FTE salary vs actual salary

The FTE (full-time equivalent) salary is what a job would pay if you worked the employer’s full standard hours for the whole year. Your actual salary is that figure reduced for the hours and weeks you really work. Public sector adverts lead with the FTE figure because pay grades are set on a full-time basis, which is why a school support job advertised at £26,427 can turn out to pay around £18,600 a year once term-time and hours are taken into account.

Why adverts show the FTE figure

Every public sector pay system is built on full-time rates. NHS bands, the NJC pay spine and the teachers’ pay ranges all list a full-time salary for each point. When a job is evaluated and graded, it goes onto one of those points, and the grade is the same whether the post is full-time, part-time or term-time only. Advertising the FTE keeps the grade clear and makes it easy to compare jobs at the same level.

It also matters for equal pay. Part-time staff must not be paid less per hour than comparable full-time staff, so the FTE rate is the reference point that shows the hourly rate is the same.

The drawback is that the headline figure on a part-time or term-time advert is not what will reach your bank account. Some adverts add “actual salary” next to the FTE; many do not.

How big the gap can be

These are hypothetical examples using 2026/27 rates. Full-time is 37.5 hours a week in the NHS, 37 hours for NJC posts and a full timetable for teachers.

Job	FTE salary	Pattern	Actual salary
NHS band 3 entry	£25,760	30 hours (0.8 FTE)	£20,608.00
NJC SCP 3	£25,614	18.5 hours (0.5 FTE)	£12,807.00
Teacher M1, England excl. London	£34,069	0.6 FTE	£20,441.40
NJC SCP 5, term-time only	£26,427	30 hours, 39 weeks	£18,594.18

The last row has two reductions. Using the NJC’s model for term-time only staff, a 39-week post is paid at 86.778 per cent of the full-time salary for the weeks, and the 30 hours then cut it further. The term-time only pay guide shows how that percentage is worked out.

Reasons the actual figure is lower

Most gaps come from four things:

1. Hours. Anything below the full-time week reduces pay in proportion. The pro rata salary guide covers the sums.
2. Weeks. Term-time only contracts pay for fewer weeks plus a share of holiday.
3. Starting point. Adverts often show a range, such as £32,073 to £39,043 for band 5. New starters usually begin at the bottom unless the employer credits relevant experience.
4. Supplements that do not apply to you. An NHS advert may quote pay including the High Cost Area Supplement for a London site; if you are based at another site in a different zone, the supplement changes.

What uses the FTE and what uses actual pay

The FTE figure still matters after you start. Your place on a pay scale, your annual increments and any pay award are applied to the FTE rate, and your actual pay changes in step. If your hours go up later, your actual pay is recalculated from the same FTE rate.

Most deductions work on actual pay:

• Income tax and National Insurance are worked out on what you are paid each month.
• Student loan repayments start when actual pay passes the threshold, such as £29,385 a year for Plan 2.
• The Teachers’ Pension Scheme sets the contribution rate on actual pensionable pay, not the full-time equivalent, from April 2026. The NHS Pension Scheme and the LGPS also work on actual pay.

So a part-time worker can be in a lower pension tier and pay less tax and National Insurance as a share of pay than a full-time colleague on the same grade. The pensions for part-time staff guide explains how this affects the pension you build up.

Turning the FTE into what you take home

Work out your actual salary first, then put that, not the FTE figure, into the take-home pay calculator. If you are comparing two jobs with different hours, compare the hourly rates as well: divide each FTE salary by the full-time weekly hours and by 52.143. Our guide on reading the salary on a job advert covers the other wording you will see, such as “per annum pro rata” and “inclusive of HCAS”.