Wages, on-costs and total

The Labour bar under the rota shows three money figures. Wages is paid hours times each person's hourly rate, plus a week's share of any salaries. On-costs is what an employer pays on top: employer National Insurance, holiday pay and workplace pension. Total cost is the two added together, and your labour percentage is worked out on the total. Click On-costs to see the breakdown.

Hourly staff and salaried staff

On a staff record, choose whether someone is paid by the hour or on a salary. Hourly staff have a rate, and cost more the more you roster them. Salaried staff have an annual figure, and cost the same every week whatever the rota says: their week's salary is divided over the shifts they are on, so day and role bars still add up, and a week with no shifts still counts their full pay. Their holiday is already paid through the salary, so booking leave costs nothing extra and nothing builds up at 12.07%. If you leave a salary blank, the person is treated as hourly.

Starters and leavers on a salary

If someone on a salary starts or leaves partway through a pay period, set their start or leaving date on the payroll Staff tab, beside their salary. They're then paid for the calendar days they were employed in that period, rather than the whole period.

Minimum wage on a salary

A salary can fall below the minimum wage if the person works enough hours. Rota Done divides each week's salary by the hours you have rostered and warns you when the result is under the legal minimum. Roster fewer hours or raise the salary.

Employer National Insurance

Employers pay 15% on each person's pay above £96 a week. Staff under 21, and apprentices under 25, cost no employer NI until they earn over £967 a week; add a date of birth to their staff record so this applies. If your business claims Employment Allowance (up to £10,500 a year off employer NI), switch it on in Payroll settings. The estimate spreads it evenly across the year.

Holiday pay

Choose a holiday pay type on each person's staff record. Staff with irregular hours build up holiday at 12.07% of the hours they work, so 12.07% of their pay is counted as a cost every week. Rolled-up holiday pay costs the same but is paid out each pay period. For staff on fixed hours, holiday is counted in the week they take it: mark those days as Holiday in Absences & holiday.

Pension

By law, staff aged 22 up to state pension age who earn over £192 a week are enrolled in the workplace pension automatically, and the employer pays at least 3% of their pay between £120 and £967 a week. Rota Done counts that for anyone set to Automatic, which is the default. Under-22s, older staff and lower earners only count if they have asked to join: set them to In the pension. Set anyone who has left the scheme to Opted out. You can change the percentage in Payroll settings.

Unpaid breaks

Set break rules in Payroll settings, for example 30 minutes unpaid on shifts over 6 hours. Hours and wages then leave the break out. To change the break on one shift, open the shift and fill in Unpaid break. With no rules, shifts are paid in full.

Why figures can differ from payroll

Rota Done calculates employer cost from the rota. Your payroll software calculates the amounts on payslips. The two can be different for these reasons:

  • Hours change. The rota shows planned hours. Record the hours staff worked on the timesheet.
  • Pay period. Rota Done applies weekly NI thresholds to each rota week. If you pay monthly or fortnightly, payroll applies the thresholds to the full pay period.
  • Employment Allowance. Rota Done divides the allowance equally across 52 weeks. Payroll uses the full allowance from April until it is used up.
  • Holiday pay. Rota Done counts holiday pay when staff earn it. Payroll pays it when staff take the holiday.
  • Pension scheme rules. Some schemes use a different definition of pay. Some delay enrolment for up to three months.
  • Items not included. Rota Done does not calculate statutory sick pay, maternity pay, tronc, bonuses or deductions.

If the hours and pay period are the same, employer NI and pension are normally within a few pence of payroll.