How overtime works: why a 12-hour booking costs less than an 11-hour one
A 12-hour booking costs less than an 11-hour one, and that is not a typo. One caregiver covers up to eight hours. An 11-hour booking is still one caregiver, so its last three hours are overtime at 1.5x — $400 at the standard childcare rate. At 12 hours we staff the booking with two caregivers in sequence, so none of it is overtime: $384. The same pattern repeats for longer bookings, and it applies to childcare, postpartum support, and senior and adult support.
The pattern, hour by hour
Overtime at Puffin is not "every hour past eight". It is the hours a booking's caregivers cannot cover between them. One caregiver covers eight hours. Up to three hours past a full shift, we keep the same caregiver and those hours bill at 1.5x. Beyond that, we add another caregiver instead — and once there are enough caregivers to cover the booking, nothing is overtime.
| Booking length | Staffing | Overtime |
|---|---|---|
| 1–8 hours | 1 caregiver | None |
| 9–11 hours | 1 caregiver | 1.5x on the hours past 8 |
| 12–16 hours | 2 caregivers, in shifts | None |
| 17–19 hours | 2 caregivers | 1.5x on the hours past 16 |
| 20–24 hours | 3 caregivers, in shifts | None |
| 25–27 hours | 3 caregivers | 1.5x on the hours past 24 |
The switch happens as soon as a booking passes 11 hours, not at the next whole hour. An 11½-hour booking is already in its twelfth hour, so it is staffed by two and carries no overtime.
What each length costs
Every row below is the same childcare booking at the standard rate of $32 an hour, starting at 6:00 AM so that every hour is a daytime hour — the only thing that changes is the length.
| Length | Caregivers | Overtime hours | Total | Per hour overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 hours | 1 | None | $256 | $32.00 |
| 9 hours | 1 | 1 | $304 | $33.78 |
| 10 hours | 1 | 2 | $352 | $35.20 |
| 11 hours | 1 | 3 | $400 | $36.36 |
| 11½ hours | 2 | None | $368 | $32.00 |
| 12 hours | 2 | None | $384 | $32.00 |
| 14 hours | 2 | None | $448 | $32.00 |
| 16 hours | 2 | None | $512 | $32.00 |
Per hour, the most expensive long booking is eleven hours, at $36.36 an hour overall. Twelve hours works out to $32.00, the standard rate, because none of it is overtime.
A longer booking is not always cheaper, though. 9 hours ($304) costs less than 12 ($384) — it is only in the three-hour overtime band that the longer booking wins outright. So when you enter a length in that band, the booking form shows you both totals and the length at which overtime disappears, and leaves the choice to you.
The same rule for every service it applies to
Childcare, postpartum support, companion care, Health Care Assistant (HCA) support and family respite are all priced by the same booking engine, with the same overtime rule. Only the rates differ, so the 11-versus-12 pattern holds for each of them.
| Service | Rate | Overtime rate | 11 hours | 12 hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Childcare, children 12 months and over | $32/hr | $48/hr | $400 | $384 |
| Childcare with a baby under 12 months | $38/hr | $57/hr | $475 | $456 |
| Postpartum support | $38/hr | $57/hr | $475 | $456 |
| Companion care | $38/hr | $57/hr | $475 | $456 |
| Health Care Assistant (HCA) support | $42/hr | $63/hr | $525 | $504 |
| Family respite | $42/hr | $63/hr | $525 | $504 |
Longer bookings: three worked examples
An overnight postpartum shift. 7:00 PM to 6:00 AM is 11 hours with one caregiver: three evening hours at $38, five overnight hours at $42, and the last three hours, from 3:00 to 6:00 AM, as overtime at $63 — 1.5x the overnight rate, because overtime is always the last hours of a booking and bills at 1.5x whatever those hours would otherwise cost. Total: $513. Start an hour earlier, 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM, and it is 12 hours with two caregivers and no overtime: $488, $25 less for an extra hour of care.
A long day with a parent. HCA support from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM is 16 hours — two caregivers, no overtime, $676. Run it to 2:00 AM and it is 19 hours: the two caregivers cover 16 of them, and the last three, from 11:00 PM, bill as overtime at $69 (1.5x the $46 overnight rate) — $883. Run it to 3:00 AM instead, 20 hours, and it is staffed by three caregivers with no overtime: $860. It is the same step as 11 to 12 hours, one tier up.
A full day. Childcare from 8:00 AM to 8:00 AM the next morning is 24 hours, staffed by three caregivers in sequence with no overtime at all: 16 daytime hours at $32 and eight overnight hours at $36, $800.
Who works a long booking
The caregivers on a long booking work in sequence, one at a time — never two at once. So the number of caregivers does not change the price: a 12-hour booking is 12 hours of care, charged at the same hourly rate whether one person or three cover it. The count is shown so you can see why no overtime applies.
Your price breakdown shows how many caregivers the booking is staffed with before you pay. Which individuals are assigned is scheduled by us and can change; we will always tell you who is coming.
If a booking runs longer than planned
Extra time is added to your booking by a Puffin administrator, charged to your card on file, and you receive an emailed record of it. It follows the same rule: extend an eight-hour booking and the extra time is overtime, because one caregiver has already worked a full shift; extend a 12-hour booking to 13 and it is not, because two caregivers cover up to 16 hours between them.
Please do not settle extra time in cash at the door — why Puffin does not take cash explains what that leaves uncovered.
Event Nannies work differently
Event Nannies have their own overtime rule, and the pattern above does not apply to them. Event nannies are $40 an hour per nanny, and every hour past eight in a single day is $60 an hour per nanny. There is no second-caregiver tier: each nanny's hours are counted separately, and each day of a multi-day event has its own eight-hour threshold.
So a twelve-hour event day with one nanny is $560 — eight hours at $40 and four at $60. Event nannies work alongside each other at the event rather than in sequence, so a second nanny is a second set of hours, not a way to avoid overtime. Event Nannies sets out the rates in full.
Nanny Placement and pediatric support
Neither is priced by the hour through this booking engine, so none of this page applies to them. Nanny Placement, which is coming soon, is a one-time placement fee, not hours billed by Puffin; a placed nanny is employed by your family, so their hours and pay are agreed between you and them. Pediatric support is in development and not bookable yet.
Common questions
- Why does a 12-hour booking cost less than an 11-hour one?
- Because a 12-hour booking is staffed differently. One caregiver covers up to eight hours, so an 11-hour booking has three hours of overtime at 1.5x — $400 at the standard $32 childcare rate. At 12 hours Puffin Services assigns two caregivers in sequence, who cover it between them with no overtime, so it is $384. The same step happens at 19 to 20 hours, and every eight hours after that.
- How many caregivers will I get for a long booking?
- One caregiver for a booking of up to 11 hours, two from just over 11 hours to 19, three from just over 19 to 27, and one more for every further eight hours. They work in sequence, one at a time, and your price breakdown shows the number before you pay. The hourly rate is the same however many caregivers cover the booking.
- When does overtime start on a Puffin booking?
- Only when one caregiver would work past eight hours and the booking is not long enough to add another. In practice that is hours 9 to 11 of a booking of up to 11 hours, then hours 17 to 19, 25 to 27, and so on. A booking of eight hours or less never carries overtime, and neither does one of 12 to 16 hours.
- How much is the overtime rate?
- 1.5x the rate those hours would otherwise be charged at, and overtime is always the last hours of the booking. For childcare that is $48 an hour by day and $54 overnight, or $57 and $63 with a baby under 12 months; for postpartum support $57 and $63; for companion care $57 and $63; and for HCA support and family respite $63 and $69. Overnight is 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM.
- Do I pay more when two caregivers cover my booking?
- No. The caregivers on a long booking work one after another, never at the same time, so a 12-hour booking is 12 hours of care at the ordinary hourly rate whether one caregiver or two covers it. Adding a caregiver is what removes the overtime charge; it does not add a charge of its own.
- What happens if my booking runs longer than planned?
- Tell us, and a Puffin administrator adds the extra time to your booking, charges it to your card on file, and emails you a record of it. It is priced by the same rule: extra time on an eight-hour booking is overtime, because one caregiver has already worked a full shift, while extra time on a 12-hour booking is not, until it passes the 16 hours its two caregivers cover. Please do not pay a caregiver in cash at the door.
- Does the same overtime rule apply to Event Nannies?
- No. Event Nannies have their own rule: $40 an hour per nanny, and every hour past eight in a single day at $60 an hour per nanny, with no second-caregiver tier. A twelve-hour event day with one nanny is $560. The multi-caregiver rule applies to childcare, postpartum support, and senior and adult support.
See your exact price before you pay.
The booking form prices your dates and times as you enter them — overtime and the number of caregivers included — with the breakdown shown before you enter a card.