Childcare vs extra work (UK)

Q: Why does this use take-home pay per day?

Using take-home pay per day avoids confusion from tax, NI and pensions and reflects what actually reaches your bank.

Q: Is the UC part accurate?

The UC part is a simplified percentage reduction to help sense-check if extra work will show up. For a full UC estimate, use the Universal Credit calculator.

Q: What if childcare is monthly not daily?

Divide your monthly childcare by the number of days it is needed and enter the per-day amount. Only include the extra childcare caused by working more.

This tool estimates the real gain from working extra days/hours after childcare, travel and (optionally) the Universal Credit taper.

Built for “is it worth it?” decisions — in plain English.

Quick guide

Not sure why the numbers swing? The UC taper is usually the reason.

UC taper explained

Recommended flow

Start: is it worth working? Then: Universal Credit calculator Break-even helper

Your work pattern

Use this to test “Should I do 1 extra day?” or “Should I go from 3 to 4 days?”

Your current working days per week

New working days per week

We’ll calculate the difference (extra days).

Pay (easier mode)

Most people don’t know their take-home per day. Choose a method below — we’ll estimate your after-tax daily take-home.

How are you paid?

Hours per week

Used for hourly pay + to sanity-check your pattern.

Annual salary (gross) (£)

No pension / student loan in this estimate.

Estimated take-home

Take-home per day (net)

£0.00

Take-home per month (rough)

£0.00

Estimated tax + NI (annual)

£0.00

This is a simplified PAYE estimate (England/Wales/NI). For exact, use your payslip.

Days worked per month (rough)

Typical full-time is ~20–23. Part-time might be 8–16.

Costs triggered by work

Childcare cost per extra day (£)

Only include the extra childcare caused by working more.

Travel cost per extra day (£)

Fuel/train/parking etc.

Other extra costs per day (£)

Food, after-school clubs, etc.

UC reduction on extra earnings (optional)

This is a simplified model of “extra earnings reduce UC”. For full UC, use the UC calculator.

Real gain (per extra working day)

£0.00

Estimate only. Your exact UC/childcare rules can vary.

Extra pay per day

£0.00

What you enter as “take-home per day”.

Work-triggered costs

£0.00

Childcare + travel + other.

UC reduction applied

£0.00

Optional: a rough reduction on extra pay.

What does that mean monthly?

This converts “extra days per week” into a rough monthly gain using your chosen “days worked per month”.

Extra days per week

Example: 1 = one extra day (or shift) per week.

Days worked per month (assumption)

Used to convert days/week into a monthly estimate.

Extra days per week

Extra days per month (rough)

Real gain per month (rough)

£0.00

Rule of thumb: If “real gain” is under ~£20–£30/day, the extra stress can feel pointless. The point isn’t judgement — it’s clarity.

Quick scenarios

Same numbers, but we test what happens if childcare or travel goes up.

+£10 childcare/day

—

+£10 travel/day

—

+£20 costs/day

—

How it works (plain English)

1) Extra pay: we start with what you actually take home per extra working day.

2) UC reduction (optional): if you’re on Universal Credit, extra earnings can reduce what you get. This tool applies a simple percentage reduction to show the idea quickly. For a full estimate, use the UC calculator.

3) Costs: we subtract the extra childcare, travel and “other” costs caused by working more.

The result is your real gain per day and a rough monthly figure based on your work pattern.

FAQ

Why does this use “take-home pay per day”?

Because people feel the pain in take-home money. Using net pay avoids confusion caused by taxes, pension and NI.

Is the UC part accurate?

It’s a simplified estimate to help you sense-check “will extra work even show up?”. Universal Credit depends on work allowance, housing, childcare caps and deductions. Use the UC calculator for detail.

What if childcare is monthly, not daily?

Divide your monthly childcare by the number of days it’s needed, then enter a per-day amount. Only include the extra childcare caused by the extra work.

Why childcare can wipe out extra work

A lot of people assume an extra day of work means an extra day of money. In reality, childcare and travel often arrive first — and they don’t care about your payslip. This calculator is designed to show your real gain, not your headline pay.

The uncomfortable truth: sometimes extra work is not worth it

If Universal Credit reduces as your earnings rise, and childcare increases when you work more, you can end up working extra hours for a very small difference. Seeing that number clearly helps you decide whether the trade-off is worth it.

What counts as “work-triggered” costs?

extra nursery / childminder / wraparound care
travel: fuel, train, parking
food and “convenience” spending caused by being out all day
after-school clubs or paid pickups

If those costs rise faster than your take-home pay, the extra work can feel pointless — even if it looks good on paper.

Check UC taper properly Work vs benefits overview