Daily Rate of Pay in Singapore: Your Questions Answered
These are the questions people ask most often about daily rate of pay. Each answer is short; follow the links for the full detail.
What does a daily rate of pay calculation tell me?
Finds the daily rate of pay used for public holiday work, rest days and unpaid leave deductions.
What is the formula?
Daily rate = (12 × monthly gross rate of pay) ÷ (52 × average working days per week).
What do I need to enter?
Monthly gross rate of pay (S$), Working days per week.
Are these figures exact?
They follow the published CPF and MOM formulas, but your employer's payroll may round slightly differently or include allowances in a different way. Your payslip is the final reference.
Can you show an example?
For example, with these inputs:
- Monthly gross rate of pay (S$): 3,000
- Working days per week: 5 days
the calculator returns:
- Daily rate of pay: S$138.46
- Pay for half a day: S$69.23
Any tips?
- Remember the S$8,000 monthly Ordinary Wage ceiling from January 2026: salary above it does not attract CPF.
- Keep a copy of your payslips: MOM requires employers to issue itemised payslips, which makes checking deductions easy.
- Overtime eligibility depends on your salary and role under Part IV of the Employment Act, not just your job title.
Background
The Employment Act sets out how hourly and daily rates are calculated for overtime, public holiday work and salary deductions. These formulas use the monthly basic rate of pay rather than gross salary, which is why the numbers can look lower than a simple division of your salary by hours worked.
Contribution rates fall as workers get older, to keep older workers employable while their retirement savings continue to grow. The Government has been raising rates for workers above 55 in stages since 2022, with the latest change in January 2026 and another planned for 2027, so figures for senior workers change more often than for younger employees.
Total compensation in Singapore is more than the number on your offer letter. Employer CPF, variable bonuses, the Annual Wage Supplement (often called the 13th month) and benefits all add value, and comparing offers on take-home pay alone can hide meaningful differences.
Related calculations
- Pro-Rated Annual Leave Calculator: Calculates leave earned for part of a year.
- Salary Converter (Annual, Monthly, Hourly): Converts an annual package into monthly, weekly, daily and hourly figures.
- CPF OA Interest Calculator: Projects your CPF Ordinary Account balance with the 2.5% floor rate and regular contributions.
- CPF Special Account Interest Calculator: Projects Special Account growth at the 4% floor rate.
Try it yourself with the Daily Rate of Pay Calculator.
Run your own numbers: Daily Rate of Pay Calculator