Free tool · UK 2026 statutory leave
UK Holiday Entitlement Calculator
What annual leave are you actually entitled to under UK law? 5.6 weeks pro-rated by your working pattern, with mid-year starter calculations and the bank-holiday treatment your contract uses.
How UK statutory holiday actually works
Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, almost every UK worker is entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave per year, capped at 28 days. A full-time worker on a 5-day week therefore gets exactly 5 × 5.6 = 28 days. A part-time worker on a 3-day week gets 3 × 5.6 = 16.8 days. The calculation is mechanical — the 5.6 weeks figure is fixed in law since 2009 and applies regardless of role, sector, or seniority. The only variation is whether your employer counts the 8 UK bank holidays as part of those 28 days or gives them on top.
Bank holidays — inclusive vs exclusive
UK contracts split roughly 70/30 between "inclusive" and "exclusive" treatment. Inclusive means your 28 days statutory minimum already includes the 8 bank holidays — your usable booking days are 28 − 8 = 20. Exclusive (sometimes called "plus bank holidays") means you get 28 days plus the 8 bank holidays = 36 total days. Same statutory floor, different presentation. The exclusive version is more generous and more common in financial services, professional services, and government. Inclusive is more common in retail, hospitality, and tech start-ups. Always check your contract — the difference is 8 days a year.
The most common UK holiday calculation mistakes
Forgetting the 28-day cap. The 5.6 weeks formula caps at 28 days for a full-time worker. Someone working 6 days per week doesn't get 33.6 days statutory — they get 28. The cap is on the statutory minimum, not contractual entitlement. Six-day workers often have contractual entitlement higher than 28 days, but anything above 28 is contractual not statutory.
Confusing days with hours for variable-pattern workers. If you work different hours each day (3 hours Monday, 8 hours Tuesday), days-based calculation distorts. Use hours: 5.6 × weekly hours = annual hours entitlement. Booking time off then deducts the actual hours of the day booked. Most UK payroll systems handle this automatically; if yours doesn't, request a switch — it's the gov.uk-recommended method for variable patterns.
Ignoring the 12.07% rule for irregular workers. Since April 2024, irregular-hours and part-year workers accrue holiday at 12.07% of hours worked. If you do 100 hours one month, you've accrued 12.07 hours of paid holiday for that month. Some employers pay this as rolled-up holiday pay (a uplift on each pay packet); others accrue it for time-off. Either is legal — but you must be paid for the holiday somehow. If you're zero-hours and don't see a holiday pay line on your payslip, your employer is likely doing it wrong.
Mid-year starter rounding. The standard UK approach is months-remaining-in-leave-year × annual entitlement ÷ 12. A full-time 28-day worker starting in April of a Jan–Dec leave year has 9 months left, so accrues 9/12 × 28 = 21 days. Most companies round up to the nearest half day in the employee's favour. Some companies use weekly accrual (28 ÷ 52 = 0.538 days per week) which is more precise but produces 0.X-day fractions that need rounding anyway. Either method is legal as long as the worker isn't shortchanged.
What about leave year and carryover?
Your leave year is set by your contract. The two common patterns are calendar year (Jan–Dec) for office-based businesses and April–March for sectors aligned to the tax year (financial services, public sector, education). Some companies use the employee's start date anniversary, which is administratively complex and increasingly rare.
Carryover into the next leave year is not a statutory right for the 5.6-week minimum — your employer can require you to use it within the year. Contractual leave above 5.6 weeks can have any carryover rules the contract specifies; many companies cap at 5 days carryover with manager approval. Statutory exceptions exist for long-term sickness (you can carry up to 4 weeks for up to 18 months) and statutory parental leave (you don't lose accrued leave during it). If you're approaching year-end with unused leave, book it — losing accrued leave is one of the most common UK employment frustrations and is almost always avoidable.
How to ask for time off the right way
Your contract specifies the notice required to book leave — most UK contracts require notice equal to at least twice the length of the holiday (so 2 days notice for 1 day off, 2 weeks notice for 1 week off). Employers can refuse leave requests if the timing is unworkable, but they have to give you the same amount of notice as the holiday length when they refuse. They can also require you to take leave at specific times (Christmas shutdowns are common), provided they give twice the notice of the leave period.
For longer leave (2+ weeks), submit the request 6+ weeks in advance — this gives the manager time to plan cover and increases approval probability. Block-booking leave at year-end as a "use or lose it" rush is the most common reason for refusals; spreading leave through the year produces better outcomes for everyone.
If you're owed holiday pay when leaving
When you leave a UK employer, accrued-but-untaken statutory holiday must be paid in lieu in your final salary. The calculation: (annual entitlement × proportion of leave year worked) − days already taken = days owed. For a full-time worker leaving in September of a Jan–Dec leave year having taken 12 days: 28 × (9 ÷ 12) = 21 accrued, − 12 taken = 9 days owed. The 9 days are paid at your normal day rate.
Conversely, if you've taken more leave than accrued by your leave date, the employer can usually deduct the overage from your final pay if the contract permits it. Check your final payslip carefully — holiday pay errors on leaving are one of the top three UK payroll disputes. Pair this calculator with the UK take-home pay calculator to verify your final pay is correct.
Why I built this
Holiday entitlement is one of the most-asked questions I see from candidates between roles or starting new ones. The gov.uk holiday calculator works but assumes you understand the inputs; this version walks you through the cases that actually come up — part-time, irregular hours, mid-year starters, leavers, and the bank holiday inclusive-vs-exclusive question. The output is in days, hours, and weeks because different employers track leave in different units. If your employer's number doesn't match what this calculator produces, you have a defensible reference point to start the conversation.
Common questions
- What is the UK statutory holiday entitlement in 2026?
- The UK statutory minimum is 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave per year, capped at 28 days. For a full-time worker on a 5-day week that's exactly 28 days. The 5.6 weeks figure can include the 8 UK bank holidays — employers can either count bank holidays as part of the 28 days (most common) or give them on top of 28 days (more generous). Your contract will state which applies. Anything below 5.6 weeks is unlawful for an employee with regular hours; the only exception is genuinely casual workers with no defined working pattern, who accrue at 12.07% of hours worked.
- How do I calculate holiday entitlement for part-time staff?
- Part-time entitlement is calculated pro-rata. Multiply your weekly working days by 5.6 to get annual days. A 4-day week worker gets 4 × 5.6 = 22.4 days (round up to 23 in practice, or apply in hours). A 3-day week worker gets 3 × 5.6 = 16.8 days (round up to 17). Hours-based workers should multiply weekly hours by 5.6: someone on 20 hours gets 20 × 5.6 = 112 hours per year. The 28-day cap applies only to full-time equivalents — part-time staff working very long days don't hit the cap until their pro-rata equivalent exceeds 28 days.
- Does my employer have to give me bank holidays off?
- No. UK law gives you 5.6 weeks of leave but does not specify when it must be taken. Employers can require you to work bank holidays (common in retail, hospitality, healthcare) and give the days back as alternative leave. Equally, employers can require you to take bank holidays as part of your 5.6 weeks (common in offices). The total entitlement is what matters, not the timing. If your contract says '20 days plus bank holidays' that's 28 days total — the same as '28 days inclusive of bank holidays' in entitlement terms, but with different flexibility on timing.
- How do I work out holiday for someone starting mid-year?
- Pro-rate by months remaining in the leave year. If your leave year runs January to December and you start in April, you have 9 months left (April–December) so you accrue 9/12 × full annual entitlement. For a full-time 28-day worker that's 21 days for the first part-year. Most UK payroll teams round up to the nearest half day. Some employers calculate weekly accrual instead (28 ÷ 52 = 0.538 days per week) which is more precise but produces awkward numbers. The calculator above uses the standard 'months remaining' method that almost all UK employment contracts use.
- What happens to unused holiday when I leave a job?
- When you leave a UK job, your employer must pay you for any accrued but unused statutory holiday — this is called holiday pay in lieu and is calculated up to your last day of employment. Any contractual holiday above the statutory minimum may or may not be paid out depending on your contract — check the wording. Conversely, if you've taken more holiday than you've accrued by your leave date, the employer can deduct the overage from your final pay if your contract permits it. Always check your final payslip carefully — holiday pay errors on leaving are one of the most common UK payroll disputes.
- Are zero-hours and irregular hours workers entitled to holiday?
- Yes. Since April 2024 the UK uses the 12.07% rolled-up holiday pay method for irregular hours and part-year workers. You accrue holiday at 12.07% of the hours you actually work (12.07% being 5.6 weeks ÷ 46.4 working weeks). This can be paid as part of each pay packet (rolled-up holiday pay) or accrued and taken as time off. Irregular hours workers should check their payslip for a separate holiday pay line — if you don't see one, your employer may be paying it incorrectly. The calculator above handles this calculation if you enter average hours per week.
- Can my employer cap my holiday carryover into the next year?
- Generally yes, but with limits. Employers can require you to take your full statutory 5.6 weeks within the leave year — they can refuse to let you carry forward statutory leave except in specific circumstances (long-term sickness, statutory parental leave). Contractual leave above 5.6 weeks can be subject to whatever carry-forward rules your contract specifies; many companies cap it at 5 days or require manager approval for any carryover. The risk for employees is forfeiting earned leave: if you don't book it before year-end and it doesn't carry over, you lose it.