Plan overtime from the function sheet
Banquet overtime can be seen coming. The function sheet for a wedding lists the mehendi lunch, the sangeet dinner and the reception, with guest counts and timings. The banquet manager and executive chef can work out who will be needed beyond their shift, ask for consent and tell HR before the event. For a 500-guest reception ending at 1 am, the banquet service, kitchen and stewarding teams will all run late; for a 60-guest board lunch, nobody should.
Choosing how overtime is counted
Pick the counting method that fits the teams who work the most overtime. Counting after shift end suits banquet and kitchen teams, whose functions run past the shift. Counting beyond full-day hours suits properties where people start early and leave late on the same day. ZeniaHR applies the chosen method to the punches every night, ignores anything under 30 minutes and rounds the rest down to the quarter hour, then routes each claim to the head of department and on to HR. After a big wedding, HR can bulk approve the banquet team's claims together.
A worked banquet example
Ramesh is a banquet server on a monthly gross of ₹21,000, and the hotel works out day rates on a fixed 30-day month. At a wedding reception his shift ends at 11 pm and he punches out at 2:50 am, 3 hours 50 minutes later, which rounds down to 3.75 hours. The whole calculation fits on one line: ₹21,000 / 30 = ₹700 a day, ₹700 / 8 = ₹87.50 an hour, and ₹87.50 x 3.75 x 2 = ₹656.25. Had the reception fallen on his weekly off, the weekly off multiplier you set would apply instead.
Caps, comp-off and fatigue
Wedding season can put the same banquet team through three late nights a week for two months. A monthly cap per person in the overtime policy stops that from quietly becoming normal. Where staff prefer time off, the payout can be comp-off or the employee's choice, and 4 hours convert to half a day while 8 convert to a full one. Keep every multiplier at 2 or more, since the legal overtime rate is twice the ordinary wage, and take advice before substituting time off for pay on hours beyond the daily limit.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- Turn on the overtime policy and count after shift end for banquet-heavy properties, or beyond full-day hours where early starts are common.
- Require head of department approval on every claim, with overtime starting only after 30 minutes and rounded down to the quarter hour.
- No multiplier below 2: working day, weekly off and holiday rates all start there, with a monthly cap per person on top.
- Choose pay, comp-off or employee's choice as the payout, with comp-off at 4 hours for a half day and 8 for a full day.
- After each large function, bulk approve the banquet team's overtime so it reaches payroll in the same month.
Read more about overtime in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
See overtime for hotels and resorts in a demo
We set up your locations, shifts and rules on a video call and show it running for your team. Free for your first 50 employees.
Book a free demoSee pricingFrequently asked questions
How is overtime calculated for hotel banquet staff?
Take the monthly gross over the day basis for a day rate, an eighth of that for the hourly rate, and the hourly rate times overtime hours times the multiplier gives the pay. For a server on ₹21,000 with a 30-day basis, that is ₹700 a day and ₹87.50 an hour, so 3.75 hours at 2x comes to ₹656.25.
Is overtime compulsory for hotel staff during weddings?
No. Overtime needs the worker's consent under the OSH Code, and the law sets its rate at double the ordinary wage. Plan functions early, ask for consent when the roster is made, and spread late nights across the team rather than leaning on the same few people every night of the season.
Can hotels give comp-off instead of overtime pay?
Comp-off suits a weekly off or holiday worked within normal hours, and ZeniaHR's overtime payout can also be set to comp-off, or left to each employee to choose. Hours past the daily limit are a different matter: the law expects overtime pay at twice the ordinary wage rate there, so check with your adviser before making comp-off the default.