Holiday Entitlement Calculator

Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, all UK workers are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks' paid annual leave per year. For full-time workers (5 days/week), this equals 28 days. Employers may include the 8 bank holidays within this entitlement.

Part-time workers receive a pro-rata entitlement. For example, someone working 3 days per week is entitled to 3 × 5.6 = 16.8 days per year. Workers with irregular hours or on zero-hours contracts accrue holiday at 12.07% of hours worked.

This calculator handles full-time, part-time, and irregular hours workers. For mid-year starters, it pro-rates the entitlement based on the portion of the leave year remaining.

Statutory minimum: 5.6 weeks (28 days). UK Working Time Regulations 1998 entitle workers to 5.6 weeks paid holiday per year — equivalent to 28 days for a full-time 5-day-per-week employee. Employers can include bank holidays (8 in England/Wales) within this 28 days, or give them on top. Part-time workers get pro-rata entitlement: 4 days/week × 5.6 = 22.4 days. Statutory entitlement cannot be replaced with cash except on termination of employment.

How holiday accrues during the year. Most employers use a holiday year (e.g. 1 Jan - 31 Dec or 1 Apr - 31 Mar) and you accrue 1/12 of your annual entitlement each month. New starters can take holiday from day 1 but pay-in-advance is uncommon. Bank holiday falling on a non-working day still counts toward your accrual. Sickness during holiday: you can request to convert holiday to sick leave and reclaim the days (subject to evidence).

Carry-over rules — what you can and can't keep. Statutory minimum 4 weeks (the EU-derived portion) CAN'T be carried over to next year unless prevented from taking by sickness or maternity. The extra 1.6 weeks UK 'top-up' CAN be carried over by mutual agreement. Many employers contractually allow 5-10 days carry-over. EU-derived holiday lost without being taken is lost — no payment. Exception: long-term sickness — accrued holiday is paid out 18+ months later under the Stringer ruling.

Holiday pay — what's the correct rate? Holiday pay must reflect 'normal pay' including regular overtime, commission, and contractual bonuses (Bear Scotland 2014, Lock 2016, Williams 2017). The reference period is 52 weeks of pay (changed from 12 in April 2020). For zero-hours workers, holiday pay = 12.07% of pay earned (the EAT formula equivalent of 28/365 × 100). Failing to include overtime/commission in holiday pay is a common breach — claims can be backdated 2 years.