Holiday Entitlement Calculator
Work out statutory paid annual leave from the 5.6-week minimum, including pro-rata leave for people who join or leave part-way through the leave year.
Using 2026/27 UK tax rates
Between 1 and 7.
Often 1 January, 1 April or the employment start date.
Advanced options
Statutory entitlement for this leave year
28 days
- Full leave year entitlement
- 28 days
- Leave year
- 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027
- Days employed in the leave year
- 365 of 365 (100%)
The statutory minimum. Your contract may give more, and part days are usually rounded up in the worker’s favour.
Rounding part days
Statutory entitlement rarely lands on a whole number. Employers can round up, but must not round down below the statutory minimum. Many resolve this by working in hours.
What this means
Almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday each leave year. For someone working a fixed number of days each week, that is 5.6 × the days they work, capped at 28 days. Employers can offer more, but not less.
If bank holidays are part of the paid leave in the contract, they come out of this entitlement rather than being added on top.
Quick answers
- How much is 5.6 weeks of statutory holiday?
- 5.6 weeks is the UK statutory minimum paid annual leave. For someone working 5 days a week that is 28 days a year; for fewer days a week it is 5.6 x days worked.
- How many days does a five-day worker receive?
- 28 days a year, which is the statutory cap — working more than 5 days a week does not increase the legal minimum further.
- How much does a four-day worker receive?
- 22.4 days a year (4 x 5.6), rounded in the worker's favour where the contract requires whole days.
- How much does a three-day worker receive?
- 16.8 days a year (3 x 5.6), pro-rated further if they join or leave partway through the leave year.
- Can holiday be expressed in hours instead of days?
- Yes. Multiply weekly hours by 5.6 to get an annual hours entitlement, which suits people whose hours are settled but spread unevenly across the week.
Write the leave year and bank holidays into the contract
Most holiday disputes come from unclear contracts: when the leave year starts, and whether bank holidays are part of the 5.6 weeks or on top of it.
Statutory entitlement is a minimum. Employers can offer more, but agreeing less is not lawful.
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How we calculated it
Full year (days) = days worked each week × 5.6, capped at 28 days
Full year (hours) = hours worked each week × 5.6
Pro rata = full year × (days employed in the leave year ÷ days in the leave year)
The 28-day cap applies to the days calculation only, so anyone working 5 days a week or more gets 28 days. Leap years are handled by counting the actual days in your leave year.
Assumptions
- The worker has a settled pattern of days or hours each week.
- Statutory minimum only — contractual extra leave is not included.
- Bank holidays are treated as part of the 5.6 weeks unless your contract says otherwise.
- Irregular-hours and part-year workers accrue leave under a separate statutory method and are not covered here.
How this calculator works
This calculator covers workers with a regular, settled pattern of days or hours each week only. It does not cover irregular-hours or part-year workers — their statutory leave is worked out under a separate accrual method based on hours actually worked, which is not modelled here. If your staff have variable hours, treat this tool as unsuitable for them rather than approximating with an average.
The hours method suits people whose weekly hours are settled but spread unevenly across days — it avoids the awkwardness of half days. The days method is simpler where someone works the same fixed days each week.
Holiday pay is a real cost of employment. The employee cost calculator shows the full annual cost of a hire including employer National Insurance and pension.
Worked examples
Part-year starter, 3 days a week
Someone works 3 days a week and joins on 1 October, in a leave year running 1 April to 31 March. A full year would be 3 × 5.6 = 16.8 days. They are employed for 182 of the 365 days, so their pro-rata entitlement is 16.8 × 182 ÷ 365 = 8.38 days.
Full year, 4 days a week
Someone working 4 days a week for the whole leave year gets 4 × 5.6 = 22.4 days, unaffected by the 28-day cap because it only bites at 5 or more days a week.
Full year, 5 days a week
Someone working 5 days a week for the whole leave year gets 5 × 5.6 = 28 days — the statutory cap, so a sixth or seventh working day would not add further statutory leave.
Common mistakes
Adding bank holidays on top of the 5.6 weeks
The 5.6 weeks already includes the eight usual bank holidays unless the contract explicitly grants them separately. Adding them again overstates entitlement by up to eight days a person.Giving a part-time worker a flat proportion of 28 days
Entitlement is 5.6 × the days worked each week. A three-day worker gets 16.8 days, not a rounded-down share of someone else's allowance.Forgetting to pro-rate joiners and leavers
Someone who joins halfway through the leave year earns roughly half the full-year figure. Enter their employment dates so the result reflects the part of the year they actually work.Using this tool for irregular-hours or part-year staff
Those workers accrue leave under a separate statutory method based on hours actually worked. This calculator is for settled weekly patterns only.
Common questions
How much holiday am I entitled to in the UK?
5.6 weeks of paid annual leave each leave year, capped at 28 days for people working 5 or more days a week.
Are bank holidays included in the 28 days?
They can be. Employers may count bank holidays as part of the 5.6-week entitlement, or give them on top — it depends on the contract, and there is no automatic right to bank holidays as extra paid leave.
How is holiday calculated for part-time workers?
Multiply the days (or hours) worked each week by 5.6. Someone working 3 days a week gets 16.8 days, not a proportion of the 28-day figure used for full-time staff.
What happens when someone starts mid-year?
Their full-year entitlement is pro-rated by the proportion of the leave year they are actually employed for, counting from their start date to the end of the current leave year.
How is holiday calculated when someone leaves?
Entitlement is pro-rated to their leaving date, then compared with leave already taken. If they've taken less than they've accrued they're owed payment in lieu; if they've taken more, an employer can usually deduct the difference if the contract allows it.
Can holiday entitlement be expressed in hours?
Yes. Multiply weekly hours by 5.6 to get an annual hours entitlement. This suits people whose hours are settled but vary in length from day to day, avoiding awkward half-day calculations.
What happens with irregular-hours workers?
This calculator does not cover them. Irregular-hours and part-year workers accrue statutory leave under a separate method based on a percentage of hours actually worked in each pay period, introduced for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024. Check the current GOV.UK guidance for that calculation rather than using the regular-hours figures here.
Does this cover zero-hours or term-time workers?
No, in most cases. Zero-hours and term-time workers are usually classed as irregular-hours or part-year workers and accrue leave under a separate statutory method that is not included in this calculator.
Can unused holiday be carried over?
Only in limited circumstances set out in law or your contract, such as maternity leave, long-term sickness, or where an employer failed to give a worker the chance to take their leave. Check current GOV.UK guidance for your specific situation.
Sources
- Holiday entitlement — GOV.UK
- Calculating holiday entitlement for workers — GOV.UK
Last reviewed: 7 September 2026 · Statutory rates: 2026/27. This calculator is information only and is not tax, accounting or financial advice.