🌴 Holiday Entitlement Calculator
Your Holiday Entitlement
UK Holiday Entitlement Explained
In the United Kingdom, almost all workers are legally entitled to paid annual leave. The statutory minimum is 5.6 weeks per year, which for a full-time worker (5 days per week) equates to 28 days. This is one of the most fundamental employment rights in the UK and is enshrined in the Working Time Regulations 1998.
Your employer can choose whether to include the 8 UK bank holidays within the 28-day statutory entitlement, or offer them as additional days on top. Many employers give 20 days of holiday plus 8 bank holidays, totalling 28 days — which meets the statutory minimum exactly. More generous employers offer additional days (typically 25 days plus bank holidays).
How Is Holiday Calculated for Part-Time Workers?
Part-time workers receive holiday on a pro-rata basis. The formula is straightforward:
| Days Per Week | Holiday Entitlement (Days) | Holiday Entitlement (Hours at 8hr day) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 (full-time) | 28 | 224 |
| 4 | 22.4 | 179.2 |
| 3 | 16.8 | 134.4 |
| 2 | 11.2 | 89.6 |
| 1 | 5.6 | 44.8 |
Pro-Rata for Mid-Year Starters
If you start a job part-way through the holiday year, your entitlement is calculated pro-rata based on the remaining months. For example, if you start on 1 July and the holiday year runs January to December, you would receive 6/12 (half) of the full-year entitlement for that first year.
Employers typically either calculate this to the nearest day or to the nearest half day. Our calculator works on the exact proportion to give you a precise figure.
Bank Holidays in the UK
England and Wales have 8 bank holidays per year:
- New Year's Day (1 January)
- Good Friday
- Easter Monday
- Early May Bank Holiday (first Monday in May)
- Spring Bank Holiday (last Monday in May)
- Summer Bank Holiday (last Monday in August)
- Christmas Day (25 December)
- Boxing Day (26 December)
Scotland has 9 bank holidays (adding 2 January and St Andrew's Day, but without Easter Monday). Northern Ireland has 10 (adding St Patrick's Day and the Twelfth of July).
Rolled-Up Holiday Pay
Rolled-up holiday pay is a method where an employer adds a holiday pay supplement (typically 12.07%) to your hourly rate instead of paying you separately when you take time off. This approach was previously considered unlawful by the courts, but from 1 January 2024, the government made it legal for irregular hours workers and part-year workers.
The 12.07% figure comes from: 5.6 weeks holiday / (52 weeks - 5.6 weeks) = 12.07%. So if your base rate is £12/hr, with rolled-up holiday pay you would receive £13.45/hr (£12 + 12.07%).
Can I Carry Over Unused Holiday?
Under normal circumstances, you can carry over up to 8 days (1.6 weeks) of unused statutory holiday into the next year. The remaining 20 days (4 weeks, derived from the EU Working Time Directive) must be taken in the year they accrue. However, your employer may have a more generous carry-over policy — check your contract.
Special rules apply if you were unable to take holiday due to sickness. In that case, untaken statutory holiday can be carried over for up to 18 months from the end of the leave year in which it accrued.
Holiday Pay on Leaving a Job
When you leave a job, you are entitled to be paid for any accrued but untaken holiday. If you have taken more holiday than you have accrued, your employer can deduct the overpayment from your final pay (but only if your contract allows this).
Frequently Asked Questions
Full-time workers get a minimum of 5.6 weeks (28 days) of paid annual leave, which can include bank holidays. Part-time workers receive a pro-rata amount.
They can. Employers may include the 8 bank holidays within your 28-day statutory entitlement, or offer them as additional days. Check your contract.
Multiply your days per week by 5.6. For example, 3 days/week = 16.8 days holiday per year.
A 12.07% supplement added to your hourly rate instead of separate holiday pay. Now legal for irregular hours and part-year workers since January 2024.