Article
APA Saturday, Sunday and rest day rates explained
The short answer. A Saturday basic working day is 1.5 times your basic daily rate, and a Sunday or bank holiday is double your basic hourly rate for every hour worked, both with a minimum 10 hour call. The weekday overtime grades do not apply at the weekend. A rest day is a flat basic daily rate whatever day it falls on, and a travel day is single time with a 5 hour minimum.
Weekend work is where most APA invoicing mistakes happen. The multipliers are simple on paper, but they interact with day types, overtime and midnight rules in ways that are easy to get wrong at 11pm on a Sunday. Here's the full picture. The rules below are from the APA Recommended Terms for Engaging Crew on the Production of Commercials, effective 1 September 2026, and none of them changed in that edition.
What does a Saturday shoot day pay?
A basic working day on a Saturday is charged at 1.5 times your basic daily rate, with a minimum 10 hour call. Overtime after the basic working day is at 1.5 times your basic hourly rate, regardless of your weekday overtime grade. The weekday grade system (1.5, 1.25 or 1.0 depending on your rate) only applies Monday to Friday. On a Saturday, everyone's overtime is time and a half.
Overtime after midnight is still triple time, even on a Saturday, and continues at triple until wrap if you go past 5am.
What does a Sunday or bank holiday shoot day pay?
A basic working day on a Sunday, bank holiday or statutory holiday is charged at double your basic hourly rate for all hours worked, minimum 10 hour call. Overtime is at double your basic hourly rate. After midnight is still triple.
Is a weekend night shoot worth more?
No. A night shoot (call between 5pm and 5am) is double your basic hourly rate for all hours worked, minimum 10 hours, with no overtime rate and no triple time after midnight. That's true on any day of the week. A night shoot that starts on a Saturday or Sunday is still double, not triple or quadruple. There is no double double.
What do prep and pre-light days pay at the weekend?
The same multipliers apply: 1.5 times on a Saturday, double on a Sunday or bank holiday.
- Prep, recce, construction and strike days: on a Saturday, 8 hours at 1.5 times your basic hourly rate, overtime after 8 hours at the same 1.5 rate. On a Sunday or bank holiday, the same shape at double.
- Pre-light days: on a Saturday, 8 hours at 1.5 times your basic hourly rate with a lunch hour, overtime after 9 hours from call. Sunday or bank holiday, the same at double.
- These weekend rules were unchanged by the September 2026 terms, including for prep days, whose weekday rules did change.
Is a rest day worth more on a Sunday?
No. A rest day is charged as a flat fee equal to your basic daily rate, with no overtime, no penalties and no meal compensation, and the same flat fee applies whichever day of the week it falls on. A rest day is when production asks you to remain on location but no filming takes place, and a rest day on a Sunday is not doubled.
A rest day is not the same as a day off. If production hasn't asked you to remain on location, it's just a gap in the schedule and nothing is payable.
Do weekend rates apply to travel?
No. Travel time is always paid at single time, whatever the day. A travel day on a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday is charged at your basic hourly rate with a minimum 5 hour call, exactly as on a weekday. This surprises people every year. The weekend multipliers apply to working days, not travel.
Do break penalties still apply at the weekend?
Yes. Break provisions are the same every day of the week, including weekends and bank holidays: the first break within 5.5 hours of call, the second within 5.5 hours of the end of the first, with the usual penalties if they're late, curtailed or missed.
A worked example
Take a Carpenter on the 2026 card maximum: basic daily rate £398, basic hourly rate £40.
- Saturday shoot, call 8am, wrap 9pm (13 hours): the day is 1.5 × £398 = £597 for the 11 hour basic working day, then 2 hours of overtime at 1.5 × £40 = £60 per hour, so £717 total.
- The same hours on a Sunday: double the basic hourly rate for all hours worked. Twelve working hours at £80 = £960.
- A rest day that weekend: £398 flat, either day.
On a weekday, that Carpenter's overtime would be graded (Grade I, 1.5 times). On the weekend the grade is irrelevant: Saturday is 1.5 times and Sunday is double for everyone.
Who do these weekend rates not apply to?
Production Managers, Production Assistants and Runners sit outside these clauses. They have their own weekend treatment: overtime on shoot days only, with the Saturday day at 1.5 times and Sunday, bank holiday and night shoot days at double, calculated between main unit call and tail lights.
What we built
TimeMachine applies the right structure for the day automatically: the Saturday and Sunday multipliers, the flat night shoot double, the flat rest day fee and the travel day minimum, all worked out from your call and wrap. Set the day type and the day adds itself up.
TimeMachine is an independent tool for UK film and television crew. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Advertising Producers Association (APA). It references the publicly available APA Recommended Crew Terms as a rate reference only. This article is general information, not legal or financial advice.