Temp charge-rate & margin calculator

This calculator adds four on-costs on top of a worker's pay rate: statutory holiday pay (12.07%), employer National Insurance above the weekly secondary threshold, the employer's minimum pension contribution on qualifying earnings, and the apprenticeship levy. Adding all four to the pay rate gives the true weekly cost of the placement, which this calculator converts back to a per-hour figure. Employer NI is 0% instead for under-21s and apprentices under 25, up to the £967 a week upper secondary threshold; this calculator always applies the standard rate.

The break-even charge rate is that total cost per hour: charge below it and the placement loses money. The charge rate at target applies your chosen margin or markup on top: margin as (charge rate − cost) ÷ charge rate, markup as (charge rate − cost) ÷ cost. The two are shown side by side so you can see both views of the same number.

Worked example. A worker on £20.00/hr, 37.5 hrs/week, rolled-up holiday, with pension switched on and the apprenticeship levy switched off, costs £25.97/hr once every on-cost is added. At a 20% margin target, the charge rate is £32.46/hr, resulting in a 19.99% margin and a 24.99% markup on the same cost. This assumes the standard employer NI rate; the cost would be lower for an under-21 or apprentice-under-25 worker.