Convert weekly work hours into a Full-Time-Equivalent (FTE) fraction.
FTE (Full-Time-Equivalent) expresses part-time or variable hours as a fraction of a standard full-time schedule: FTE = hours worked ÷ standard full-time hours. An FTE of 1.0 means fully full-time; 0.5 means half-time.
Standard full-time hours are usually 40/week in the US, though some organizations use 37.5 or other figures — the calculation works the same way regardless of which standard you're measuring against.
HR and finance teams use FTE to normalize headcount across part-time and full-time staff for budgeting, staffing ratios, and benefits eligibility calculations, since raw headcount alone can be misleading when hours vary a lot.
Someone working 30 hours a week against a 40-hour full-time standard has an FTE of 0.75, or 75%.
Yes — two employees each at 0.5 FTE combine to 1.0 FTE for staffing and budgeting purposes, even though they're two separate people rather than one full-time position.
Not directly — FTE is a straightforward ratio of scheduled or worked hours to the standard, and doesn't factor in overtime pay rates or rules on its own.
It usually reflects that organization's own definition of a full-time work week — some use exactly 40, others use 37.5 or 35 depending on industry norms and internal policy.