Skip to content
Breadcrumbs

Texas Payroll/Personnel Resource

Note: To navigate this guide on a mobile device you must use the Table of Contents.

General Provisions
Partial Payment Calculations

Background

If a state employee works only part of a month, the employing agency must determine the correct hourly rate to pay the employee.

A salaried employee’s hourly rate changes each month due to the difference in the number of work hours in the month.

Equivalent Hourly Rate of Pay for Employees

An employee’s equivalent hourly rate of pay for a particular month is equal to:

The employee’s base annual salary rate divided by 12 divided by the number of standard working hours in that month.

Note: For additional information about the standard work hours in each month, see Payroll Due Dates and Direct Deposit Schedules (FPP E.030). The standard working hours for each month is listed in the Workdays & Hours Per Month column.

Base annual salary does not include:

  • Longevity pay.
  • Hazardous duty pay.
  • Benefit replacement pay (BRP).
    – or –
  • Other emoluments that are sometimes paid using the salary expenditure object.

The above applies to:

Alternate methods for calculating hourly rate

In addition to the method listed above, two alternative methods may be used, but usage of each is limited to (1) agencies that provide 24/7 staffing and (2) institutions of higher education.

(1)  Agencies that must provide round-the-clock staffing and use alternative work schedules may calculate the equivalent hourly rate of pay to be the employee’s base annual salary rate divided by 12 divided by the nonstandard scheduled work hours for that month. This method will only be used in calculation of partial pay by agencies with employees working a nonstandard schedule to provide round-the-clock services.

(2)  Institutions of higher education may choose to compute the hourly rate by dividing the employee’s annual salary by 2080, the number of working hours in a standard work year. This method will only be used in the calculation of partial pay by institutions of higher education.

Employees Paid Once Each Month Who Work Only Part of a Month

The amount of compensation paid to an employee for working part of a month is equal to:

The employee’s equivalent hourly rate of pay for that month multiplied by the number of scheduled work hours during the month, less any leave without pay hours.

Employees Paid Twice Each Month Who Work Only Part of a Month

To determine pay for employees paid twice per month, each month is divided into halves:

  • The pay for hours worked from the 1st of the month through the 15th of the month is paid on the 15th of the month, or the first working day after the 15th.
  • The pay for hours worked from the 16th of the month through the end of the month is paid on the first workday of the following month.

Employee does not work all the available hours in the first half of the month

Compensation for state employees who do not work all the available hours in the first half of a month is equal to:

The employee’s equivalent hourly rate of pay for the month multiplied by the number of scheduled work hours during the first half of that month less any leave without pay hours.

Example:

Total work hours for the month: 176
Employee’s monthly salary: $2,420.00
Hours worked in first half of month: 20

To determine the employee’s compensation for the first half of the month:

  1. Divide the employee’s monthly salary by the number of work hours in the full month to find the employee’s hourly rate of pay ($2,420.00 / 176 = $13.75).
  2. Multiply the hourly rate by the number of scheduled work hours in the first half of the month less any leave without pay hours ($13.75 x 20 = $275.00).

Employee does not work all available hours in the second half of the month

Compensation for state employees who do not work all available hours in the second half of a month is equal to:

The employee’s equivalent hourly rate of pay for the month multiplied by the number of scheduled work hours during the second half of that month less any leave without pay hours.

Example:

Total work hours for the month: 160
Employee’s monthly salary: $2,604.00
Hours worked in second half of month: 15

To determine the employee’s compensation for the second half of the month:

  1. Divide the employee’s monthly salary by the number of work hours in the full month to find the employee’s hourly rate of pay ($2,604.00 / 160 = $16.275).
  2. Multiply the hourly rate by the number of hours worked in the second half of the month ($16.275 x 15 = $244.125).

Because the employee was paid $1,302.00 for the first half of the month (80 hours x $16.275), the total compensation for the month is $1,546.13.

Other Considerations

The computation methods described here apply to employees who are on leave without pay for less than an entire calendar month.

Additional Resources

See Chapter 8, Payroll Processing, of the USPS Process Guide or SPRS Payroll Edits for BSY.

Sources

Texas Government Code, Sections 659.019(c) and 659.085.