Equivalent Full-Time Annual Salary
—Most Job Ads Show the Full-Time Salary. You’re Not Working Full Time.
Here’s the problem millions of part-time workers run into: a job listing says the salary is £40,000 — but the role is 25 hours a week, not 40. So what does that actually mean for your paycheck? That £40,000 is the full-time equivalent figure. What you’ll actually earn is the pro rata version, scaled to your hours. The question is: what if you already know your pro rata salary and want to work backwards to find the full-time equivalent?
That’s exactly what this calculator does. Enter your pro rata pay, your actual weekly hours, and the standard full-time hours for your role — and it tells you the full-time salary your pay is based on, plus a breakdown by month, week, day, and hour.
What “Pro Rata” Actually Means in Practice
Pro rata is Latin for “in proportion.” When a salary is described as pro rata, it means the amount shown is what you’d earn if you worked the full standard hours — typically 35 to 40 hours a week depending on the employer. Your actual pay is then scaled down to match the hours you actually work.
So if the full-time equivalent salary is £36,000 and you work 27 hours a week against a 36-hour full-time week, your pro rata salary works out at £27,000. The formula is simple: divide your pro rata salary by your actual hours, then multiply by the full-time hours. That gives you the full-time equivalent.
Most people know this in theory. But when you’re comparing two job offers — one a full-time role, one part-time — or trying to figure out whether your part-time pay is fair, doing this by hand gets tedious fast. That’s where this pro rata calculator saves you time.
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter your pro rata salary — the amount you actually get paid annually as a part-time worker.
- Enter the number of hours you work per week.
- Enter the full-time hours per week used by your employer — usually 35, 37.5, or 40.
- Select your currency.
- Hit Calculate. You’ll see your full-time equivalent salary, plus monthly, weekly, daily, and hourly breakdowns.
If you’re not sure what your employer counts as full-time hours, check your contract. It’s usually listed alongside your contracted hours. Some employers use 35 hours, others 37.5 or 40 — and that number makes a real difference to the result.
Why the Full-Time Equivalent Figure Matters
Knowing your full-time equivalent salary isn’t just a number for curiosity’s sake. There are real situations where this calculation matters a lot.
Comparing Job Offers
If one role is advertised at £28,000 for 28 hours a week and another is £32,000 for 40 hours a week, you need to compare them on equal terms. Converting both to full-time equivalents — or both to hourly rates — gives you a fair comparison. Otherwise you might take the higher-sounding number and end up earning less per hour.
Checking Pay Fairness
Part-time workers doing the same job as full-time colleagues are entitled to equal pay on a pro rata basis in most countries. If you suspect your pay isn’t proportionate, calculating the full-time equivalent and comparing it against what a full-time colleague earns in the same role is the clearest way to spot a gap. Our pro rata salary calculator can help you run that check quickly.
Maternity and Paternity Pay Calculations
Statutory pay entitlements are often based on your average weekly earnings. Knowing your hourly rate — which this calculator gives you — makes it easier to work out what you’re owed during leave, or to check the figures your employer has given you.
Pension Contributions
Some pension schemes reference the full-time equivalent salary when calculating employer contributions, even for part-time staff. Knowing your FTE figure means you can check whether you’re getting what you should.
The Formula Behind the Calculation
The maths here is not complicated, but it’s easy to get wrong if you lose track of which figure is which.
Full-time equivalent salary = (Pro rata salary ÷ Actual hours per week) × Full-time hours per week
For example: You earn £21,000 on a pro rata basis working 28 hours a week. The employer’s full-time week is 35 hours.
Step one: £21,000 ÷ 28 = £750. That’s your weekly earning rate per hour, scaled up to a full week. Actually it gives you the weekly equivalent — divide again by your actual hours to get the hourly rate.
Let’s be more precise. Hourly rate = £21,000 ÷ (28 × 52) = £21,000 ÷ 1,456 = £14.42 per hour. Full-time equivalent = £14.42 × (35 × 52) = £14.42 × 1,820 = £26,250.
Or using the simpler version: (£21,000 ÷ 28) × 35 = £750 × 35 = £26,250. Same answer. The calculator uses this method and then derives monthly, weekly, daily, and hourly figures from the annual total.
Part-Time Hours and What Counts as Full-Time
One thing that catches people out is the variation in what “full-time” means. There’s no single universal answer. Common standards include:
- 35 hours per week — common in public sector and some office roles
- 37 or 37.5 hours — widely used across UK employers
- 40 hours per week — common in US-style contracts and some private sector UK roles
If you use the wrong full-time hours in your calculation, your result will be off. A job advertised at £30,000 FTE based on 35 hours is a different hourly rate than the same salary based on 40 hours. Always check your employment contract or the job listing for this figure before relying on the result.
Need to go the other direction — working out your part-time pay from a full-time salary? Our pro rata salary calculator handles that calculation directly.
What About Paid Leave and Bank Holidays?
The basic formula above doesn’t adjust for annual leave or bank holidays — it treats every week as a working week. For most salary comparison purposes, that’s fine. But if you’re calculating pay for a specific period that includes public holidays, or working out holiday pay entitlement, you may need a more detailed calculation.
Part-time workers accrue holiday on a pro rata basis too. If a full-time employee gets 28 days including bank holidays, someone working 60% of full-time hours gets 60% of 28 days — which is 16.8 days. Our pro rata holiday calculator works this out for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate my full-time salary from a pro rata salary?
Divide your pro rata salary by the hours you work per week, then multiply by the full-time hours per week. For example, if you earn £24,000 working 30 hours and full-time is 40 hours: (£24,000 ÷ 30) × 40 = £32,000 full-time equivalent.
What does pro rata salary mean?
A pro rata salary is a full-time salary scaled down to reflect the actual hours worked. If the full-time salary is £40,000 and you work half the hours, your pro rata salary is £20,000.
Is pro rata salary the same as an hourly rate?
Not exactly. Your hourly rate is derived from your pro rata salary by dividing it by your total annual hours worked. Pro rata salary is the annual figure; hourly rate is what you earn per hour of work. This calculator shows both.
What if I don’t know my employer’s full-time hours?
Check your employment contract or ask HR. Common figures are 35, 37.5, or 40 hours per week. If you can’t find it, 37.5 is a reasonable UK default for many office-based roles.
Can this calculator be used for term-time only roles?
For term-time roles, the annual salary is already adjusted for the weeks you work. The full-time equivalent calculation still works the same way — just make sure the salary you enter reflects your annual pay, not a term-time figure scaled differently.
Do part-time workers earn the same hourly rate as full-time workers?
They should. UK employment law requires that part-time workers not be treated less favourably than comparable full-time workers on a pro rata basis. If your hourly rate works out lower for the same role, that’s worth raising with HR.
How is pro rata salary calculated for a new starter mid-year?
The annual pro rata salary is divided by 52 weeks, then multiplied by the number of weeks remaining in the salary year. If you start in week 20 of a 52-week year, you’d receive 32/52 of your annual pro rata salary. This calculator focuses on the hours-based conversion, not partial-year adjustments.
Does the full-time equivalent salary affect my pension contributions?
It can. Some defined benefit pension schemes and employer contribution formulas reference the full-time equivalent salary rather than the actual salary. It’s worth checking your scheme rules or asking your pension provider how they treat part-time earnings.