The process of hiring a new employee often takes several weeks to complete, and sometimes they accept your job offer in the middle of the month. In some situations, it may be convenient for your human resources and payroll team to delay the new employees start date to the first day of the following month, to avoid paying an incomplete month of work.
However, regardless of the role, most employers would want a new employee to start as soon as possible. This is why it’s important to know how to calculate their salary for an incomplete month of work.
There are other reasons you might need to determine the salary for an incomplete month of work. For example, an employee’s last day of work might be in the middle of the month. Or perhaps, an employee transfers in urgently from an overseas branch. Maybe the employee needs to take urgent, unpaid leave for a week due to a family crisis.
Note that calculating this is only necessary if the employee is on a full-time monthly-rated contract.
Formula For Calculating Salary For An Incomplete Month Of Work
There are three values you’ll need to calculate their salary for an incomplete month of work.
Firstly, the employee’s monthly gross rate of pay. This refers to the employee’s base rate of pay and any allowances they would have received for the month.
Secondly, you’ll need to find out the total number of working days in that month.
Start by determining how many days your employee’s work week is – typically in Singapore it’s either a 5-day work week, 5-and-a-half-day work week, or a 6-day work week.
Don’t forget to include the public holidays that fall on a normal working day in the month as well, since those are paid days off. A 5-day work week typically adds up to 20 to 23 working days, depending on the month.
You can use the following table from the Ministry of Manpower for help. Note that the table assumes a work week that starts on Monday and ends on Friday or Saturday with Sunday being the default rest day.
Source: Ministry of Manpower
Thirdly you need to know the total number of days the employee actually worked in that month.
With these three values, the formula is:
(Monthly gross rate of pay) x (Total number of days the employee actually worked in that month) / (Total number of working days in that month)
Let’s look at a few examples.
Example 1 – Employee Joins Company On 10 February 2025
Let’s assume your employee’s salary is $5,400 a month and they work a 6-day week.
They start work on 10 February 2025, which is a Monday. Assuming they work the rest of the month, that’s 17 days of work. Based on the table above, there are 24 working days in February 2025 for those working a 6-day week.
The formula is $5,400 x 17/21 = $3,825.
That means for working 17 days in the month of February 2025 (which has a total of 21 working days), this employee should receive a salary of $3,825 for the incomplete month.
Example 2 – Employee Takes 5 Days Of Unpaid Leave
Let’s assume your employee’s salary is $5,400 a month and they work a 5-day week.
They take 7 days of unpaid leave in June this year because of an urgent family emergency. Assuming they work the rest of the month, that’s 14 days of work. Based on the table above, there are 21 working days in June 2025 for those working a 5-day week.
The formula is $5,400 x 14/21 = $3,600.
That means for working 14 days in the month of June 2025 (which has a total of 21 working days), this employee should receive a salary of $3,600 for the incomplete month.
Example 3 – Employee Resigns And Their Last Day Is 11 November 2025
Let’s assume your employee’s salary is $5,400 a month and they work a 5.5-day week.
Their last day of work is 11 November 2025, which is a Tuesday. That’s 8 days of work before they leave. Based on the table above, there are 22.5 working days in November 2025 for those working a 5.5-day week.
The formula is $5,400 x 8/22.5 = $1,920.
That means for working 8 days in the month of November 2025 (which has a total of 22.5 working days), this employee should receive a salary of $1,920 for the incomplete month.
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