Reduce My Hours Calculator

Not ready to drop the job entirely? Trade some hours back instead, and cover the drop with your stack. Move the numbers — the maths follows.

Reduce your hours

Current weekly hours what you're contracted / actually work now

hrs/wk

Current salary gross — the pre-tax figure on your contract

Paid for your time off? paid holiday, including bank holidays — most employees yes; day-rate or zero-hours often no

Yes No

Paid holiday total days off you're paid for — annual leave plus bank holidays

days/yr

Workplace pension your own contribution, % of gross — reduces the pay that's taxed. 0 if none

Hours to cut per week

hrs/wk

Commuting you'd save both directions, for the days you'd no longer go in hrs/wk

Costs of the job you'd save fuel, rail, parking, work lunches, childcare — anything you only pay because you go in £ /wk

Fill the gap with your stack

The same streams as the Stackable Income calculator. Pick the ones you'd realistically take on to cover the hours you're dropping — you'll set hours and rates for each next.

Set the hours and pay for each

Choose at least one stream above, or add your own below.

Add your own income stream (optional)

Weeks a year you'll actually work the stack no holiday pay on side income weeks/yr

Costs of doing this your estimate — fuel, parking, lunches, anything you only pay because you're out earning it £ /wk

Step 1 prices your salary through 2026/27 income tax, employee Class 1 National Insurance, and (if set) your student loan plan; reduced hours cut your gross pay pro-rata before the bands are re-applied. If you're paid for your time off, weekly figures spread over the full 52 weeks; if not, they spread over the weeks you actually work, and the job costs you would save only count for those weeks. Pension is treated as coming out of pre-tax pay and is money you keep, just deferred. The stack in Step 2 is stacked on top of your reduced salary: income tax and student loan on it are worked out at the band it falls into once the salary has used up your allowance, plus self-employed Class 4 NI and the £1,000 trading allowance. "Costs of doing this" is your own estimate of what you'd spend being out earning the stack — it comes off the stack's take-home but isn't a tax deduction. Savings and annual figures are rough, and the Class 4 NI annual-maximum adjustment for people paying both Class 1 and Class 4 isn't modelled. Nothing here is advice. Your entries are saved in this browser.

What if you just cut your hours?

Reduce your hours

Fill the gap with your stack