What a part-time or part-year role actually pays — the calculation employers get wrong most often.
Enter the full-time salary for the role, then your actual pattern and dates.
Leave the dates blank for a full year at your part-time hours.
Pro rata means "in proportion". Two proportions can apply at once, and the calculation multiplies both:
pay = full-time salary × (your hours ÷ full-time hours) × (days worked ÷ 365)
Someone working 24 hours against a 40-hour full-time week is on 60% FTE. If they also only work seven months of the year, they receive 60% of the salary for 7/12 of the year — about 35% of the full-time annual figure. Confusing these two reductions, or applying only one, is the most common payroll error in part-time contracts.
Employers use one of two conventions and they give different answers:
| Method | How it works | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Calendar-day | Annual ÷ 365 × days employed | Used here. Neutral across months. |
| Working-day | Monthly ÷ working days in that month × days worked | Slightly favours joiners in short months |
If your contract or local law specifies one, use that. The difference is usually small but it is real, and it is worth checking on a final settlement.
Annual leave entitlement, bonuses and in many countries end-of-service benefits are all pro-rated on the same FTE basis. Part-time employees are generally entitled to the same proportion of benefits, not a reduced rate of pay per hour — paying a lower hourly rate purely for being part-time is unlawful discrimination in much of the world.
It means the advertised salary is the full-time figure and you will be paid the proportion matching your hours. A role advertised at 60,000 pro rata for 3 days a week actually pays about 36,000.
Multiply the full-time entitlement by your FTE percentage. At 60% FTE with a 25-day full-time allowance, you get 15 days. If you work fixed days, it is usually cleaner to count leave in hours.
No. In most jurisdictions, paying a lower hourly rate solely because someone is part-time is unlawful. The total is lower because the hours are fewer, not because the rate is.
Both are used. Calendar-day is the more common default and the one applied here. Check your contract, since the two methods can differ by a few percent in a given month.
Usually yes. Most systems base end-of-service on the actual salary paid and the length of service, so a part-time salary produces a proportionally smaller benefit. Country rules vary — see the country calculators.