Holiday Entitlement Calculator

🇬🇧 Free Tool · UK Statutory Minimum
Holiday Entitlement Calculator: how much paid leave are you owed?
Work out statutory holiday for full-time, part-time, and irregular-hours workers — 5.6 weeks a year, pro-rated correctly, including the 12.07% rule for casual and zero-hours staff.

The statutory minimum: 5.6 weeks

Almost every UK worker — full-time, part-time, agency, or on a zero-hours contract — is legally entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year. For a five-day week that's the familiar 28 days, and 28 days is also the legal cap: working six days a week still yields 28, not 33.6. Employers can include the 8 bank holidays inside the 28 (most do) and can offer more contractually, but never less.

Days worked per week Statutory entitlement
5 days (full-time) 28 days
4 days 22.4 days
3 days 16.8 days
2 days 11.2 days
1 day 5.6 days

Irregular hours and the 12.07% rule

For zero-hours and irregular-hours workers, holiday now accrues at 12.07% of hours actually worked in each pay period (that's 5.6 weeks ÷ 46.4 working weeks). Work 100 hours in a month and you've earned just over 12 hours of paid leave. Since the 2024 reforms, employers of irregular-hours staff may also pay this as rolled-up holiday pay — a 12.07% uplift on each payslip — as long as it's itemised separately.

Starting or leaving mid-year

Entitlement is pro-rated: join halfway through the leave year and you get half of 5.6 weeks. On leaving, any accrued-but-untaken holiday must be paid in your final payslip; if you've taken more than you accrued, the employer can usually deduct the excess if the contract allows. Employers: getting accrual, carry-over, and holiday pay right (especially averaging the 52 weeks of pay for variable-hours staff) is one of the most common payroll errors we fix.

Frequently asked questions

Do bank holidays count towards my 28 days?

They can — there's no separate legal right to bank holidays off. Most employers include the 8 bank holidays within the 28-day statutory minimum; your contract decides.

How does holiday work on a zero-hours contract?

You accrue 12.07% of the hours you work as paid holiday, either taken as leave or (since the 2024 reforms) paid as a separately-itemised rolled-up uplift on each payslip.

Can I carry unused holiday into next year?

Only if your contract allows it, or in special cases (sickness, family leave, or where the employer prevented you taking it). Otherwise it's use-it-or-lose-it.

Is holiday pay at my normal rate?

Yes — a week's holiday pay must equal a normal week's pay, including regular overtime and commission. Variable pay is averaged over the previous 52 paid weeks.

Payroll without the headaches

FincSol Accountancy runs payroll for UK businesses — holiday accrual, pensions auto-enrolment, RTI submissions, and payslips, all handled. Dedicated personal accountant. No long-term contract.

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Based on the statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks (capped at 28 days) under the Working Time Regulations; your contract may give more. Guidance only — see gov.uk. Related: salary & tax deductions calculator · our payroll service.