Payroll Working Days per Period
Count payable workdays inside a weekly / fortnightly / monthly pay period.
These calculators are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice.
How the Payroll Working Days per Period works
The Payroll Working Days per Period calculator counts the payable workdays inside a pay period. Enter the period’s start and end dates and it returns the workday count with both endpoints included, alongside the total calendar days, weekend days, and holiday days in the range — so the number is auditable, not just asserted.
The count skips weekends according to the workweek pattern you choose (Monday–Friday by default, but four-day weeks and Sunday–Thursday schedules work too) and skips public holidays for whichever countries you select. Company-specific closure days that appear on no public calendar can be added as custom holidays.
Pay periods are counted inclusively — a period from the 1st to the 15th includes both the 1st and the 15th — which is why both endpoint toggles default to on. Turn one off for proration edge cases, such as computing the payable days after a mid-period start date. Whether a given day is paid (a company-observed holiday, for instance) is ultimately a policy question; the calculator gives you the calendar arithmetic to apply that policy to.
Worked example
A semi-monthly period from March 1 to March 15 spans 15 calendar days. If March 1 is a Sunday, the range holds four weekend days and — with no public holidays — 11 payable workdays. The second half of that month, March 16 to 31, spans 16 calendar days but only 12 workdays, so a salaried proration uses a different divisor in each half of the same month.
Frequently asked questions
Does the count include both the first and last day of the period?
Yes, by default — pay periods are counted inclusively, so a period from the 1st to the 15th counts both endpoint days if they are working days. Both endpoints can be toggled off individually for proration cases.
How are public holidays handled?
Select the countries whose holiday calendars apply and those public holidays are excluded from the workday count (they are reported separately as holiday days). Company closure days that are not public holidays can be entered as custom holidays.
Can I use a workweek other than Monday to Friday?
Yes. The workweek pattern is configurable, so four-day weeks, six-day weeks, and Sunday–Thursday schedules all produce correct counts — important because a Mon–Fri assumption overstates the payable days of any other schedule.