Part-month salary: how pay is worked out when you start or leave mid-month
The short answer: to work out pay for part of a month, divide the monthly salary by the number of working days in that month, then multiply by the days you worked. On a £36,000 salary, 10 days out of a 22-day month pays about £1,363.64. Other methods give slightly different answers: £1,384.62 on a flat 1/260th a day, and about £1,500.00 if your employer counts calendar days. Your contract decides which.
Four ways employers do it
Take a £36,000 salary, a month with 22 working days and 30 calendar days, and a start date that leaves 10 working days (15 calendar days) to work.
| Method | The sum | Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Working days in the month | £3,000 × 10 ÷ 22 | £1,363.64 |
| 1/260th of annual salary a day | £36,000 ÷ 260 × 10 | £1,384.62 |
| Calendar days in the month | £3,000 × 15 ÷ 30 | £1,500.00 |
| Calendar days in the year | £36,000 ÷ 365 × 15 | £1,479.45 |
The two working-day methods land within about £21 of each other. The calendar-day methods pay more, because weekends are counted as days you were paid for, even though you didn’t work them. If your employer says “we pay by the calendar”, you’ll generally gain in the first month, and lose it in the last if you leave part-way through.
What different salaries give
| Annual salary | Full month | Working-day method | 1/260 method | Calendar method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £24,000 | £2,000 | £909.09 | £923.08 | £1,000.00 |
| £30,000 | £2,500 | £1,136.36 | £1,153.85 | £1,250.00 |
| £36,000 | £3,000 | £1,363.64 | £1,384.62 | £1,500.00 |
| £48,000 | £4,000 | £1,818.18 | £1,846.15 | £2,000.00 |
The same shape applies to hourly paid jobs: multiply your hours worked by your hourly rate. If your contract is for a monthly salary with fixed hours, divide your monthly pay by the contracted hours that month to get an hourly rate for a part-month.
Which method counts?
No single rule is set in law. Your contract or written statement should say how pay is calculated, and your employer should apply the same method to everyone. If it doesn’t say, the working-day method is the most common, and the one most likely to be accepted as reasonable. Whichever is used, you must be paid at least the minimum wage for the hours you actually worked in the period. If there is a big gap from what you expected, ask for the calculation in writing.
Why the tax on a part-month often looks odd
Part-month payslips can be surprising. Two things drive it:
- Cumulative tax codes. Tax is worked out across the tax year so far. If you start mid-year and your employer puts you on a standard code, you’re given the tax-free allowance for all the months already gone. That’s why a first payslip often shows little or no tax, and why the tax rises in later months.
- Emergency or month-1 codes. If your employer doesn’t have your details, they use a temporary basis, and you may pay more at first and claim it back later.
To see your normal month, use the take-home pay calculator, and read tax codes explained if the code looks wrong.
On the way out
Your final pay is normally the part-month salary plus any accrued holiday. Holiday owed is typically worked out as untaken days multiplied by a day’s pay, using the same daily rate as your part-month method. If you’ve taken more holiday than you’d built up, your employer may be allowed to deduct the excess if your contract says so. Notice pay is separate: see pay in lieu of notice.
Half a month, worked out
A common question is what half a month is worth. If you earn £36,000 a year, a full month is £3,000 and half is £1,500, but only if the employer uses “half the month” as the rule. If they use working days and you work 11 of 22 working days, you also get £1,500. If the month has an odd number of working days, or you start on a day that makes the split uneven, the answers drift apart by tens of pounds. Ask which method applies before you rely on a figure.
Is there a rule about how or when you must be paid?
There is no law that fixes how a part month is calculated, and no law that sets a payday. Your contract or staff handbook should say how you are paid and when. What the law does require is that you receive an itemised payslip and that no pay is wrongly deducted. If a method is not written down, ask your employer to confirm it in writing. If the amount looks wrong, raise it with payroll first and use ACAS if it is not resolved.
This is general information. Your contract decides how part-month pay is worked out. Examples assume a month with 22 working days.
Common questions
How do you calculate a part-month salary?
The most common way is to divide the monthly salary by the working days in that month and multiply by the days you worked. Some employers use annual salary divided by 260 working days, or by calendar days. Check your contract for which one applies.
What if I start or leave halfway through a month?
You are paid for the days you worked in that month, plus any accrued holiday pay on leaving. The result can differ by £100 or more depending on the method, so ask your employer which they use.
Is a day 1/260 of annual salary?
That is a common rule of thumb because there are about 260 working days in a year (52 weeks × 5). It gives a flat daily rate that does not depend on how many working days are in a particular month.
Why was my first payslip taxed so little?
If your employer puts you on a cumulative tax code, your tax-free allowance for the months of the tax year already gone is available, so you often pay very little tax on the first pay. It evens out over the rest of the year.
Do I get paid for unused holiday when I leave?
Yes. Accrued, untaken holiday has to be paid in your final pay. It is normally worked out as a number of days or hours multiplied by your daily or hourly rate.