UK Holiday Entitlement Explained

In the UK, all workers are entitled to paid annual leave. This is a legal right under the Working Time Regulations 1998. Here's everything you need to know.

Statutory Holiday Entitlement

The minimum entitlement is 5.6 weeks paid annual leave per year. This works out as:

Working Pattern	Annual Entitlement
5 days per week	28 days
4 days per week	22.4 days
3 days per week	16.8 days
6 days per week	28 days (capped)

Note: The statutory entitlement is capped at 28 days, even if you work more than 5 days per week.

How to Calculate Holiday for Part-Time Workers

Part-time workers get the same 5.6 weeks entitlement, calculated pro-rata:

Formula: Days worked per week × 5.6 = Annual holiday entitlement

Example: An employee working 3 days per week:

• 3 × 5.6 = 16.8 days annual leave

Bank Holidays

There are 8 bank holidays in England and Wales each year. However, there's no automatic right to have bank holidays off or to receive extra pay for working them.

Common approaches:

• Bank holidays included in the 28 days statutory entitlement
• Bank holidays given in addition to 28 days
• Employees required to work bank holidays with time off in lieu

Check your employment contract or company handbook for your employer's policy.

Holiday for Irregular Hours Workers

From April 2024, new rules simplified holiday calculations for workers with irregular hours or those on part-year contracts:

Accrual method: 12.07% of hours worked in a pay period

Example: A zero-hours worker who worked 100 hours in a month:

• Holiday accrued: 100 × 12.07% = 12.07 hours

When Holiday Entitlement Starts

Holiday entitlement begins from day one of employment. Workers can take leave during their first year, accrued at 1/12th of their annual entitlement per month worked.

Carrying Over Holiday

Generally, employees must take their statutory holiday within the leave year. However, holiday can be carried over in certain situations:

• Sickness: If unable to take leave due to illness
• Maternity/family leave: If unable to take leave due to statutory leave
• Employer prevented use: If the employer didn't allow reasonable opportunity to take leave
• Agreement: If the employer agrees (typically for the additional 1.6 weeks above EU minimum)

Payment Instead of Holiday

Paying employees instead of giving them time off ("rolling up" holiday pay) was unlawful until recently. From January 2024, rolled-up holiday pay is now permitted for irregular hours and part-year workers only.

For regular workers, holiday pay in lieu is only allowed when employment ends.