Bahrain end-of-service gratuity explained
The gratuity rates for non-Bahraini private sector workers, what changed on 1 March 2024 when the SIO took over, what counts as wage, and a full worked example.
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Guides
Plain-language guides
How the rules behind our tools actually work: pay and holidays, resumes, PDFs, printing, grades, home projects and dates. Every guide names its sources and links to a free tool that does the sum for you.
Work and pay
Hours, overtime, holiday and end-of-service pay, explained from the rules.
Full retirement age explained
Why US full retirement age moved from 65 to 67, how the regulation's birth-date bands and the January 1 rule work, how the early and late percentages are built, why survivors differ, and the UK timetable.
How to calculate hours worked
Clock-out minus clock-in, less unpaid meal breaks, with the right handling for overnight shifts and decimal hours, following US Department of Labor guidance.
How to convert minutes to decimal hours
Decimal hours are minutes divided by 60, added to the whole hours. Learn the values that come out exact, the ones that repeat, how to round without short-changing anyone, and what 29 CFR 785.48 says about clock rounding.
Military time explained
Military time numbers the hours of the day from 00 to 23, so there is no AM or PM. For afternoon times add 12; for times from 1300 take 12 away. Midnight is 0000 at the start of a day and can be 2400 at the end.
UK holiday entitlement explained
The 5.6-week statutory minimum, how it scales for part-time staff and new starters, and the 12.07% accrual for irregular-hours workers from April 2024.
UK statutory redundancy pay explained
Who qualifies, how many weeks' pay each year earns by age, the 20-year limit and the weekly pay caps that apply from 6 April 2026, with worked examples.
US overtime pay explained
Time and a half over 40 hours a workweek, exempt versus non-exempt, the regular rate, and when a state such as California pays more.
Resumes and job search
Resumes, CVs and cover letters that people and hiring software can read.
How to write a cover letter
One page, three or four short paragraphs, addressed to a person, written fresh for each job. Here is what goes in each paragraph and the mistakes to avoid.
How to write an ATS-friendly resume
One column, plain section headings, contact details in the body, and the job ad's own words. Here is why each rule exists, taken from the ATS makers' own help pages.
Resume vs CV: what changes by country and job
A US resume is short and leaves out personal details. A UK CV is usually two pages. An academic CV can run as long as your record. Gulf and Indian employers often ask for more, so follow their form.
PDFs and documents
Shrinking, protecting and redacting files safely.
How to make a signature background transparent
Sign on plain white paper, photograph it in even light, separate the dark ink from the light paper, and save as PNG, the format that can store see-through pixels. JPEG cannot.
How to redact a PDF properly
A black rectangle hides text from the eye, not from copy and paste. Proper redaction removes the words from the file and cleans out the metadata. Here is how to do it and check it.
How to reduce a PDF's file size
Most of a big PDF is pictures. Shrink the pictures to the size they are actually shown at and the file drops sharply. Here is the arithmetic, the limits you are aiming for, and what not to do.
How to resize a photo for an online application
Crop to the right shape, scale to the right pixel size, then adjust JPEG quality to land inside the file size limit. Worked through with US and UK rules.
PDF passwords explained
An open password encrypts the file so nobody can read it without the password. A permissions password only asks software to block printing or copying, and not all software obeys. Here is how each works.
Printing and calendars
Paper sizes, true-to-size printing and how calendars count weeks.
A4 vs US Letter paper: sizes, history and printing
The exact sizes of A4 and US Letter, the math behind ISO 216, who uses which, and how to print a page made for one size on the other.
The Hijri calendar and Umm al-Qura, explained
Lunar months of 29 or 30 days, the 354-day year, how the Umm al-Qura calendar is calculated, and why moon sighting can move a date by a day.
How to print at actual size, and check it with a ruler
Fit to page versus actual size, where the scale setting lives on Windows, Mac and printer drivers, why margins matter, and a two-minute ruler check.
ISO week numbers explained
The ISO 8601 rules for week numbers, why early January can be in last year's week, which years have 53 weeks, and the Sunday-start systems used in the US.
School and grades
GPA, weighted grades and the maths behind them.
How GPA is calculated
Grade points times credits, added up and divided by credits. Plus weighted vs unweighted GPA, the A+ question and cumulative GPA.
How weighted grades work
Multiply each category average by its weight, add, and divide by the weights used. Then solve for the final exam score you need.
Everyday sums
Tips, splitting bills and other quick sums, done right.
How to calculate a tip
Turn the tip percentage into a decimal and multiply it by the pre-tax bill. Mental shortcuts for any percentage, fair ways to share a tip, and sourced US and UK customs.
Home projects
Measuring and estimating materials before you buy.
How much mulch or gravel do I need?
Area times depth gives volume. Divide cubic feet by 27 for cubic yards, then use published unit weights to turn gravel yards into tons.
How much paint do I need?
Wall area minus doors and windows, times the number of coats, divided by the maker's coverage figure. Plus primer, ceilings and rough surfaces.
How to calculate cubic yards
Multiply length, width and depth in feet, then divide by 27. The depth-in-inches shortcut, round holes, metric conversions and the mistakes that make orders come up short.
How to calculate square footage
Length times width for rectangles, split or subtract for L-shapes, half base times height for triangles, pi r squared for circles, and the exact NIST factors for square inches, yards and meters.
How to find roof pitch
Pitch is inches of rise per 12 inches of level run. How to measure it without walking on the roof, convert it to degrees and percent, and use the multiplier for roof area and rafters.
How to measure a room for flooring
Break the room into simple shapes, add up the area, add a waste allowance that suits the layout, then divide by box coverage and round up.
Dates and age
Counting ages, days and working days without mistakes.
Corrected age for premature babies
Why care teams measure a premature baby's development from the due date, how the subtraction works with a real example, what the CDC and NHS teams say, and the mix-ups parents run into.
Dog years explained
Dogs age fast at first and slower later, so a single multiplier fails. The 15, 9 and then about 5 rule, the AVMA chart, size differences, and the epigenetic clock formula from Cell Systems.
Generation years explained
Who draws the generation lines, why only the Baby Boom has natural edges, how Pew chose 1996 as the last Millennial year, where Gen Alpha comes from, and how to use the labels without misleading.
How business days are counted
Working days explained: weekends that differ by country, holidays that move when they fall on a weekend, and the inclusive versus exclusive counting that trips people up.
How to calculate age from a date of birth
The years, months and days method step by step, how to borrow days across month ends, what the law says about leap-day birthdays, and why dividing by 365 goes wrong.