FTE meaning: what FTE is and how to calculate it (UK)

FTE lets you compare a team of full-timers and part-timers in one number. Here is how to work it out, what the decimals mean in hours, and how to use it when you staff a rota.

What does FTE mean?

FTE stands for full-time equivalent. One FTE is the hours of one full-time employee, so a part-timer on half those hours counts as 0.5 FTE.

Add up everyone's FTE and you know how much full-time capacity your team really has, whatever the mix of contracts. Headcount tells you how many people you employ; FTE tells you how many full-time jobs their hours add up to, and that is the number that matters when you plan a rota or a labour budget.

How many hours is 1 FTE in the UK?

UK law does not set a full-time week. GOV.UK says no specific number of hours makes someone full or part time, though a full-time worker will usually work 35 hours or more a week. Your 1.0 FTE is the full-time week in your own contracts, for example 37.5 or 40 hours.

FTE	Hours on a 37.5-hour week	Hours on a 40-hour week
1.0	37.5	40
0.8	30	32
0.6	22.5	24
0.5	18.75	20
0.4	15	16
0.2	7.5	8

How to calculate FTE

FTE = hours worked ÷ your full-time hours

Pick your full-time week, for example 37.5 hours.
Add up the hours each person works in the same period.
Divide by the full-time week.

Two part-timers on 20 and 15 hours a week work 35 hours together. Against a 37.5-hour full-time week that is 35 ÷ 37.5 = 0.93 FTE.

The same works over a year. A 37.5-hour week is 1,950 hours a year (37.5 × 52). Someone who works 1,560 hours in the year is 1,560 ÷ 1,950 = 0.8 FTE. For more on yearly totals, see how many work hours are in a year.

FTE vs headcount

A café with 4 full-timers on 37.5 hours and 8 part-timers on 15 hours each has a headcount of 12. The part-timers work 120 hours a week between them, which is 120 ÷ 37.5 = 3.2 FTE, so the café runs on 7.2 FTE. Headcount drives things that cost per person, such as uniforms, training and logins; FTE drives the hours and the wage bill.

Using FTE to staff a rota

Start from the hours your rota needs, not the people you have. Say a restaurant needs 300 staff hours a week to cover service. On a 37.5-hour full-time week that is 300 ÷ 37.5 = 8 FTE.

The team has 5 full-timers (187.5 hours) and four part-timers on 30, 24, 20 and 16 hours (90 hours). That is 277.5 hours, or 7.4 FTE. The gap is 22.5 hours a week, 0.6 FTE: enough for one more part-timer on 22.5 hours, or extra hours for the people you already have, if their contracts allow it.

With employee scheduling in Shiftbase, each person's contract hours sit next to the hours you plan, so part-time and full-time hours are visible while you build the week.

What managers use FTE for

Labour budget: FTE times the full-time wage gives a quick view of the wage bill before you look at individual rates. More on assessing labour costs.
Hiring: comparing the FTE you need with the FTE you have shows whether you need a new person or more hours. It is the starting point of workforce planning.
Comparing sites: two shops with the same headcount can run on very different FTE.
Part-time pay: part-timers are paid pro rata to their FTE, and GOV.UK says they must not be treated less favourably than comparable full-time staff.

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Frequently asked questions

0.8 FTE means someone works 80% of your full-time week. On a 37.5-hour week that is 30 hours, and on a 40-hour week it is 32 hours.

UK law does not set one. GOV.UK says a full-time worker will usually work 35 hours or more a week, so 1 FTE is whatever full-time week your contracts set, for example 37.5 or 40 hours.

Headcount counts people; FTE counts full-time hours. A café with 4 full-timers and 8 part-timers on 15 hours each has a headcount of 12 but runs on 7.2 FTE on a 37.5-hour week.

Part-time staff are paid pro rata to their FTE. Someone at 0.8 FTE in a role that pays £30,000 full time earns £24,000, and GOV.UK says part-timers must not be treated less favourably than comparable full-time staff.

Divide the staff hours your rota needs each week by your full-time week. A restaurant that needs 300 staff hours on a 37.5-hour week needs 8 FTE, and Shiftbase shows each person's contract hours next to the hours you plan, so you can see how close the rota is.