UK holiday calculator: statutory annual leave in days or hours, for full time, part time and irregular hours
Work out the statutory minimum paid holiday under the Working Time Regulations: 5.6 weeks a year, capped at 28 days, pro rata for part-time and for starters part-way through the leave year, and 12.07% of hours worked for zero-hours and part-year workers.
Statutory holiday entitlement
- Days of paid holiday a year28 days
Statutory minimum under the Working Time Regulations 1998: 5.6 weeks a year, capped at 28 days; 12.07% of hours worked for irregular-hours and part-year workers in leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024. Bank holidays can be counted within it. Your contract may give more. Round up, never down.
How the calculation works
- Everyone employed in the UK is entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year, whatever their hours (Working Time Regulations 1998, regulations 13 and 13A). Bank holidays have no separate status: they can be part of the 5.6 weeks.
- Fixed days a week: 5.6 × days worked. Five days a week is 28 days; three days is 16.8 days. The entitlement is capped at 28 days, so a six-day week still gets 28.
- Fixed hours, varying days: 5.6 × hours worked a week. Twenty-four hours a week is 134.4 hours of holiday a year.
- Irregular hours and part-year workers (zero-hours, casual, term-time): for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, holiday accrues at 12.07% of the hours worked in each pay period (5.6 weeks ÷ 46.4 working weeks). Employers may use rolled-up holiday pay for these workers.
- Starting part-way through the leave year: the entitlement is the fraction of the leave year that remains. Employers may round up, never down.
- Holiday pay for variable hours is based on average pay over the previous 52 paid weeks. Untaken statutory holiday: 4 weeks must be taken in the leave year; up to 1.6 weeks can be carried over by agreement.
Holiday entitlement by days worked per week
| Days worked a week | Statutory holiday a year | Starting half-way through the year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5.6 days | 2.8 days |
| 2 | 11.2 days | 5.6 days |
| 3 | 16.8 days | 8.4 days |
| 4 | 22.4 days | 11.2 days |
| 5 | 28 days | 14 days |
| 6 | 28 days (capped) | 14 days |
Frequently asked questions
- How many holidays am I entitled to working 5 days a week?
- 28 days a year: 5.6 weeks × 5 days. That is the statutory minimum and it can include the bank holidays. Your contract may give more.
- How is holiday entitlement calculated for part-time workers?
- Pro rata: 5.6 × the number of days worked a week. Three days a week gives 16.8 days, two days a week gives 11.2 days. If the days vary but the hours are fixed, use 5.6 × weekly hours instead.
- What is the 12.07% holiday calculation?
- The accrual rate for irregular-hours and part-year workers in leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024: 5.6 weeks of holiday divided by the 46.4 weeks actually worked in a year equals 12.07% of hours worked. Someone who works 100 hours in a month accrues 12.07 hours of holiday.
- Do part-time workers get bank holidays?
- There is no statutory right to bank holidays off for anyone. Part-time workers must not be treated less favourably, so if full-time staff get bank holidays on top of their leave, part-timers get a pro rata equivalent, whether or not they normally work on those days.
- How much holiday do I get if I start part-way through the year?
- The fraction of the leave year remaining, applied to the annual entitlement. Someone on 28 days a year who starts exactly half-way through the leave year is entitled to 14 days for that year. Employers may round this up.
- How many days is 5.6 weeks?
- It depends on the working week: 28 days for a 5-day week (the maximum), 22.4 days for 4 days a week, 16.8 for 3 days, 11.2 for 2 days, 5.6 for 1 day.
What each day or hour of that leave is paid: the holiday pay calculator (normal week, 52-week average, rolled-up). Zero hours or casual staff? The 12.07% method and rolled-up holiday pay, with the numbers, are in zero hours contract holiday pay. Building the rota as well? The free rota templates add up the week, the online rota planner shares it as a link. See UK rest breaks and your schedule and what an hour of staff costs with the UK employee cost calculator. In the United States, paid leave is set by employer policy: PTO accrual calculator.
Sources: gov.uk, Holiday entitlement; gov.uk, Holiday pay; Working Time Regulations 1998. General information, not legal advice.