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Microlesson · 5-min read

Labour Turnover — Concept and Methods

# Labour Turnover Rates

## What is Labour Turnover?

Labour Turnover refers to the change in the workforce composition during a period — both employees who joined and employees who left. It is a measure of workforce instability and is expressed as a rate (percentage) per period.

## Workforce Identity

The basic balance is:

$$\text{Employees at start} + \text{Employees joined} - \text{Employees separated} = \text{Employees at end}$$

## Average Workforce (denominator for all rates)

$$\text{Average Employees} = \frac{\text{Employees at start} + \text{Employees at end}}{2}$$

Example — Start = 900, End = 1,300 ⇒ Average = (900 + 1300) ÷ 2 = 1,100.

## Two Categories of Joiners

TermMeaning
New Joinee (Accession)Hired to fill a newly created post — e.g., a new branch is opened, fresh strength is added
ReplacementHired to fill the seat of someone who has separated from an existing post

## Two Categories of Leavers (Separation)

Separation includes employees who: resigned, were terminated, or were removed.

## Methods of Computing Labour Turnover Rate

All methods use the same denominator (Average workforce) and multiply by 100 to express as a percentage.

### (i) Separation Method

$$\frac{\text{No. of Separations}}{\text{Average Workers}} \times 100$$

### (ii) Replacement Method

$$\frac{\text{No. of Replacements}}{\text{Average Workers}} \times 100$$

### (iii) Flux Method

Two accepted forms:

$$\frac{\text{Separations} + \text{Replacements}}{\text{Average Workers}} \times 100$$

$$\text{OR}$$

$$\frac{\text{Separations} + \text{Replacements} + \text{New Joinees}}{\text{Average Workers}} \times 100$$

### (iv) Accession Method

Two accepted forms:

$$\frac{\text{New Joinees}}{\text{Average Workers}} \times 100$$

$$\text{OR}$$

$$\frac{\text{New Joinees} + \text{Replacements}}{\text{Average Workers}} \times 100$$

### (v) Equivalent Annual Labour Turnover Rate

When turnover is computed for a period shorter than a year, convert it to an annual equivalent:

$$\text{Equivalent Annual T/O} = \frac{\text{Turnover Rate for the Period}}{\text{No. of days in the period}} \times 365$$

## Critical Rule for Splitting Joiners

If the question gives both new joinees and replacements mixed in total hires, distinguish them by this priority:

1. First — fill the chairs/seats vacated by separations → these are Replacements.

2. Second — anything left over after replacements are accounted for is New Joinees.

Worked example

### Example 1

Example 1 — Basic rates

Start = 900, End = 1,300, Separations = 100, Replacements = 100, New Joinees = 400.

Average workers = (900 + 1300)/2 = 1,100.

  • Separation rate = (100 / 1,100) × 100 = 9.09%
  • Replacement rate = (100 / 1,100) × 100 = 9.09%
  • Flux (S + R) = (200 / 1,100) × 100 = 18.18%
  • Flux (S + R + N) = (600 / 1,100) × 100 = 54.55%
  • Accession (N only) = (400 / 1,100) × 100 = 36.36%
  • Accession (N + R) = (500 / 1,100) × 100 = 45.45%

### Example 2

Example 2 — Splitting joiners

During a quarter, 30 workers separated and 50 workers were hired in total.

Step 1 — Fill the 30 vacated seats first ⇒ Replacements = 30.

Step 2 — Remaining = 50 − 30 = 20 ⇒ New Joinees = 20.

### Example 3

Example 3 — Equivalent Annual Rate

Flux rate for a 90-day period = 12%.

Equivalent Annual Rate = (12 / 90) × 365 = 48.67% p.a.

⚠️ Common exam mistakes

  • Using closing or opening strength alone as the denominator — always use the average.
  • Mixing up Replacement and New Joinee — failing to apply the 'replacements first, joinees later' rule when totals are given.
  • Using the wrong Flux formula version — read the question to see whether new joinees are to be included.
  • Forgetting to ×100 — leaving the result as a fraction rather than a percentage.
  • In the equivalent annual rate, dividing by 365 instead of by the number of days in the period.
Reference:
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