How it works
The legal starting point: 5.6 weeks a year
This holiday pay UK calculator works out your statutory entitlement for any contract shape — full-time, part-time, zero-hours or term-time-only — using the 12.07% accrual rule and the 52-week averaging the 2024 amendments now require. Cross-check the number against the PAYE salary calculator, the income tax calculator and the national insurance calculator when you want to know what the holiday slot actually pays after deductions.
Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, every "worker" in the UK is entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid leave per holiday year. That's higher than the EU minimum of 4 weeks because the UK counted its 8 bank holidays separately and then rolled them in.
A worker on a standard 5-day week gets 28 days (5 × 5.6) — employers often structure this as 20 days plus 8 bank holidays, which is technically legal but means you get nothing extra when a bank holiday falls on your usual day off. Many employers go above the minimum.
How part-time entitlement is calculated
Part-time workers receive the same 5.6 weeks pro-rated to their working pattern. The easiest method is:
| Usual working days | Annual statutory entitlement |
|---|---|
| 5 days | 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 part-year workers: the 12.07% rule
From 1 April 2024, the law changed for workers with irregular hours (casual, zero-hours) and part-year workers (term-time only, seasonal). Their holiday now accrues at 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period.
Where does 12.07% come from? It's 5.6 / (52 − 5.6) = 5.6 / 46.4. For every 46.4 "working" weeks, you earn 5.6 holiday weeks.
Worked example: 160 hours in a month
Accrued holiday = 160 × 12.07% = 19.3 hours (just under 2.5 days at 8 hrs each).
Hourly pay rate × 19.3 = the holiday pay portion for the month.
Rolled-up holiday pay
Since April 2024, employers of irregular-hours workers may legally use rolled-up holiday pay — adding 12.07% to the hourly rate rather than paying during leave. It must be shown as a separate line on the payslip.
What counts as pay for a holiday day
Following the Bear Scotland and Lock judgments, holiday pay must reflect what you normally earn — not just basic pay. That includes:
The reference period for calculating an average "week's pay" is the previous 52 paid weeks (extending backwards up to 104 weeks if needed to find 52 with pay).
- Non-guaranteed overtime that's regular in practice, even if not contractual.
- Commission that's intrinsic to the role.
- Shift premiums, anti-social hours allowances, stand-by payments.
- Results-based bonuses that the worker would have earned.
Bank holidays: not automatic
Bank holidays are not a legal entitlement on top of the 5.6 weeks — they can be included within it. Your contract decides whether a bank holiday is an extra day off, a day you take from your allowance, or a normal working day. Retail, hospitality and hospitals routinely work bank holidays.
England and Wales have 8 standard bank holidays; Scotland has 9 and Northern Ireland 10.
Carry-over and leaving a job
- Statutory 5.6 weeks — the first 4 weeks (EU-derived) can only be carried over in limited circumstances (sickness, maternity). The remaining 1.6 weeks can be carried over by agreement.
- Contractual holiday above the minimum — carry-over rules are whatever your contract says.
- Leaving a job — you get paid for any accrued-but-untaken holiday on your final payslip. If you took more than accrued, the employer can deduct it (with a clear contract term).
Worked examples across common employment situations
Holiday pay looks simple on paper, but real contracts and varying hours produce surprises. Five examples show how the rules land in practice.
Salaried 9-to-5 office worker on £35,000
A standard 5-day-a-week employee earns a weekly wage of £673. Each day of holiday is worth £134.60. Taking all 28 days of statutory leave is effectively four weeks of salary continuing to accumulate normally, with no top-up needed because pay is constant.
Retail worker on shifts with variable commission
Jada works 35 hours per week at £12.50/hour (£437.50 base) plus commission averaging £62 per week. Her holiday pay must reflect the average weekly earnings over the last 52 paid weeks — so a week off pays £499.50, not just base. Over the year, this can add £1,000–£2,000 to what she'd receive if only base pay was used.
Zero-hours carer working 22 hours one week, 40 the next
The employer applies the 12.07 % rule. In a week with 40 hours at £13/hour (£520), holiday pay accrued is 40 × 12.07 % = 4.83 hours × £13 = £62.77, paid as rolled-up on the same payslip as a separate line.
Term-time-only teaching assistant
The assistant works 39 weeks a year plus training days (say, 40.5 paid weeks). Under the 12.07 % rule post April 2024, she accrues 12.07 % of her hours each week and her salary is spread across 12 months. Employers often publish a reconciled annual salary that includes the holiday-pay portion automatically.
Contractor via agency on a 6-month assignment
If the contractor is an umbrella-employed worker, the umbrella is the employer and accrues holiday at 12.07 % of hours. Many umbrellas roll it up. The "headline rate" quoted by the agency is often the gross including holiday pay — always confirm the split before signing.
Statutory Sick Pay, maternity and holiday interaction
Holiday accrual keeps running during most absences from work. Three situations come up repeatedly.
Long-term sickness
A worker who is off sick for months still accrues 5.6 weeks of statutory holiday. If they cannot take it because of illness, the first 4 weeks can be carried over for up to 18 months after the holiday year ends. Many tribunals have upheld this right following Stringer v HMRC.
Maternity, paternity and adoption leave
Holiday continues to accrue throughout ordinary and additional maternity leave (up to 52 weeks). Statutory Maternity Pay is separate from holiday pay and doesn't count. Most parents take accrued holiday either immediately before or straight after their maternity leave to extend time off with full pay.
Taking holiday while off sick
Workers can elect to book holiday during a period of sickness — Statutory Sick Pay stops for those days, and full holiday pay kicks in. This is useful if SSP at £116.75/week would otherwise leave the worker underpaid.
Handling bank holidays fairly
The 8 bank holidays in England and Wales — New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Early May, Spring, Summer, Christmas Day and Boxing Day — create practical difficulties for rostered roles.
- Full-time office staff — usually get all 8 bank holidays as paid leave on top of 20 days of discretionary annual leave.
- Part-time workers — are entitled to a pro-rated share of bank holidays so they aren't disadvantaged if a bank holiday never falls on their working day.
- Shift and retail workers — bank holidays are often normal working days. Some contracts pay double time; many now pay the single rate with a day in lieu.
- Healthcare and emergency services — bank holidays rotate across staff so the service runs. Enhanced rates are common but not legally required.
How the 52-week reference period actually works
When calculating a "week's pay" for holiday, the rules require you to take the average of the 52 weeks immediately before the holiday is taken, counting only weeks in which the worker was paid. Unpaid weeks (maternity without top-up, unpaid sabbatical) are skipped over, going back further if needed — up to 104 weeks total.
This rewards workers whose pay has recently risen, and protects workers whose pay has recently fallen. It also means that a worker who takes a pay-cut shouldn't rush to use their old holiday balance — it will still be paid at the higher rate if the reference period mostly predates the cut.
When things go wrong: raising a grievance
Disputes over holiday pay are one of the most common topics raised with ACAS and employment tribunals. Three steps usually resolve them.
- Gather evidence — payslips, contract, employee handbook, emails showing what was agreed.
- Raise an informal complaint with a line manager or HR, referencing the specific legal basis (Working Time Regulations 1998, EU Directive 2003/88).
- If unresolved, file a formal grievance in writing and give the employer a reasonable time to respond (usually 10 working days).
- Still stuck? Contact ACAS Early Conciliation — it's free, confidential and a prerequisite for a tribunal claim.
- Employment tribunal claims for unlawful deduction of wages or holiday pay must be filed within 3 months less one day of the underpayment.
Checklist for employers and workers
A small number of steps keeps holiday pay simple and compliant.
- Write out the holiday year explicitly (calendar year, anniversary, April–March).
- Show holiday balance on every payslip or HR portal.
- Use the 12.07 % rule only for genuinely irregular or part-year workers.
- For workers with variable pay, automate the 52-week average in your payroll software.
- Rolled-up holiday pay must appear as a separate line on the payslip — don't just lump it into hourly rate.
- Settle accrued-but-untaken leave on the final payslip; cancel direct debits on benefits if you're the one leaving.
How our calculadora handles holiday pay
This calculator applies the 5.6-week rule for fixed-pattern workers and the 12.07 % formula for irregular-hours workers. It can also average a 52-week reference period if you provide weekly pay variability. Results round to the nearest penny and all inputs stay in your browser — we don't store payslips or personal data on our servers. Sources are GOV.UK, the ACAS guidance and the Working Time Regulations 1998 (as amended in April 2024).