A payroll divisor converts a monthly salary into a daily rate. Divide the daily rate by eight to get the hourly rate. You may hear this called a “313 divisor payroll” or a “261 divisor payroll”. The DOLE-BWC handbook uses “factor” for its Estimated Equivalent Monthly Rate (EEMR) formulas. Those formulas are mainly guides for checking equivalent monthly minimum wage rates, not a single statutory payroll formula for every employer.
One distinction matters before choosing a number. The handbook’s 365 factor is for monthly-paid employees. The 313, 305, 261, 253, and 395 factors appear under the handbook’s daily-paid employee section. Employers sometimes use the daily-paid factors as monthly payroll divisors too, but that is a company convention, not a DOLE rule for monthly-paid pay. The correct number depends on what the salary covers, the work schedule, and the employer’s contract, CBA, or payroll policy.
The basic formula
For an annual divisor or factor:
daily rate = monthly basic salary × 12 ÷ divisor
hourly rate = daily rate ÷ 8
Example: ₱30,000 monthly basic salary divided using 365 gives a daily rate of ₱986.30. The hourly rate is ₱123.29.
These formulas assume a standard eight-hour workday. A compressed workweek, a part-time schedule, or a different normal workday needs a different hourly conversion.
Divisor or factor?
“Divisor” is the common payroll term. The DOLE-BWC handbook uses “factor” for its Estimated Equivalent Monthly Rate, or EEMR, formulas. This guide uses both terms for the same conversion idea.
The common payroll divisors
This table shows the common monthly-to-daily conversion numbers. The daily rates use a ₱30,000 monthly basic salary. The context column notes how the DOLE handbook classifies each factor.
| Divisor | DOLE EEMR context | Daily rate |
|---|---|---|
| 365 | Monthly-paid; base pay for every calendar day | ₱986.30 |
| 313 | Daily-paid; six-day schedule, rest days unpaid | ₱1,150.16 |
| 305 | Daily-paid; 313 less 8 special non-working days | ₱1,180.33 |
| 261 | Daily-paid; five-day schedule, rest days unpaid | ₱1,379.31 |
| 253 | Daily-paid; 261 less 8 special non-working days | ₱1,422.92 |
Using 313, 305, 261, or 253 as a monthly-paid divisor is a payroll convention. The handbook places those factors under daily-paid employees, mainly to compute an equivalent monthly rate for minimum-wage checks. If your monthly-paid salary is built on one of them, follow the documented company policy rather than the label alone.
What each divisor means
365 divisor payroll
The 365 factor is used for monthly-paid employees whose salary covers every calendar day, including unworked rest days, special days, and regular holidays. It is the DOLE monthly-paid factor. The factor covers the base pay for those days. It does not include the premium for actually working on a rest day or holiday; that premium is added when the work is performed.
313 and 305 divisor payroll
For daily-paid employees, the DOLE EEMR guide uses 313 for a six-day schedule where Sundays or weekly rest days are not paid. The 313 breakdown is 293 ordinary working days, 12 regular holidays, and 8 special non-working days. The 305 factor is the version that removes the eight special non-working days when those days are not considered paid.
These are conversion factors. They do not mean that a worker is automatically paid for every special non-working day when no work is performed. Special-day pay generally follows the no-work-no-pay rule unless a law, agreement, or company practice provides otherwise. That is why the handbook offers 305 as an alternative to 313 when the eight special days are unpaid.
261 and 253 divisor payroll
For daily-paid employees, the DOLE EEMR guide uses 261 for a five-day schedule where Saturdays, Sundays, and weekly rest days are not paid. The 261 breakdown is 241 ordinary working days, 12 regular holidays, and 8 special non-working days. The 253 factor removes the eight special non-working days when those days are not considered paid.
395 factor
The DOLE-BWC handbook also gives a 395 EEMR factor for daily-paid employees required to work every day, including weekly rest days, special days, and regular holidays. It includes the applicable premium values: rest days at 130%, regular holidays at 200%, and special days at 130%. It is an equivalent-pay factor, not a count of calendar days.
395 is not a monthly-paid factor. It is used in the other direction, to estimate a monthly equivalent from a daily rate. For example, a ₱1,000 daily rate produces an estimated monthly equivalent of ₱32,916.67 under 395.
What about 312, 260, and 216?
Some payroll systems use 312, based on 26 days per month, or 260, based on 52 weeks of five days. They are employer conventions and are not in the DOLE EEMR table. They are not interchangeable substitutes for 313 or 261. Use the number stated in the employer’s policy.
216 is not a standard DOLE annual factor. If payroll uses 216, ask whether it means hours per month or an employer-specific annual factor. Ask for the unit, formula, and written basis before using it. Do not assume that a number in a payroll system is a statutory rule.
Do not choose a divisor from a search result
Start with your contract, CBA, company handbook, payslip, or written payroll explanation. A different divisor changes the daily rate, hourly rate, overtime, holiday pay, and night differential.
Which divisor should you use?
- Check your contract, CBA, payslip, or payroll policy.
- Confirm whether your salary is monthly-paid or daily-paid.
- Confirm how many days your work schedule covers.
- Ask whether special non-working days are included or excluded.
- Use the same documented method when checking your pay.
395 is separate from the monthly-paid choice above. It is the daily-paid EEMR factor for employees required to work every day.
The DOLE handbook describes the EEMR formulas as “merely suggestions” and guides, without prejudice to existing company policies, practices, or agreements. The formulas are mainly for determining equivalent monthly minimum wage rates. The resulting pay must still comply with applicable minimum-wage and statutory-pay rules.
How to check your payslip
If your payslip shows a one-day absence deduction, estimate the annual divisor like this:
estimated divisor = monthly basic salary ÷ one-day deduction × 12
If it shows an hourly rate, first estimate the daily rate:
daily rate = hourly rate × 8
Then solve for the divisor:
estimated divisor = monthly basic salary × 12 ÷ daily rate
These checks are estimates because payroll may use different bases for different items.
If your divisor is not available in the calculator, calculate the hourly rate yourself and enter it using the hourly basis.
Frequently asked questions
Is 313 better than 365?
Neither is always better. 313 produces a higher daily equivalent because the annual salary is spread over fewer equivalent units. The correct number is the one that matches the pay arrangement.
Why is my daily rate different from monthly salary ÷ 30?
Dividing by 30 is only a shortcut. The 365 formula uses 365 days in the year, which equals 30.42 days per month on average. At ₱30,000, monthly salary ÷ 30 is ₱1,000, while the 365 formula gives ₱986.30.
Can my employer choose any divisor?
There is no single universal factor, but the method should match what the salary covers and must comply with minimum-wage and statutory-pay rules. Your contract, CBA, company policy, and actual payroll practice all matter.
Daily-paid employees
A daily-paid employee already has a stated daily rate, so an annual divisor is not needed to find the basic hourly rate. Divide the daily rate by eight, assuming a standard eight-hour workday. The divisor question matters when monthly pay must be converted. See the monthly-paid vs daily-paid guide for the difference in presentation.
This guide covers rank-and-file private-sector pay. It does not cover tax, SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, 13th-month pay, or company-specific allowances. For the official sources, see the sources page.