> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.eosb.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # How benefits are calculated > How the platform works out each employee's benefit, and why your liability changes from month to month. You never enter a benefit amount yourself. The platform works it out from two things on the employee's record: **salary** and **start date**. This page explains how, so you can check a figure or understand why it changed. You do not need this page for day-to-day work. Read it when a number surprises you. ## The short version An employee earns a number of **days' pay** for every year they work. The longer they have worked, the more days each year is worth. Their benefit is: > **(monthly salary ÷ 22) × days for their service band × (months of service ÷ 12)** * **÷ 22** turns the monthly salary into a day's pay (22 working days in a month). * **Months of service** counts calendar months from the start date to the end of the month being calculated. * **Service band** is the number of completed years, from 1 to 28. Under one month of service, the benefit is zero. **The current band applies to all years of service.** An employee in their eighth year is paid 40 days for *every* year they have worked, not 22 days for the first year, 25 for the second and so on. This is the scheme's approved interpretation, used in the official EOSB accrual model, and it is why benefits jump on work anniversaries. ## Days for each service band | Completed years | Days per year | Completed years | Days per year | | - | - | - | - | | 1 | 22 | 15 | 46 | | 2 | 25 | 16 | 46 | | 3 | 30 | 17 | 50 | | 4 | 32 | 18 | 50 | | 5 | 35 | 19 | 50 | | 6 | 38 | 20 | 51 | | 7 | 39 | 21 | 52 | | 8 | 40 | 22 | 53 | | 9 | 41 | 23 | 54 | | 10 | 42 | 24 | 55 | | 11 | 43 | 25 | 55 | | 12 | 45 | 26 | 56 | | 13 | 46 | 27 | 58 | | 14 | 46 | 28 or more | 60 | ## A worked example An employee earns **SLE 6,600** a month — **SLE 300** a day. | As at | Months of service | Band | Benefit | Change in the month | | - | - | - | - | - | | After 5 years | 60 | 5 (35 days) | 300 × 35 × 60 ÷ 12 = **52,500.00** | | | One month later | 61 | 5 (35 days) | 300 × 35 × 61 ÷ 12 = **53,375.00** | +875.00 | | After 5 years 11 months | 71 | 5 (35 days) | **62,125.00** | +875.00 | | After 6 years | 72 | 6 (38 days) | 300 × 38 × 72 ÷ 12 = **68,400.00** | **+6,275.00** | Two things to notice: * **Most months, the benefit grows by the same amount.** * **On each work anniversary it jumps**, because the whole length of service is now valued at the new band's rate, not only the latest year. ## An example from the EOSB accrual model These figures come from the official **EOSB Monthly Accrual Model** workbook, which the platform's calculation is tested against to the cent. The workbook with the parameter table, 20 sample employees and a sheet for every month of 2026. Change a salary or start date and every figure recalculates. **Abdul Kanu** started on 1 January 2018 on SLE 6,200 a month. | | January 2026 | February 2026 | | - | - | - | | Months of service | 96 | 97 | | Service band | 8 years → **40 days** | 8 years → 40 days | | Daily salary | 6,200 ÷ 22 = 281.82 | 281.82 | | Accrued benefit | 281.82 × 40 × 96 ÷ 12 = **90,181.82** | 281.82 × 40 × 97 ÷ 12 = **91,121.21** | | Monthly accrual | | 91,121.21 − 90,181.82 = **939.39** | An ordinary month: the same band, one more month of service. ### When an employee crosses an anniversary: the step-jump **Ibrahim Kamara** started on 1 February 2019 on SLE 8,100 a month. He completes 7 years in February 2026. | | January 2026 | February 2026 | March 2026 | | - | - | - | - | | Months of service | 83 | 84 | 85 | | Service band | 6 → 38 days | **7 → 39 days** | 7 → 39 days | | Accrued benefit | 96,770.45 | 100,513.64 | 101,710.23 | | Monthly accrual | | **3,743.18** | 1,196.59 | February's accrual is about three times a normal month. The model splits it into two parts: | Part | Amount | Why | | - | - | - | | **Normal month** | 1,165.91 | One more month at the old rate: 8,100 ÷ 22 × 38 ÷ 12 | | **Step-jump effect** | 2,577.27 | All 84 months repriced from 38 to 39 days | | **Total accrual** | **3,743.18** | | From March, accrual settles at the new, higher normal rate (1,196.59). The model counts how many employees step-jump each month, so a jump in an employer's total accrual can be explained before anyone asks. **Rounding.** The workbook carries full precision; the platform works to full precision and rounds once, at the end, to the cent. The two always agree to the cent. ### Across a whole employer For the model's 20 employees, total liability rises from **SLE 848,696.21** at 31 January 2026 to **SLE 1,089,270.45** at 31 December 2026. Monthly accruals in between range from about SLE 18,300 to SLE 25,000, depending on how many employees cross an anniversary that month. ## When the platform calculates | Moment | What is calculated | Shows in the ledger as | | - | - | - | | You register the employee | Everything earned up to then | **Opening balance** | | Each month ends | The increase since the last month end | **Monthly accrual** | | You terminate the employee | The part of the final month up to the termination date; the total becomes the amount to pay out | **Monthly accrual**, then a final settlement for the trustee | The monthly accrual runs automatically; you do not need to start it. If the platform was unavailable at a month end, it catches up the next night. Every calculation stores all its inputs — months of service, service years, band, accrual days, daily salary divisor, the salary and its effective date, and the month-end — next to the result. Any figure can be reproduced later from what was stored, which is what auditors and the regulator rely on. The monthly accrual is the **movement** in the employee's cumulative benefit between two month-ends. What an employee is paid when they leave is the **cumulative** benefit at their termination date. ## Why my liability changed Normal. Every employee earned another month of benefit. They probably passed a work anniversary and moved to a higher band. See the worked example above. The calculation uses the employee's whole length of service at their current salary, so a pay rise increases the value of past service too. This is one reason salary changes [need approval](/employer/employees/update-records#changes-that-need-approval). A leaver's benefit was paid out — settled benefits no longer count towards your liability — or an approved correction lowered a salary or moved a start date later. Terminating an employee does not lower the figure by itself; the benefit stays in your liability until it is paid. To see the entries behind any total, use the [transaction ledger](/employer/transaction-ledger#see-the-entries-behind-a-total). This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.