Night Shoot Premium for UK Film and TV Crew

Updated July 2026 · Based on PACT/BECTU Scripted TV Agreement (HETV) and Feature Film agreements

Shooting through the night? Under BECTU HETV, work past 11pm (23:00) is handled weekly as either Night Work Payment or compensatory rest (Clause 5.3), separate from overtime. Post-23:00 time can also interact with overtime buckets. Under Feature Film, work past midnight can trigger a flat-rate night premium. Check your production type and agreement.

HETV: Three buckets for post-23:00 time

Under the PACT/BECTU Scripted TV Agreement, post-11pm time is not paid at a single rate. Clause 7.10(a) states that overtime after 11pm does not constitute Night Work. In practice, CineLog allocates post-23:00 time into up to three separate lines:

• Ordinary overtime (1.5T): Overtime before 23:00, or post-23:00 overtime on some individual calls. Paid at one and a half times your base hourly rate, subject to a minimum of £35 per hour and a maximum of £70 per hour (or your hourly rate at 1T if higher) (Clauses 7.2 to 7.4).
• Enhanced overtime (2T): Overtime at double your base hourly rate where the Enhanced Overtime Rate applies (Clause 7.10), including when overtime spans 11pm. Still subject to the same £70 maximum (or hourly at 1T if higher) (Clauses 7.4 and 7.13). On a £46/hr base, 2T would be £92/hr in theory but caps at £70/hr.
• Night Work Payment (additional 1T): Scheduled shooting hours after 11pm that are not already paid as overtime. Paid at your base hourly rate as the additional 1T on top of your day rate (Clause 5.3(b)), weekly, capped at one working day. Aggregated and reconciled as payment or compensatory rest (Clause 5.3).

The agreement does not permit the same minute to be paid twice. If a minute is counted as overtime, it cannot also be counted as Night Work (Clause 7.10(a)).

HETV: Payment or compensatory rest

Each week, the production chooses one route for your total Night Work (Clause 5.3): compensatory rest by end of the week or the first day of the following working week (Clause 5.3(a)), or payment at 1T in addition to your rate for that time (Clause 5.3(b)).

Feature Film: flat-rate night premium

Under Feature Film agreements, the approach is different. If your day includes any work past midnight, you receive a flat-rate night premium fee added on top of your standard day rate. This is not an hourly uplift. It is a single fee regardless of how many hours fall after midnight. Check your specific agreement for the amount.

Exception: 2T on 7th days and bank holidays

On a 7th consecutive day or a bank holiday, all overtime is treated as enhanced overtime at 2T regardless of whether it is before or after 23:00. The ordinary overtime rate of 1.5T does not apply on these days. The £70/hr maximum still applies unless your hourly rate at 1T is higher (Clauses 7.4 and 7.13).

Night premium vs overtime

Night Work and overtime are separate calculations. You can hit both on the same day:

• Overtime: Triggered by exceeding your contracted hours (varies by day type: SWD, SCWD or CWD)
• Night Work: Scheduled shooting hours after 11pm (Clause 5.1), reconciled weekly

Overtime after 11pm does not constitute Night Work (Clause 7.10(a)). If you are in overtime past 23:00, those minutes are allocated to overtime first. What remains can be Night Work Payment. Because both ordinary and enhanced overtime are capped at £70/hr for most rate cards, post-23:00 overtime may show at £70/hr even when the underlying rule is 2T.

The turn-around tie-in

There is a second uplift tied to night shoots: turn-around. If you wrap after 23:00 and are called back with less than a set number of hours between wrap and next call, you may be owed a turn-around penalty. Under HETV this is typically 11 hours minimum.

Logging your wrap and call times makes it straightforward to check whether the minimum rest period was met.

What CineLog does

CineLog separates post-23:00 time into the correct buckets based on your logged hours and selected agreement. Under HETV, the app distinguishes ordinary OT, enhanced OT (when overtime spans 23:00), and Night Work Payment, and applies the £70/hr ceiling where the agreement requires it. Under Feature Film, it applies the flat-rate night premium when your day extends past midnight.

• Tracks your wrap time and OT status automatically
• Applies the correct rate bucket based on whether you are in OT and whether it is after 23:00
• Flags 2T for 7th days and bank holidays regardless of time of day
• Prevents double-counting: the same minute is never paid as both enhanced OT and night work
• Shows the breakdown so you can see exactly what you are owed