What does one staff hour cost you?
Legal minimums from 1 April 2027.
How much of each £1 do you keep?
What's left after paying for the drink or food, worked on prices without VAT. Use your own figure.
Filled in from Step 1. Type your own average across all your staff if you know it.
Your week, day by day
Takings from the till (including VAT) and total staff hours worked that day. Use the same week last year if you want to plan ahead.
| Day | Takings £ | Staff hrs | £ per staff hour |
|---|
Fill in your days to see which ones cover their wages.
What this does and doesn't count
It checks one thing: does a day bring in enough to cover the staff working it, after stock and VAT. It doesn't count rent, rates, energy or other bills, so a day can pass here and still not make you money overall. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere. Never cut below the cover you need to run the pub safely.
Staff cost includes holiday pay at 12.07% (the usual rate for irregular hours), employer National Insurance at 15% above £96.15 a week (none for under-21s), and 3% employer pension on earnings above £120 a week (auto-enrolment is for staff aged 22 and over earning over £10,000 a year). 2027 minimum wage rates from GOV.UK, 28 October 2026. NI and pension thresholds are the 2026/27 figures, which may change from April 2027.
Read the guide: what a member of staff really costs a pub from April 2027
Planning next week? The free pub rota maker shows each day's staff cost as you build the rota.