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School bursar day-rate calculator

Convert an equivalent annual salary into a fractional day rate, with employer National Insurance, employer pension contribution, holiday entitlement, sickness cover and any fractional provider margin layered on top. The output is governor-quotable and includes the comparable in-house permanent total cost of ownership.

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Bursar day-rate calculator

Working paper output

For an equivalent annual salary of £60,000 worked across 2 day(s) a week for 46 weeks a year, the comparable day rate inclusive of on-costs is approximately £835.

With a fractional provider margin of 20 percent, the headline day rate the school would pay is approximately £1,002, equivalent to £7,680 a month or £92,160 a year.

The comparable in-house permanent total cost of ownership (salary plus 28 per cent on-costs plus 5 per cent cover allowance) sits at approximately £80,640 a year. The fractional engagement therefore comes out £11,520 above the permanent equivalent.

Note: On-costs include employer National Insurance, employer pension contribution, holiday entitlement, and an allowance for sickness and absence cover.

Sources: ISBA salary survey, Teachers' Pensions employer guidance and GOV.UK National Insurance rates. See /reference/sources.

How the calculation works

The model first converts the equivalent salary into a daily equivalent based on working days a year. On-costs are then layered on, reflecting employer NI above the secondary threshold and an employer pension contribution sized to the scheme in use. A provider margin is layered on where applicable. The comparable permanent TCO assumes 28 per cent on-costs plus a 5 per cent cover and sickness allowance.[1][2]

Sources for this page

[1]
GOV.UK publishes National Insurance rates used in the on-cost calculation.
GOV.UK
retrieved 2026-06-22
[2]
Teachers' Pensions employer guidance sets the principal pension contribution input.
TPS
retrieved 2026-06-22
AuthorOliver Wakefield-Smith, Founder, Digital Signet
Verified for academic year 2025/26
Last reviewed 22 June 2026