Term-Time Salary Calculator UK

If you work in a school or any term-time only role, the salary you are quoted is usually the full-time, full-year figure, not what you actually take home. Your real pay is reduced for the weeks you work and, often, for part-time hours as well. This term-time salary calculator works it out for you, including paid holiday, and shows the monthly pay you can expect across the year. It is free, built for the UK, and updated for 2026/27. For standard part-time roles, the pro rata salary calculator is the better fit, and every tool sits under the main pro rata calculator hub.

What a term-time salary is

A term-time only salary is the pay for someone who works during school terms but not through the holidays. Teaching assistants, learning support staff, school administrators, lunchtime supervisors and many other roles are paid this way. Because they work fewer weeks than a full-year employee, their salary is a proportion of the full-time equivalent figure.

The full-time equivalent, or FTE, is the salary the role would pay if it ran all year at full-time hours. Your term-time salary takes that figure and scales it down for two things: the weeks you actually work, and your weekly hours if they are below full time. The result is lower than the headline number, which is why so many school staff are surprised by their first payslip.

How the term-time calculator works

The calculator needs four things. The full-time salary, which is the FTE figure on your contract or job advert. The standard full-time hours for the role, often 37 hours in local government. Your own weekly hours. And the number of weeks you work each year, usually the term weeks for your school.

From there it adds your paid holiday, scales the salary for your hours and weeks, and divides the total across twelve months, which is how term-time staff are normally paid. You see your annual term-time salary, your monthly pay, your hourly rate, and what percentage of the full-time figure you are on. The result updates as you change any input.

The term-time pay formula

The method most UK schools and local authorities use looks like this:

Term-time salary = FTE × (your hours ÷ full-time hours) × (paid weeks ÷ 52.143)

Paid weeks are the weeks you work plus the holiday you accrue. The figure 52.143 is the number of weeks in a year, and it is used as the baseline so that a full-year, full-time worker comes out at 100% of the FTE salary. If you only work part of the year, your paid weeks are lower than 52.143, so your salary is a clear proportion of the full amount.

Why holiday is added to your weeks

Term-time staff still earn paid holiday, even though they do not work during the school holidays. The law gives every worker 5.6 weeks of paid leave, and for term-time staff this is built into the calculation rather than taken as separate time off. In practice, the weeks you are paid for are slightly more than the weeks you physically work, because your holiday entitlement is added on top.

A common method accrues holiday at just over 12% of the weeks worked, which reflects 5.6 weeks of leave spread across the working year. So someone working 39 term weeks is actually paid for around 43.7 weeks once holiday is included. You can see exactly how much leave you are owed using our pro rata holiday calculator.

Weeks worked and the 52.14 figure

The number of weeks you work is the single biggest factor in your term-time salary. A standard school year in England is around 39 weeks, made up of teaching weeks plus a few training days, though support roles vary from 38 to 44 weeks depending on the contract. Always use the weeks stated in your own contract, since even one week changes the result.

The 52.143 baseline comes from dividing 365 days by 7. Using it keeps the maths consistent for everyone, full-year and term-time alike. The closer your weeks worked are to a full year, the closer your salary is to the FTE figure, and the fewer weeks you work, the lower the proportion.

Term-time salary by weeks worked

The table below shows roughly what percentage of the full-time salary you receive at common term-time patterns, assuming full-time hours and the holiday accrual described above. Use the calculator for your exact hours and weeks.

If your hours are also below full time, your percentage drops further in proportion. A 39-week role at 30 hours against a 37-hour week, for example, lands at roughly 68% of the full-time salary rather than 84%.

Part-time hours and term-time combined

Many term-time roles are part-time as well, so two reductions apply at once. The calculator handles both. It first works out your share of the full-time salary based on your hours, then reduces that further for the weeks you work across the year.

This is why a term-time, part-time salary can look much smaller than the advertised FTE figure. It is not unfair, it is two proportional adjustments stacked together, and your hourly rate stays exactly the same as a full-time, full-year colleague doing the same job. Seeing the hourly figure is the clearest way to confirm you are being paid the right rate.

How your pay is spread over the year

Although you only work during term time, most schools pay term-time staff in twelve equal monthly instalments. This means you still receive pay during the school holidays, even though you are not working then. Your total annual pay is the term-time salary, simply divided into twelve so your income stays steady month to month.

A few employers pay only for the weeks worked, which gives larger payments during term and nothing in the longer breaks. Check your contract for which method applies, because it changes your monthly budgeting even though the yearly total is the same.

Who term-time pay applies to

Term-time pay covers anyone employed to work only during school terms. That includes teaching assistants, cover supervisors, SEN support staff, school office and admin teams, catering and midday supervision staff, and many roles in nurseries and colleges that follow a term pattern. Teachers themselves are usually on a different, full-year pay structure, so this calculator is aimed mainly at support staff.

If you are a part-year or seasonal worker outside education, the same proportional thinking applies, and you may find the standard pro rata pay calculator a closer match for your situation.

Holiday pay rules for part-year workers

Holiday pay for part-year and term-time staff has been through some change in recent years. A Supreme Court ruling in 2022 found that part-year workers should not have their holiday cut below 5.6 weeks, and the government later set out updated rules from April 2024 for irregular-hours and part-year workers. The practical effect is that methods can differ between employers.

Because of this, the figure your school uses for holiday may not match a simple calculation exactly. The calculator gives a sound estimate based on the widely used accrual method, but your contract and your local authority’s current policy are the final word. If your holiday looks low, it is worth asking how it has been worked out.

Checking your term-time pay

It is worth checking your term-time salary rather than assuming the figure is right, since these calculations are easy to get wrong. Confirm the FTE salary, your contracted hours, and the exact weeks in your contract, then compare the calculator’s result with your payslip and contract.

Pay particular attention to the weeks worked and how holiday is added, as those are where most differences appear. If something does not add up, raise it with your school’s HR or payroll team. You can cross-check the related figures, from a standard part-time salary to your holiday entitlement, using the salary calculator and holiday calculator in the same pro rata calculator hub.

Last updated June 2026 for the 2026/27 year. Term-time and holiday figures are based on GOV.UK and Acas guidance and common local authority methods. Results are estimates; your contract and local authority policy are the final word on your pay.