The Wage Cost Engine (WCE) estimates the cost of each shift or employee. It’s a planning tool and won’t match payroll or Time-to-Gross Pay (TGP) figures exactly. It helps managers build rosters that stay within wage cost targets.
Configuration Options
Salaried Staff
There are two ways to configure how the WCE handles salaried employees:
Hourly model
The WCE converts annual salary to an hourly rate:
(Annual Salary ÷ 12) ÷ Monthly Contracted Hours
This rate is used like any hourly worker.
Fixed salary model (default)
The WCE calculates a daily rate:
Annual Salary ÷ 52 ÷ 7
This cost is spread evenly across all days.
Hourly Staff
The WCE uses the rate of pay assigned to each shift based on employee, location, and role. Employees can have multiple rates - for example, a different rate when covering another role or location.
Day-start Time
Your org can set a day-start cutoff (default 00:00). This defines when one “business day” ends and the next begins.
Base Pay
The WCE uses the employee’s hourly rate based on role and location.
Hourly Rate × (Hours Worked - Break Time)
Pension
A flat 3% employer pension contribution is added to base pay.
Earnings × 3%
Employer National Insurance (NI)
Once the weekly earnings threshold (£96) is passed, NI is calculated at 15%.
(Weekly Earnings − £96) × 15%
NI is spread proportionally across all shifts worked in the week.
Holiday Pay
Salaried staff: No extra holiday cost - it’s built into their fixed rate.
Hourly staff: WCE adds a percentage to the base pay for on each shift:
Earnings × 13%
Holidays & Absences
Salaried staff: Cost is always counted - even on leave or absence days.
Hourly staff: No cost is added for non-worked holidays or absences.
Working at Another Location
Salaried staff: Cost is always allocated to their home location.
Hourly staff: Cost is attributed to the location where the shift is worked.
Additional Payments
Payments added to shifts are included in WCE calculations as soon as they are created.
If the payment is approved, nothing changes. If it is rejected, the cost is removed.
Payments added directly to employee profiles are ignored.
All additional payments are currently subject to NI, holiday & pension contributions.
Unplanned Shifts
If an employee clocks into an unplanned shift, the WCE ignores the cost until approved by a manager. Once approved, the shift is costed like any other.
Open Shifts
The WCE estimates the base pay using the current National Minimum Wage:
NMW × (Planned Hours - Break Time)
Open shifts include holiday & pension , but will only add NI if the shift alone would take them over the weekly threshold.
Once an open shift is claimed, it’s cost will be updated based on the employee’s information.
If an open shift remains unfilled past it’s end time, its cost will be ignored.
Agency Shifts
Agency shifts - whether assigned or unassigned - are included in the WCE.
Their cost is calculated based on the configured rate per org unit.
If no rate is set, the WCE defaults to National Minimum Wage.
Shifts Crossing the Day Boundary
When a shift runs past your day-start time, the cost and hours are attributed to the day the shift starts on.
Version 1.3