UK · 2026

UK Holiday Entitlement Calculator

Work out how many days of paid leave you’re entitled to this year. Handles part-time hours, part-year start dates, and contractual entitlements above the statutory minimum.

5 for a typical Mon–Fri job. Use 2.5 for a half-time 5-day pattern, or your own number for shift work.

Default is the UK statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks. Many contracts give more — check your offer letter or staff handbook.

Enter 12 for a full year. Reduce if you started partway through to see your accrued balance.

Your annual entitlement

28 days

Based on 5 working days a week at 5.6 weeks per year.

This calculator gives the statutory baseline. Bank holidays may be included or excluded depending on your contract; check the holiday section of your contract or staff handbook.

How UK holiday entitlement works

UK employees and most workers get a minimum of 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave per year. For someone working a five-day week, that comes out to 28 days, which is the statutory cap. Working more than five days a week doesn’t increase your statutory entitlement further; six- and seven-day-a-week staff still max out at 28 days under the statutory rule.

Many UK employers offer more than the statutory minimum, often 25 or more days plus bank holidays. The contract is the source of truth on what applies to you. The statutory minimum is just the floor.

Are bank holidays included or separate?

Both are legal. Your employer can include the 8 UK bank holidays within the 5.6 weeks (in which case someone on the statutory minimum gets 28 days total, including the bank holidays) or count them separately on top (in which case you’d get 28 days plus bank holidays, totalling 36 days for a typical Monday-Friday worker).

Read the holiday section of your contract or staff handbook to find out which one applies to you. If you’re unsure, ask HR.

Part-time staff

Part-time workers get the same 5.6 weeks of leave as full-time workers, pro-rated to their working days. Someone working three days a week gets 5.6 × 3 = 16.8 days. The maths works the same way whatever your weekly pattern.

Starting mid-year

If you start a new job partway through the leave year, you accrue holiday proportionally. By default, holiday accrues at 1/12th of your annual allowance per month worked. The calculator above includes a months-worked input if you want to see your accrued balance at a specific point.

Holiday during your notice period

You continue to accrue holiday during your notice. You can usually take it during notice (with your employer’s agreement), and your employer can require you to take it before you leave. Anything you don’t take gets paid out in your final pay packet at your normal rate.

See the complete UK resignation guide for how holiday interacts with your final pay.

Variable-hours and zero-hours workers

If your hours vary week to week, your entitlement is calculated differently. From April 2024, the standard method is 12.07% of the hours you’ve actually worked. So if you work 100 hours in a month, you accrue roughly 12 hours of paid leave for that month. The calculator above assumes a regular weekly pattern, so it won’t fit zero-hours work cleanly.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the statutory minimum holiday in the UK?
5.6 weeks of paid leave per leave year, capped at 28 days for someone working five or more days a week. Bank holidays can be included within or counted on top of the 5.6 weeks — your contract decides.
Do part-time workers get the same holiday?
Yes — the same 5.6 weeks, pro-rated to your working days. Three days a week gives 5.6 × 3 = 16.8 days.
What happens to unused holiday when I leave?
Statutory holiday accrued but not taken is paid out in your final pay packet at your normal rate. See what happens to unused holiday pay for the full rules.
Can my employer make me take holiday during notice?
Yes. Your employer can require you to take accrued holiday during your notice period — twice as much notice as the holiday taken. See this FAQ for the detail.

Related guides

Related calculators

Employment law resources

This calculator gives the statutory baseline. Your contract may give you more (sometimes much more). It cannot, by law, give you less than the 5.6 weeks statutory minimum. For contested or unusual situations, contact ACAS or an employment-law solicitor.