Is your professional employee exempt from overtime?
Under the Professional Employees Award, staff paid at least 25% above their minimum classification rate lose the award's overtime, penalty-rate and time-off-in-lieu entitlements. Pick a classification and enter the salary to see which side of the threshold your employee sits.
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This calculator provides general estimates only, based on the Professional Employees Award 2020 (MA000065) minimum rates for FY2026/27. It does not account for enterprise agreements, allowances or individual circumstances and is not legal or payroll advice. Always confirm coverage and rates with Fair Work before making pay decisions. It does not constitute legal, HR, or professional advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice specific to your business, workforce, or circumstances.
25% exemption calculator
Choose the employee's classification, then enter their actual annual salary (excluding superannuation).
Exemption result
Estimates only — verify before making decisions.
How to check the professional employees overtime exemption
5 steps, using the same method as the calculator above.
Find the minimum weekly rate
The award minimum for the classification.
Annualise it
Minimum weekly × 52.
Apply the 25% threshold
Minimum annual × 1.25.
Compare the actual salary
At or above the threshold = absorbed.
Recheck every year
Award minimums change every 1 July.
Worked example: testing a $85,000 salary
Whether a salary clears the 25% threshold.
Professional employee, $85,000 salary
Indicative estimate- Award minimum weekly
- $1,400.00
- Actual salary
- $85,000
- Threshold
- 125% of minimum
Exemption test
Below the threshold, overtime and penalty rates are payable in addition to salary. Figures here are illustrative — use the current award minimum for the classification.
How the 25% exemption works
The Professional Employees Award 2020 (MA000065) covers professional engineers, scientists, IT and telecommunications professionals, medical researchers and quality auditors. Since the September 2023 variation, covered employees can be paid for overtime and out-of-hours work — but only if they are paid below a threshold set at 25% above their minimum classification rate.
An employee paid at or above that threshold is not entitled to the award’s overtime, penalty-rate or time-off-in-lieu provisions. Graduates and early-career professionals are the group most likely to sit below it, so their directed additional hours and unsociable-hours work do attract overtime and penalties.
How to read your result
The calculator compares the actual annual salary against 125% of the award minimum for the chosen classification:
- “Extra pay needed to reach the threshold” is $0 — the employee is at or above the threshold and is exempt: no award overtime, penalty rates or TOIL.
- “Extra pay needed” is above $0 — the employee sits below the threshold, so directed, recorded additional hours are paid at the flat minimum classification hourly rate, and unsociable-hours penalties (125% before 6am / after 10pm Mon–Sat; 150% Sundays and public holidays) apply.
“Your salary above the award minimum” needs to reach 25% for the exemption to bite.
What the exemption switches off
For employees paid 25% or more above their minimum classification rate, these award provisions do not apply.
Overtime
No payment for directed additional hours — even the award’s flat-rate overtime stops applying.
Penalty rates
No 125% loading for work before 6am or after 10pm Mon–Sat, and no 150% for Sundays or public holidays.
Time off in lieu
No entitlement to TOIL for additional hours worked outside the ordinary span.
Worked examples (FY2026/27)
How the threshold plays out for common classifications. Minimums are the award weekly rate × 52.
Graduate (3-yr) · $70,000
Minimum $66,611, threshold $83,264. Below the threshold — overtime and penalties apply.
Level 2 · $85,000
Minimum $78,586, threshold $98,232. Below the threshold — overtime and penalties apply.
Level 4 · $130,000
Minimum $96,864, threshold $121,079. Above the threshold — exempt from overtime and penalties.
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Free calculator
Great for checking the 25% threshold
- 25% exemption check
- FY2026/27 minimum rates
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- No signup required
- Automatic award interpretation
- Time & attendance tracking
- Overtime & additional-hours records
- Payroll integration
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Related resources
Explore guides, insights, and templates to help you get more from this tool.
Professional Employees Award pay guide
FY2026/27 minimum salaries, overtime and the 25% exemption explained.
How to calculate penalty rates
Work out weekend, evening and public-holiday penalties correctly.
Conduct a payroll audit
Check classifications, rates and overtime across your payroll.
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Frequently asked questions
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An employee whose annual salary is at least 25% above their applicable minimum classification rate is not entitled to the award’s overtime, penalty-rate or time-off-in-lieu provisions. Below that threshold, directed additional hours and unsociable-hours work attract payment — see the Professional Employees Award guide.
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Take the minimum classification rate for the employee’s level, then multiply by 1.25. This calculator does it for you: the weekly minimum × 52 gives the annual minimum, and × 1.25 gives the exemption threshold.
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The comparison is against the award’s minimum salary, which is expressed exclusive of superannuation, so enter the employee’s actual annual salary excluding super. Always confirm your interpretation with Fair Work.