Holiday entitlement calculator
Most workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year, capped at 28 days, under gov.uk's holiday entitlement rules. Enter the days or hours worked each week, or the hours worked in a pay period for an irregular-hours worker, to see the statutory minimum, pro rata for someone starting or leaving part-way through the leave year.
How is holiday entitlement calculated?
Almost all workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year. For a regular pattern, the entitlement is the days worked each week multiplied by 5.6: 5 days gives 28 days and 3 days gives 16.8, gov.uk's own example. Statutory paid holiday is limited to 28 days, so a 6-day pattern (5.6 × 6 = 33.6) still receives 28. On the hours basis the same 5.6 multiplies the weekly hours, and the limit is applied at 28 working days of the length entered. A part-time worker therefore gets fewer days than a full-time colleague but the same number of weeks.
Someone starting part way through a leave year is only entitled to part of the annual figure, which gov.uk says depends on how much of the year is left. This calculator, like gov.uk's, takes the share of the leave year from the start date (or up to the leaving date) and applies it to the full-year figure, shown to two decimals. gov.uk's worked example rounds up to the nearest half day; the figure is a legal minimum, so it can be rounded up but not down. Irregular-hours and part-year workers, for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, accrue 12.07% of the hours worked in each pay period, rounded up to the nearest hour where the fraction is 0.5 or more. The rate is 5.6 weeks divided by the 46.4 working weeks that remain once holiday is excluded, so over a year it produces the same 5.6 weeks.
| 5 days a week | 5.6 × 5 = 28 days, the full-time figure |
|---|---|
| 3 days a week | 5.6 × 3 = 16.8 days, the same 5.6 weeks |
| 6 days a week | 5.6 × 6 = 33.6, limited to 28 days |
| Irregular hours | 12.07% of the hours worked in the pay period, rounded to whole hours |
What would I get in a worked example?
A worker on 5 days a week has 5.6 × 5 = 28 days, or 5.6 weeks, and the limit is not reached. A colleague on 20 hours over 4 days has 5.6 × 20 = 112 hours, which is 22.4 days of 5 hours. The limit would only apply above 140 hours. If the first worker joined on 2 July 2024 with a leave year running from 1 January, 183 of the 366 days remain, so the estimated entitlement for that year is 14 days. An irregular-hours worker paid for 100 hours in the period accrues 12.07 hours, rounded to 12 hours under gov.uk's 12.07% accrual method.
How should I read the result?
- Statutory minimum only. A contract can give more leave, and gov.uk notes that the extra leave does not have to follow the statutory rules, so read the contract alongside this figure.
- The 28-day limit. Statutory paid holiday stops at 28 days however many days a week are worked, and the hours basis applies the same limit at 28 working days.
- Rounding. Pro rata figures are shown to two decimals. An employer may round up but not down, and irregular-hours accrual is rounded to whole hours as gov.uk describes.
- Bank holidays. They are not an extra right. An employer can include them within the 5.6 weeks, so the count shown is information about how the entitlement is used, not an addition to it.
- Leave year method. The pro rata share uses calendar days of the leave year. gov.uk also describes an accrual approach for the first year, one twelfth of the leave each month, which can give a slightly different figure.
Common questions
How much holiday am I entitled to working 3 days a week?
16.8 days a year. gov.uk gives this example directly: a worker on 3 days a week must get at least 16.8 days' leave (3 × 5.6). That is the same 5.6 weeks a full-time worker receives, expressed in the days actually worked. An employer may round the figure up to 17 days but cannot round it down, and a contract can offer more.
How is holiday calculated for part-time workers?
Part-time workers who work regular hours for the whole year are entitled to at least 5.6 weeks' paid holiday, which comes to fewer than 28 days. Multiply the days worked each week by 5.6: 2.5 days gives 14 days, 4 days gives 22.4 days. Where hours vary by day, multiply the weekly hours by 5.6 instead, so 20 hours a week gives 112 hours of paid leave a year.
Do bank holidays count towards the 28 days?
They can. gov.uk states that bank or public holidays do not have to be given as paid leave, and that an employer can choose to include them as part of a worker's statutory annual leave. A full-time worker whose 28 days include the bank holidays (typically 8 in England and Wales) has 20 days left to book. Whether they are included is set by the contract, so check it before counting them as extra.
How is holiday worked out for zero-hours or irregular-hours workers?
For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, workers whose hours in a pay period often or always change (which usually covers zero-hours contracts) accrue leave at 12.07% of the hours worked in each pay period. gov.uk's example: 30 hours in a week earns 4 hours of leave (30 × 12.07 ÷ 100 = 3.621), because the figure is rounded up to the nearest hour where the fraction is 0.5 or more. 100 hours earns 12.07 hours, or 12 hours rounded. The leave can be taken from the next pay period, and the total is still capped at 5.6 weeks.
Can holiday be carried over to the next year?
Only in limited cases. The contract sets how many days can be carried over; gov.uk says a worker with 28 days' leave can carry over a maximum of 8 days. Untaken leave can be carried over where the worker was on family-related leave such as parental leave, and where the worker was off sick, up to 20 of the 28 days for regular-hours workers or up to 28 days for irregular-hours and part-year workers. The whole entitlement carries over if the employer did not give a reasonable opportunity to take it, did not warn that it would be lost, or failed to pay rolled-up holiday pay that was due.
What happens to unused holiday when I leave a job?
It is paid instead. gov.uk states that the only time a worker can receive payment in place of taking statutory leave (payment in lieu) is on leaving, and that employers must pay for untaken statutory leave even where the worker is dismissed for gross misconduct. The amount depends on how much of the leave year has passed, which is the pro rata figure this calculator shows for a leaver. If more leave was taken than had built up, the employer cannot deduct the excess from final pay unless that was agreed in writing beforehand.
How is holiday entitlement calculated?
For a regular working pattern, gov.uk multiplies the days or hours worked each week by 5.6, the statutory number of weeks' paid leave. The result is capped at 28 days, or the hours equivalent, however many days a week are worked. Someone starting or leaving part way through the leave year gets a pro rata share of the annual figure, and irregular-hours workers accrue leave as a percentage of hours worked in each pay period instead.
What would I get in a worked example?
A full-time worker on 5 days a week gets 5.6 × 5, the 28-day statutory maximum on gov.uk. A part-time or hours-based pattern is scaled the same way, and someone starting mid-year receives only the share of the leave year that remains, rounded in the worker's favour. An irregular-hours worker instead accrues a set percentage of hours worked in each pay period.
How should I read the result?
The figure shown is the statutory legal minimum described on gov.uk, not a contractual entitlement, so a contract can offer more but not less. Pro rata figures are estimates rounded to two decimals, and an employer may round up but never down. Bank holidays are not an addition on top of the statutory weeks unless the contract says so; they can be counted within the entitlement instead.
Sources & Rate Verification
Rates verified against official statutory guidance on 6 September 2026.