Methodology
How the salary comparison works
A job offer is more than one headline number. The calculator compares base pay with the target you set, then shows how pension, tax, working time, travel costs, and role quality change the full picture.
The process
From job details to a decision
Each stage answers a different question, so the final result remains useful even when the recommendation itself is close.
- 01
Describe both roles
Enter the pay, pension, working pattern, annual leave, commute, and everyday office costs for your current and offered roles.
- 02
Set your minimum uplift
Choose the percentage increase that would make changing jobs worthwhile to you. This creates your minimum base-salary target.
- 03
Compare the real difference
The calculator estimates take-home pay, annual workday costs, time-adjusted pay, and total employer-funded compensation.
- 04
Review the recommendation
The result starts with your salary target, then checks whether tax, workday costs, and major role trade-offs weaken the case for switching.
Salary target
The financial starting point
Your minimum salary is deliberately simple and personal. It takes your current base salary and applies the minimum uplift percentage you chose:
Minimum salary target
current base salary x (1 + chosen uplift percentage)
Base salary drives the threshold
The core recommendation compares the offered base salary with this target. Bonus and employer pension are shown separately as part of total compensation rather than being used to disguise a weak base salary.
Total compensation adds context
For each role, total compensation is base salary plus annual bonus and the employer-funded pension contribution. Your own pension contribution is a deduction, not extra employer compensation.
Take-home pay
Estimating what reaches your pocket
The results page builds an annual estimate for each role, then presents the same figures yearly, monthly, and per working day. The calculation follows this order:
- 1
Add base salary and annual bonus to get gross cash income.
- 2
Subtract the employee pension contribution to estimate taxable pay.
- 3
Estimate Income Tax, employee National Insurance, and selected student loan repayments.
- 4
Subtract annual commute costs and office-day spending from estimated take-home.
Time and costs
Annualising the working pattern
A higher salary can still buy less of your time. The calculator estimates working days separately for each role, using 260 weekdays minus 8 public holidays and the annual leave you enter.
Effective hourly rate
Base salary is divided by expected weekly hours across the role's estimated working weeks. Hours above 37.5 are also shown as an unpaid-overtime equivalent.
Office days
Remote days determine the proportion of working days spent in the office. That figure annualises commute cost, commute time, and everyday office spending.
Commute time is shown as decision context, but it is not converted into a cash deduction. Only the costs you enter reduce estimated take-home after workday costs.
Recommendation
How the final label is chosen
The first signal is the offered salary's position against your minimum target. An offer at least 5% above the target begins as a strong switch; one that meets the target begins as a good opportunity. Offers below the target begin closer to "too close to call" or "stay put."
That initial result is then checked against estimated take-home after workday costs. A marginal gain can cap an otherwise positive result, and a negative after-cost outcome prevents a strong recommendation.
Major trade-offs that can lower a positive result
- 3 or more fewer remote-working days each week
- 45 or more extra commute minutes each way
- 5 or more additional expected working hours each week
- A drop of 2 or more percentage points in employer pension
- More than GBP 2,500 in additional annual commute and office-day costs
Each major trade-off normally lowers a positive recommendation by one level. Large after-cost gains can absorb some trade-offs so that a materially better offer is not presented as marginal solely because it changes the working pattern.
Role fit
Preferences and company stability
The optional questions compare work-life balance, career growth, remote work, and job security. Pairwise choices help identify which factors matter most to you, and the results show whether the current or offered role better matches those priorities.
Company stage, profitability, recent layoffs, and growth outlook produce a separate stability indicator. These signals provide context; they do not silently add money to the offer or change your base-salary target. They depend entirely on the information you provide and are not predictions of company failure or future performance.
Limits and privacy
What the estimate does not know
The result is a structured comparison, not financial, tax, legal, or employment advice. These are the main boundaries to keep in mind:
- Income Tax currently uses 2026/27 rates for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Scottish Income Tax is not modelled.
- The estimate assumes a standard Personal Allowance and employee Class 1 National Insurance category. Your tax code and individual reliefs may differ.
- Pension deductions are treated as reducing taxable pay. Salary sacrifice arrangements and National Insurance pension savings are not modelled separately.
- Student loan repayments are annual estimates. Payroll deductions can differ because employers normally assess each pay period.
- Bonuses are treated as annual cash income and are not adjusted for probability, vesting, or payment timing.
- Equity, private medical insurance, childcare, redundancy terms, and other benefits are not assigned a cash value.
Your calculator data
The calculation runs in your browser. Your scenario is kept in session storage so the results page can display it and let you edit it. Exact salary figures are not included in analytics events.
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The useful result is not a universal answer. It is a transparent comparison built from your pay, your costs, and the minimum improvement you need from a move.
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