Holiday Entitlement Calculator
Statutory holiday entitlement
28 days
Based on 5.6 weeks per year statutory minimum (Working Time Regulations 1998), capped at 28 days for full-time employees. Bank holidays count towards this entitlement.
How this is calculated
Every UK worker is entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks' paid holiday per year. The formula is: days_per_week × 5.6, capped at 28 days. Irregular-hours and part-year workers accrue at 12.07% of hours worked.
Employers can choose whether bank holidays are part of the statutory minimum or on top. Your contract should make this clear.
In-depth guidance
UK holiday entitlement rules for employers
The statutory minimum is 5.6 weeks per leave year, which is 28 days for someone working five days a week. Bank holidays can be counted within that 28 days unless the contract says otherwise. The complications come from part-time, irregular hours and mid-year starters.
The building blocks
| Working pattern | Statutory entitlement |
|---|---|
| 5 days a week | 28 days, which may include bank holidays |
| 4 days a week | 22.4 days |
| 3 days a week | 16.8 days |
| Shifts of varying length | 5.6 weeks expressed in hours, using the average working week |
| Irregular hours and part-year workers | Accrual of 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period, for leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024 |
The 28-day statutory maximum applies to full-time staff, so an employee working six days a week is still only entitled to 28 days by statute. Entitlement above the statutory floor is contractual and you can attach your own rules to it.
Starters, leavers and pro-rata
- Work out the full-year entitlement for the working pattern.
- Multiply by the proportion of the leave year the employee is employed for.
- Round part days up in the employee's favour, or apply your policy consistently if it is more generous.
- On leaving, compare leave taken against leave accrued and pay any balance in the final pay run.
- Only recover overtaken leave where the contract contains an express deduction clause.
Holiday pay: what must be included
- The four weeks derived from EU-retained law must be paid at normal remuneration, including regular overtime, commission and shift premiums.
- The additional 1.6 weeks can be paid at basic pay unless the contract says otherwise, though many employers pay everything at the higher rate for simplicity.
- Use a 52-week reference period, ignoring weeks with no pay, when averaging variable pay.
- Rolled-up holiday pay is lawful again for irregular hours and part-year workers from April 2024, at 12.07% shown separately on the payslip. It remains unlawful for other workers.
Carry-over and refusals
- Up to 8 days of the additional entitlement may be carried over by agreement.
- Leave untaken because of long-term sickness carries over for up to 18 months after the end of the leave year.
- Leave untaken because of maternity or other family leave must be allowed to carry over in full.
- You can refuse a request by giving counter-notice at least as long as the leave requested, and you can require leave to be taken by giving twice the notice.
Record keeping
Keep the leave year dates, the calculation method and the running balance for every worker. Most holiday pay disputes are won or lost on whether the employer can show the working out.
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