UK · Great Britain holiday rules
Holiday pay and entitlement calculator
| Statutory holiday a year | 28 days |
|---|---|
| In hours | 210 hours (7.5 hours a day) |
| A day's holiday pay | £100.00 |
| A week's holiday pay | £500.00 |
Statutory holiday by days worked
For a worker on regular days, statutory holiday is 5.6 times the days they work a week, up to 28 days. Bank holidays can be included in it; employers don't have to give them on top.
| Days worked a week | Statutory holiday | Hours, at 7.5 hours a day |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5.6 days | 42 hours |
| 2 | 11.2 days | 84 hours |
| 3 | 16.8 days | 126 hours |
| 4 | 22.4 days | 168 hours |
| 5 | 28 days | 210 hours |
| 6 | 28 days (capped) | 210 hours |
Source: GOV.UK Holiday entitlement, and DBT's Holiday pay and entitlement reforms from 1 January 2024 (the 28-day cap is applied in days, then multiplied by the average working day), read on 7 October 2026. Northern Ireland's rules are on nidirect and are not covered here. General information, not legal advice.
Irregular hours and part-year workers: the 12.07% rule
For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, a worker whose hours change from pay period to pay period, or who has unpaid weeks off as part of the contract, builds up holiday as they work. The entitlement is 12.07% of the hours worked in each pay period, rounded to the nearest hour.
12.07% comes from the 5.6 weeks: 52 weeks less 5.6 weeks of leave leaves 46.4 working weeks, and 12.07% of 46.4 is 5.6. Zero-hours workers usually fall under it, because their hours change from one pay period to the next.
Employers of these workers may pay rolled-up holiday pay instead of paying when the holiday is taken: 12.07% of the total pay for each pay period, shown as its own line on the payslip. Regular-hours workers can't be paid this way.
Worked examples
Both examples are from the Department for Business and Trade's guidance.
- Hana works irregular hours, paid weekly at £10.42 an hour. In one week she works 35 hours: 35 × £10.42 = £364.70. Divide by 100 and round to the penny: £3.65. Multiply by 12.07: £44.0555, rounded to £44.06 of rolled-up holiday pay. She also accrues 35 × 12.07% = 4.2245 hours, rounded to 4 hours of leave.
- Mary works 45 hours over 4 days and leaves on Thursday 25 July 2024, in a leave year that started on 1 April 2024. Her full entitlement is the lower of 28 days and 5.6 × 4 = 22.4 days. She was employed for 116 of the 365 days, so she is entitled to 22.4 × 116 ÷ 365 = 7.12 days. Her average day is 45 ÷ 4 = 11.25 hours, so that is about 80 hours.
Any of that holiday Mary hasn't taken by her last day must be paid in her final pay. That is the only time statutory leave can be paid instead of taken.
The official method, step by step
- Regular hours, full leave year: 5.6 × the days worked a week, at most 28 days. To turn days into hours, multiply by the average working day (hours a week ÷ days a week).
- Starting or leaving part way through a leave year: multiply the full entitlement by the calendar days employed in the leave year ÷ the days in the leave year. Employers may round up, but not down.
- Irregular-hours and part-year workers, leave years from 1 April 2024: 12.07% of the hours worked in each pay period, rounded to the nearest hour (half an hour or more rounds up). They can take it from the next pay period.
- Holiday pay: a week's pay for each week of leave. For regular hours with fixed pay, that is the normal week's pay. For irregular-hours and part-year workers, it is the average pay over the last 52 weeks in which they were paid, or rolled-up holiday pay at 12.07% of each period's pay.
- Keep records of holiday taken and holiday pay for at least 6 years (a GOV.UK requirement from 6 April 2026).
What this leaves out
- Contractual holiday above the statutory 5.6 weeks (your contract sets those rules)
- Working out the 52-week average from payslips: enter the total pay and the number of paid weeks instead
- Leave built up during sick leave, maternity or family leave, and carry-over between leave years
- Leave years that began on or before 31 March 2024, and the first-year one-twelfth-a-month accrual option for regular workers
- Northern Ireland, whose holiday rules are on nidirect
Sources: GOV.UK, Holiday entitlement (5.6 weeks, 28-day cap, part-time and irregular-hours entitlement, 12.07% accrual, a week's pay, rolled-up holiday pay, records); Department for Business and Trade, Holiday pay and entitlement reforms from 1 January 2024 (12.07% method, 28-day cap in hours, leavers' pro rata entitlement, rolled-up holiday pay, worked examples).
Holiday pay calculator: common questions
How much holiday is a UK worker entitled to?
5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year, capped at 28 days. A worker on a 5-day week gets 28 days; a part-time worker on 3 days a week gets 16.8 days. Bank holidays can count towards the total.
How is holiday worked out for irregular hours or zero-hours workers?
For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, they build up 12.07% of the hours they work in each pay period, rounded to the nearest hour. 30 hours worked in a week earns 4 hours of holiday.
What is rolled-up holiday pay?
An extra 12.07% of total pay added to each payslip, as its own line, instead of paying holiday when it is taken. It is allowed only for irregular-hours and part-year workers, for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024.
How is holiday pay calculated for someone with variable pay?
A week's holiday pay is their average weekly pay over the previous 52 weeks in which they were paid. Weeks with no pay are skipped, counting back up to 104 weeks. A newer worker uses the full weeks they have.
How much holiday does someone get if they leave part way through the year?
Their full entitlement × the calendar days they were employed in the leave year ÷ the days in the leave year, less holiday already taken. Untaken statutory holiday must be paid in their final pay.
Can I pay holiday instead of letting a worker take it?
Not for statutory leave, except when the worker leaves. Payment in lieu is the only time statutory leave can be paid instead of taken; contractual leave above 5.6 weeks can have its own arrangements.
Can I make a payslip from this?
Yes. “Make the payslip with this holiday pay” opens the payslip generator with the holiday pay as gross pay. Split it into basic pay and a holiday pay line there, and add the worker's tax code.
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