Hourly to Day Rate Calculator (UK)

How the conversion works

What this calculator doesn't cover

• Tax: these are gross figures. For net take-home, see the take-home pay (PAYE), umbrella, or outside-IR35 Ltd calculators.
• Agency margin: your headline rate is usually the agency's charge to the end client minus their margin (typically 5–15%). The calculator works in whatever rate you put in.
• Overtime / weekend rates: if your contract has a different rate above standard hours or on weekends, the simple multiplication doesn't apply. Calculate base hours × base rate + overtime hours × OT rate separately.
• Minimum-hours clauses: some hourly contracts guarantee a minimum 4–6 hours per day even if you finish early. The day rate equivalent floors at (minimum hours × hourly rate).
• Travel time: billable depends on the contract. Some include site-to-site travel; most exclude home-to-site commute.
• Specific industry conventions: a few niches (locum healthcare, supply teaching, some legal paralegal work) have their own day-length conventions we don't capture here.

Frequently asked questions

What's the standard hours-per-day for UK contractors?

7.5 is the conventional figure, an 8-hour day net of an unpaid one-hour lunch. Most contracts in the IT, finance, and consulting sectors quote in days and assume 7.5 hours of billable work. Public-sector contracts (NHS, central government) sometimes use 7. Some agencies and end-clients use 8 (paid lunch). 9-hour days happen at a few high-pressure shops but are usually overtime territory and should be billed extra. If your contract doesn't specify, ask, and put it in writing.

Why do hourly rates and day rates not always reconcile cleanly?

Three common reasons. (1) Different hours-per-day assumptions: £75/h × 7.5h = £562.50/day, but £75/h × 8h = £600/day, the same hourly looks like two different day rates depending on what you assume. (2) Some hourly contracts include a minimum-hours clause (e.g., 'minimum 6h billable per day') which floors the daily but uncaps the upside. (3) Agency markup on hourly contracts is sometimes higher than on day-rate contracts (10–15% vs 5–10%) because hourly billing is admin-heavier, your headline hourly may understate your equivalent day rate.

When are UK contracts quoted in £/hour rather than £/day?

Mostly outside IT-software-engineering. Common hourly territories: legal (paralegals, junior solicitors via locum agencies), healthcare (locum doctors, nurses, allied health professionals), creative (designers, copywriters, motion graphics), education (private tutors, supply teachers), trades (electricians, plumbers, surveyors), and public-sector consulting under specific framework agreements. IT, finance, and management consulting almost always quote in £/day in the UK, the few exceptions are short-term project work (under 5 days) or specialist hourly rates for senior architects on call.

Does it matter for IR35 whether I'm paid hourly or daily?

Not directly. IR35 looks at the substance of the working relationship: control (who decides what, when, how), substitution rights (can you send someone else?), and mutuality of obligation (does the client have to give you work, do you have to accept?). Hourly billing is sometimes used by clients who want to micromanage your hours (which itself is an IR35 indicator) but isn't determinative. A genuine outside-IR35 contractor can absolutely be paid hourly. If you're unsure, get a CEST-style assessment or speak to an IR35 specialist (Kingsbridge, Qdos, etc.).

What about overtime, can I bill more than 7.5h/day?

Depends on your contract. Standard contractor contracts are 'time and materials' or 'fixed daily fee', both usually cap your billing at the agreed daily rate regardless of hours actually worked, with overtime explicitly excluded. To bill overtime you need it written into the contract: a clause like 'overtime billed at £X/h beyond Y hours per day, with end-client written approval'. Without that clause, those extra hours are a gift to the client. Negotiate the overtime clause when you're signing the contract, not after the fact.

Why use 46 weeks/year instead of 52?

Because contractors don't get paid leave. A typical contractor takes 5 weeks of unpaid time off (4 weeks holiday + bank holidays) plus another week of unbillable downtime (between contracts, sick days, training, networking). 46 working weeks is realistic; 52 assumes you bill every single week of the year, which only happens if you NEVER take time off. Specialist contractor mortgage lenders also use 46 (or 48 at the top end), so the figure is industry-standard for affordability calculations.

How does this differ from the day-rate ↔ salary calculator?

That calculator (anchor #4) converts day rate ↔ permanent salary, factoring in the benefits uplift a perm gets that you don't (pension, paid leave, sick pay, employer NI, sometimes medical). This calculator (anchor #9) converts hourly ↔ day rate, within the contractor world, no salary or benefits comparison. Use this one if you've been quoted hourly and want to know the equivalent day rate; use the day-rate ↔ salary calculator if you're choosing between contracting and a permanent role.

What's the typical UK contractor hourly equivalent at £500/day?

At 7.5h/day (standard): £66.67/hour. At 8h/day: £62.50/hour. At 7h/day: £71.43/hour. At 9h/day: £55.56/hour. The headline £500/day looks like a clean six-figure annualised rate (£500 × 230 = £115k), but if you'd been quoted £62.50/hour and asked to work 8-hour days, the same money sits in your pocket without the headline appearing as nice. Day-rate framing is partly an industry-wide habit; partly it's because day rates make annualised comparisons easier (multiply by 230 vs multiply by 1,800).

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