The Pleasures of Night Premiums

Posted on by hollywoodfilmservices

Do you enjoy working in the evenings? After the sun has come down? Do you…union?

Do you like to sweat?  To move heavy objects? Are you…off-production?

Then you may qualify for the pleasures of “Night Premiums.”

Night premiums are seen as one of the most confusing recurrent issues in union payroll, and while there are a number of union-specific variations of night premium bonuses, they really are pretty easy to know if you’re up for a extra 10%-20% on your rate.

Before we get into it, let’s define a “night premium.”  A night premium is an extra percentage (usually 10% or 20%) added to the hourly rate for hours worked overnight (specified hours) off-production on a union show.

So, unless your contract specifically notes otherwise, night premiums apply only to union crew members.  Somewhere in the union contract, there is a secret, oft-overlooked but clearly written paragraph that explains the hours and rates where night premiums apply.  Let’s take a look at one of those paragraphs:

Local 800 Night Premium:

Off Production employees called to work between 6:00 am and 8:00 pm receive 110% of basic rate after 8:00 pm until 6:00 am. If called to work between 8:00 pm and 4:00 am, all time is 120% of basic rate. If called to work between 4:00 am and 6:00 am, all time is 120% of basic rate until 6:00 am when basic rate goes into effect for the remainder of the minimum call.

At first pass, this looks fairly complicated, but it really isn’t once you break it down.

First, remember that this only applies to an employee if that crew member is BOTH union AND the off-production.  Most of the time, this applies to construction, set design, grip, electrical, and other employees who prepare the set and space for production (but not producers, writers, or ABL hires).

Now that we’ve established this, let’s see how it works:

If your call sheet is for 6am and you get off before 8pm, you get paid your regular rate.  Nice and simple.

If you are called in before 6am or get off after 8pm, night premiums apply, but they vary a little in how you calculate your pay.

In accounting, we generally split the day into “rate hour” periods.  So, let’s look at the paragraph for Local 800.

We will break the 24 hour day into the following periods:

6am———————————————8pm                                                    100%
4am——-6am                                                                                                                   120%
8pm—————————-6am           110%

So, if you start your day between 4am and 6am, all time until 6am is paid at 120%.  So if your base rate is $50.33 per hour, your night premium brings your rate to $60.40 for up to two hours.  After that, your rate reverts to $50.33 until the crew member hits overtime.

If the day starts at 6am, normal rates apply until 8pm.  If the day finishes after 8pm, standard and 1.5 OT hours are scaled to 110% of the billed rate until 6am the following morning.

There are two exceptions to this.  The first is if a crew member is CALLED to work between 8pm and 4am. Then all hours worked are at 120% regardless of number of hours worked.

The second is Golden Hours.  Night premiums apply only to the first 12 hours worked (in California), after which Golden Hours apply (2 x Base Rate).

So, what does this mean for you?

Are you in love yet?  Does your night seem sweeter? Does the aching sweat of an intense, long evening leave you wanting more?  You’re not alone.

Working all night is always challenging, but there is a definite upside to it.  Keep track of your time and make sure that if your union project has you working off-production, night premiums apply and there may be a little extra something in your paycheck for your hard work and long nights.

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