How much holiday do I get in the UK?

The statutory minimum. UK Working Time Regulations require 5.6 weeks paid leave per year for full-time workers — that's 28 days. Crucially, this includes the eight UK bank holidays. So a contract offering '20 days plus bank holidays' is exactly meeting the legal floor, not exceeding it.

What's standard at UK professional roles. 25 days plus bank holidays = 33 total — common at established UK companies and is meaningfully above statutory. 28 days plus bank holidays = 36 total is generous. 30 days plus bank holidays = 38 total is rare outside senior or unusually generous employers.

Pro-rata rules. Part-time workers get the same 5.6 weeks as a fraction of their working pattern. A 3-day-a-week worker gets 5.6 × 3 = 16.8 days statutory. Mid-year starters and leavers get pro-rated holiday based on the fraction of the leave year they worked.

Carry-over rules. UK employers can require 'use it or lose it' on most of your holiday — typically 4 weeks (statutory) must be taken in the year. The remaining 1.6 weeks can be carried over only if your contract permits.

What's negotiable. Holiday allowance is one of the easier benefits to negotiate at offer stage — UK employers often have flexibility within their banding. A request to move from 25 to 28 days at offer is reasonable; from 25 to 35 usually isn't. Frame it as part of total comp, not a separate ask.