Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)
A unit of measurement that represents the workload of one full-time employee, used to compare staffing levels across different employment types.
Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) is used to standardise headcount calculations when a workforce includes both full-time and part-time employees. If a full-time employee works 40 hours per week, then two employees each working 20 hours count as 1.0 FTE. This allows organisations to plan budgets and workloads consistently regardless of the mix of employment types.
FTE is widely used in workforce planning, budgeting, and compliance reporting. Government schemes — such as employment subsidies or small business grants — often use FTE thresholds to determine eligibility.
For remote and distributed organisations with employees across multiple regions, FTE calculations may also need to account for different statutory hours, part-time contracts, and contractor headcount to give an accurate picture of true workforce capacity.