ÷ hire available productive hours)

lowerCostOption = compare raw scenario costs

crossoverHours = ceil(whole-hire cash cost ÷ overtime hourly cost), when reachable within one hire capacity

regularLabourCostExTax = moduleRegularHours × moduleBaseHourlyRateExTax × (1 + moduleEmployerOnCostRate)

overtimeLabourCostExTax = moduleOvertimeHours × moduleBaseHourlyRateExTax × moduleOvertimeMultiplier × (1 + moduleEmployerOnCostRate)

totalLabourCostExTax = regularLabourCostExTax + overtimeLabourCostExTax

overtimeContributionExTax = moduleOvertimeHours × moduleContributionPerDeliveredHourExTax − overtimeLabourCostExTax

breakEvenContributionPerOvertimeHourExTax = moduleBaseHourlyRateExTax × moduleOvertimeMultiplier × (1 + moduleEmployerOnCostRate)

Money inputs and outputs use the currency selected in the scenario without changing the canonical methodology. Rates, margins, utilisation and buffers are entered as percentages and converted to decimal values for calculation.

• Required headcount is ceil(required additional hours ÷ productive hours per hire), so demand above one hire capacity advances to the next whole-hire cost step.
• Each required hire carries the full entered productive-hours capacity and its full fixed-plus-productive-hour cost.
• The displayed crossover is the first whole hour within one hire capacity where overtime reaches the cost of one whole hire; it is not a smooth multi-hire crossover curve.
• The overtime module requires a multiplier of at least one and an on-cost rate between 0% and 100%.
• Main comparison and module outputs use separate editable assumptions and exact engine calls.

Required additional hours minimum

requiredAdditionalHours ≥ 0 productive hours/decision period — A lower value is rejected before calculation.

Required additional hours maximum

requiredAdditionalHours ≤ 100,000,000 productive hours/decision period — A higher value is rejected before calculation.

Overtime cost per hour minimum

overtimeCostPerHourExTax ≥ 0 currency units/overtime hour, ex tax — A lower value is rejected before calculation.

Overtime cost per hour maximum

overtimeCostPerHourExTax ≤ 10,000,000 currency units/overtime hour, ex tax — A higher value is rejected before calculation.

Fixed cost per hire minimum

hireFixedCostExTax ≥ 0 currency units/hire, ex tax — A lower value is rejected before calculation.

Fixed cost per hire maximum

hireFixedCostExTax ≤ 10,000,000 currency units/hire, ex tax — A higher value is rejected before calculation.

Hire cost per productive hour minimum

hireCostPerProductiveHourExTax ≥ 0 currency units/productive hour, ex tax — A lower value is rejected before calculation.

Hire cost per productive hour maximum

hireCostPerProductiveHourExTax ≤ 10,000,000 currency units/productive hour, ex tax — A higher value is rejected before calculation.

Hire available productive hours minimum

hireAvailableProductiveHours ≥ 0 productive hours/hire/decision period — A lower value is rejected before calculation.

Hire available productive hours maximum

hireAvailableProductiveHours ≤ 100,000,000 productive hours/hire/decision period — A higher value is rejected before calculation.

• Overtime and hire scenarios cover the same required additional hours.
• Hire available productive hours is capacity per hire, not a shared maximum across all hires.
• Hire cost is a staircase: each additional whole hire adds one full block of entered productive capacity and cost.
• The embedded module uses user-entered pay terms and contribution assumptions.
• A comparison table is used; the later per-row authority explicitly approves no chart.

This comparison calculator has no current policy-data dependency. Its commercial assumptions are user supplied. Registered family-level regression suites exercise the shared business-logic engine and worked-result reconciliation.

• The result is a cost-and-capacity comparison, not a hiring recommendation or compliance assessment.
• The crossover is limited to the first-hire interval. Beyond that interval, compare the engine-derived staircase costs at the entered demand rather than extrapolating a single linear crossing.
• No statutory multiplier, employment classification or legal entitlement is calculated.

This is educational decision support, not tax, accounting, legal or financial advice. Check the treatment of your actual transactions under the rules that apply to your business and seek qualified advice where appropriate.

Registered family-level suites test formula invariants and example reconciliation; the release ledger records that coverage without claiming a separate oracle for every line of public copy. There is no official threshold or benchmark to refresh for this comparison calculator. Commercial inputs remain user-supplied because they vary by business and contract.

1. 2026-07-31: Initial public release of the planner and methodology after pre-launch calculation, content, source and interaction review.