UK Annual Leave Entitlement Calculator
Five inputs, one number. Honest pro-rata for part-time and mid-year scenarios · identical results to the official GOV.UK calculator, with better UX.
Use this calculator to work out an employee’s holiday allowance
The holiday entitlement is
28 days
For the full year.
How this was calculated
UK statutory annual leave is 5.6 weeks per year. For a worker with regular hours, multiply days or hours per week by 5.6. So a 5-day worker gets 28 days, a 3-day worker gets 16.8 days, and a 30-hour worker gets 168 hours. Statutory leave is capped at 28 days, but contractual leave above this is not.
How this calculator works
UK workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave a year under the Working Time Regulations 1998. To turn weeks into days, multiply the person's normal weekly pattern by 5.6.
The calculator adds the layers that come up week to week:
- Working pattern. Enter the days a week this person works and the days a week your full-timers work, and it pro-rates automatically. Three days against a five-day week gives 16.8 days (28 × 3/5).
- Custom contractual leave. If the contract gives more than the 28-day statutory minimum, put that figure in the full-time entitlement field. The 28-day cap applies to statutory leave only, so contractual leave above it isn't capped.
- Bank holidays. There's no statutory right to them off. If your leave is “28 days inclusive of bank holidays”, enter 28; if it's “28 days plus bank holidays”, enter 36 for England and Wales, 37 for Scotland, or 38 for Northern Ireland.
- Mid-year pro-rata. Toggle on a start or leaving date and it multiplies the annual figure by the share of the year worked.
- Hourly workers. Divide weekly hours by the hours in a full-time day: 30 hours against a 7.5-hour day is the same as four days a week.
Want the full walkthrough, edge cases and common mistakes? Read our complete guide to annual leave entitlement →
Common worked examples
Tap any example to load it into the calculator at the top of the page.
What this calculator doesn't cover. It works for fixed working patterns (regular days or regular hours each week). For workers on irregular hours or part-year contracts (most zero-hours, casual and term-time-only contracts), holiday accrues at 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period, calculated separately. Use the GOV.UK calculator for those cases, or call the ACAS helpline on 0300 123 1100 if the situation is complex.
Why 5.6 weeks?
The 5.6-week minimum is set by the Working Time Regulations 1998: four weeks from the original EU Working Time Directive plus 1.6 weeks added by the UK in 2007 and 2009. The 28-day figure is simply the most a five-day-a-week worker reaches (5 × 5.6), and the cap applies to statutory leave only, not to contractual leave above it. For the detail, see GOV.UK · Holiday entitlement.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum annual leave entitlement in the UK?
Almost all UK workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave per year under the Working Time Regulations 1998. For someone working a regular five-day week, this works out at 28 days (5 × 5.6). The 28-day figure is also a statutory cap, so workers on six or more days a week are still only entitled to 28 statutory days.
How is part-time annual leave calculated?
Multiply the number of days worked per week by 5.6. Someone working three days a week is entitled to 16.8 days (3 × 5.6). Someone working four days a week is entitled to 22.4 days. This is the GOV.UK official method and gives part-time workers the same proportional benefit as full-time staff.
Are bank holidays included in the 5.6 weeks?
There is no statutory right to bank holidays off in the UK. Employers can either include the eight England and Wales bank holidays (nine in Scotland, ten in Northern Ireland) within the 5.6 weeks, or give them on top. Both are legal. The contract should make clear which approach the employer uses.
How do I calculate annual leave for a mid-year starter?
Toggle on “Did this team member start part-way through the holiday year?” in the calculator and pick their start date. The calculator multiplies the annual entitlement by the proportion of the calendar year covered. Someone joining on 1 July with a 28-day full-time entitlement gets roughly 14 days for that first year. ACAS guidance is that in the first year of employment, employers must round up any part day to the nearest half day.
What about workers on irregular hours or zero-hours contracts?
For leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, irregular hours and part-year workers accrue holiday at 12.07% of the hours worked in each pay period. For example, a worker on 70 hours in a month accrues 8.45 hours of leave (rounded by ACAS guidance to 8 hours, since the part-hour is under 30 minutes). This calculator handles fixed weekly patterns; for irregular hours and zero-hours contracts, use the official GOV.UK calculator alongside our part-time holiday entitlement guide.
Does the 28-day cap apply to contractual leave above the statutory minimum?
No. The 28-day cap applies only to the 5.6 weeks of statutory leave. If the contract gives more (for example 30 days or 33 days), that contractual entitlement is what applies. Employers can offer more leave than the statutory minimum and do not have to apply all the same rules to the extra leave.
Sources
Primary UK sources for every rule and figure in this calculator. Statutory rules and figures were last checked against GOV.UK on 3 July 2026.
| Source | What it confirms |
|---|---|
| GOV.UK · Holiday entitlement | 5.6-week statutory entitlement and 28-day cap |
| ACAS · Checking holiday entitlement | Part-time pro-rata method (3 × 5.6 = 16.8) |
| ACAS · Checking holiday entitlement | First-year rounding-up rule |
| legislation.gov.uk · WTR 1998 | Working Time Regulations 1998 (the underlying law) |
| legislation.gov.uk · PTW 2000 | Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 |
| ACAS · Irregular hours and part-year workers | 12.07% accrual for irregular hours and part-year workers |
| GOV.UK · Holiday pay and entitlement reforms | April 2024 holiday entitlement reforms |
| GOV.UK · UK bank holidays | Official UK bank holiday calendar (8 E&W, 9 Scotland, 10 NI) |
Built and kept current by the team behind Book Time Off, UK leave-management software for small businesses. The method follows the GOV.UK calculator and ACAS guidance, and we update it when the rules change.
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This calculator is a guide, not legal advice. The figures it produces follow GOV.UK and ACAS methodology for typical situations, but contractual variations and edge cases may apply. For complex cases, contact the ACAS helpline on 0300 123 1100 (free) or take advice from a qualified employment law adviser.
From this calculator to a real tracker
Once you've got the number, Book Time Off is where you set it: each person's allowance, days used and days remaining in one place, with calendar and wallchart views and UK bank holidays loaded automatically.