Free tool
Holiday entitlement calculator (UK)
Work out statutory annual leave for full time staff, part time staff, hours based workers (the 12.07% method) and starters or leavers part way through the year. Pick the situation, type the numbers and the entitlement appears instantly with the working shown. No sign up needed for the calculator.
5 days a week × 5.6 weeks = 28 days. The statutory cap is 28 days, so the entitlement stays at 28 days.
Quick answer
UK workers get 5.6 weeks of statutory paid holiday a year. Multiply days worked per week by 5.6: a 5 day week gives 28 days (the legal cap), a 3 day week gives 16.8 days. For irregular or zero hours staff, holiday accrues at 12.07% of hours worked. Starters and leavers get a pro rata share of the leave year.
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Track a whole team in one workbook. Enter each employee's working pattern once and the tracker works out their entitlement, then keeps a running balance of leave taken and leave remaining as you log each booking. Enter your details and the Excel file downloads immediately.
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How is holiday entitlement calculated in the UK?
- The statutory rule: almost all workers get 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year, including agency staff and zero hours workers. Multiply the days worked per week by 5.6.
- The 28 day cap: statutory entitlement is capped at 28 days, so anyone working 5 or more days a week gets 28 days. A 6 day week does not earn 33.6 days.
- Bank holidays: there is no separate legal right to bank holidays. Employers can count them towards the 28 days, and most do. Check the contract.
- Contracts can give more: 5.6 weeks is the legal minimum. If the contract says 25 days plus bank holidays, that is 33 days and the contract wins.
Rules last checked: 8 October 2026. The 5.6 week rule comes from the Working Time Regulations 1998 and has not changed for 2026/27.
Part time holiday calculator: the maths
Part time workers get the same 5.6 weeks, just made of shorter weeks. Someone on 3 days a week gets 3 × 5.6 = 16.8 days. Someone on 2 days a week gets 11.2 days. Keep the decimals, do not round down: rounding 16.8 to 16 underpays leave. Most employers round up to the nearest half day because you cannot round statutory leave down.
The 12.07% method for hours based staff
For irregular hours and zero hours workers, holiday now accrues at 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period. The number comes from the maths of the statutory minimum: 5.6 weeks of leave divided by the 46.4 working weeks that remain (52 minus 5.6) is 12.07%. So someone who works 130 hours in a month accrues 130 × 12.07% = 15.69 hours of holiday. Since April 2024 employers can also pay rolled up holiday pay at 12.07% on top of hourly pay for these workers, as long as it is shown separately on the payslip.
Pro rata holiday for starters and leavers
Someone who joins or leaves part way through the leave year gets a proportion of the full year figure. This calculator uses calendar days: full year entitlement × days employed in the leave year ÷ days in the leave year. Join on 1 July with a January leave year and a 5 day week and you get 28 × 184 ÷ 365 = 14.12 days, which most employers round up to 14.5. For leavers, any accrued but untaken days must be paid in the final payslip. If a leaver has taken more than they accrued, you can only deduct the overpayment if the contract allows it.
How much holiday am I entitled to?
The statutory minimum is 5.6 weeks a year. For a 5 day week that is 28 days, for a 4 day week 22.4 days, for a 3 day week 16.8 days. Your contract may give more, and your employer can include bank holidays within the total.
How do I calculate holiday entitlement for part time workers?
Multiply the number of days worked per week by 5.6. A 2.5 day week gives 14 days. If the result is above 28 it is capped at 28, but that only happens at 5 or more days a week.
What is the 12.07% holiday calculation?
It converts hours worked into holiday accrued for irregular hours staff: hours worked × 12.07%. The figure is 5.6 weeks of leave divided by 46.4 working weeks. 100 hours worked earns 12.07 hours of paid holiday.
How do I calculate holiday for someone leaving a job?
Work out the fraction of the leave year they were employed, multiply the full year entitlement by that fraction, then subtract leave already taken. The balance must be paid with the final wages if untaken.
Do bank holidays count towards the 28 day minimum?
Yes, they can. There is no separate statutory right to bank holidays in the UK. An employer offering 20 days plus 8 bank holidays meets the 28 day minimum for a 5 day week.
Why the starter figure can differ from the GOV.UK calculator
For starters and leavers this tool pro-rates by calendar days: full year entitlement × days employed in the leave year ÷ days in the leave year. That is the method the government’s holiday guidance sets out for someone who leaves part way through a leave year, and for leavers the two tools agree. Someone on a 5 day week who leaves on 30 June gets 13.88 days here and 13.9 on GOV.UK.
For someone who starts part way through a leave year, the GOV.UK holiday entitlement calculator works differently. It gives one-twelfth of the annual entitlement for each month from the month they start, and rounds up to the nearest half day. Start on 1 July with a January leave year and a 5 day week and GOV.UK gives 6 × 28 ÷ 12 = 14 days, where this tool gives 28 × 184 ÷ 365 = 14.12 days.
When the start date is the first of a month the two figures are a fraction of a day apart. When it is later in the month the GOV.UK figure is higher, because it counts the whole of the first month: start on 15 July and GOV.UK still gives 14 days, where this tool gives 13.04. GOV.UK notes that an employer can instead work out the first month in proportion to the days worked, which is the approach used here. Statutory leave cannot be rounded down, so if you are checking a legal minimum for a new starter, use the GOV.UK figure.
Assumptions and limits
- It works out the statutory minimum only. A contract can give more, and where it does the contract applies.
- The 12.07% method is for irregular hours and part-year workers, in leave years that started on or after 1 April 2024.
- The result is in days or hours of leave. It does not work out holiday pay.
- Carry-over of unused leave, and leave that builds up during sickness or family leave, are not covered.
Sources
- Calculate holiday entitlement (GOV.UK calculator): the official calculator. Use it for the legal minimum, especially for new starters (see the note above). What this page adds is the working shown for each case and leave already taken deducted from the balance.
- Holiday entitlement (GOV.UK): 5.6 weeks a year, the 28 day cap, part time workers and bank holidays.
- Holiday pay and entitlement reforms from 1 January 2024 (Department for Business and Trade): the 12.07% accrual method and the calendar-day method for leavers.
- Checking holiday entitlement (Acas): working out entitlement, rounding and what happens when someone starts or leaves.
- The Working Time Regulations 1998 (legislation.gov.uk): the regulations the entitlement comes from.
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