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.
Track every team member’s leave in one place
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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
The calculation is simple in principle. UK workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave per year under the Working Time Regulations 1998. To turn weeks into days or hours, multiply the worker's normal weekly pattern by 5.6.
The calculator above uses this formula and adds the layers needed to handle the real-world situations that come up week to week:
- Working pattern is built in. Enter how many days a week the employee works and how many days a week your full-timers work, and the calculator pro-rates automatically. Someone on three days a week against a five-day full-time week gets 16.8 days (28 × 3/5).
- Custom contractual leave. If the contract gives more than 5.6 weeks (typical figures: 28 days inclusive of bank holidays, 36 days with bank holidays on top in England and Wales, 30 days for senior staff), enter that figure as the full-time entitlement. The 28-day cap only applies to the statutory floor, so contractual leave above 5.6 weeks isn't capped.
- Bank holidays: handled in the entitlement number. There is no statutory right to bank holidays off in the UK. If your contract is “28 days inclusive of bank holidays”, enter 28. If it's “28 days plus bank holidays”, enter 36 for England and Wales (28 + 8), 37 for Scotland (28 + 9), or 38 for Northern Ireland (28 + 10). Either approach is legal as long as the contract is clear.
- Mid-year pro-rata uses dates. Toggle on “started part-way through the year” or “leaving part-way through the year” and pick the date. The calculator multiplies the annual figure by the proportion of the year covered by that period.
- Workers paid by the hour. Convert hours to days for this tool: divide weekly hours by the typical hours in a full-time day. A 30-hour worker against a 7.5-hour full-time day is the same as 4 days a week.
Common worked examples
Tap any example to load it into the calculator at the top of the page.
Bank holidays on top: stated as “28 + 8”
Many UK employers express their leave as “28 days plus bank holidays”. For a 5-day worker in England and Wales, that adds the eight bank holidays on top of the 28-day statutory minimum, giving 36 days a year. In Scotland it's 37, in Northern Ireland 38, reflecting the regional bank holiday counts. For part-time workers, the bank holidays are pro-rated using the days-over-five method to comply with the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000.
When the 28-day cap kicks in
For a worker on a six-day week, the 5.6 multiplier produces 33.6 days, but the statutory entitlement is capped at 28 days under the Working Time Regulations. The cap only applies to the 5.6 weeks of statutory leave. If the contract gives more (for example, 5 weeks plus all bank holidays in addition), that contractual entitlement still applies in full because the cap doesn't bind contractual leave above the statutory minimum.
Common situations the calculator handles
Mid-year starter. Toggle on “Did this team member start part-way through the holiday year?” and pick the start date. The calculator works out how many days of the calendar year they will have worked and pro-rates the entitlement accordingly. Someone joining on 1 July gets roughly half the annual figure for that first year. ACAS guidance is that in the first year of employment, the entitlement should be rounded up to the nearest half day.
Custom contractual leave. Change the “Holiday entitlement for a full-time employee” field if the contract is more generous than the 28-day statutory minimum. The 28-day cap is a floor on statutory leave, not a ceiling on contractual leave: 30 days, 33 days, 36 days (28 + bank holidays in E&W) and beyond are all common.
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 figure is set by the Working Time Regulations 1998 (as amended). It splits into two parts: 4 weeks derived from the EU Working Time Directive (regulation 13) and an additional 1.6 weeks added by UK statutory instrument in 2007 and 2009 (regulation 13A). The two parts have slightly different rules around carry-over, but for the purposes of working out the headline annual entitlement they're treated as one block of 5.6 weeks.
The 28-day cap reflects the maximum in days that a 5-day-a-week worker would receive (5 × 5.6 = 28). The cap was introduced to prevent someone working six or seven days a week from receiving disproportionately more statutory leave than other workers; it doesn't restrict contractual leave above the statutory floor. For the legal background, see our full guide to UK annual leave 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.
Can this calculator be embedded on my own site?
Yes. The Embed this calculator section below provides a free iframe snippet you can paste into any web page. Three sizes are available (compact, standard, large) and the embed includes a small Powered by Book Time Off credit but no other branding or signup pressure.
Embed this calculator
Sources
| What it confirms | Source |
|---|---|
| 5.6-week statutory entitlement and 28-day cap | GOV.UK · Holiday entitlement |
| Part-time pro-rata method (3 × 5.6 = 16.8) | ACAS · Checking holiday entitlement |
| First-year rounding-up rule | ACAS · Checking holiday entitlement |
| Working Time Regulations 1998 (the underlying law) | legislation.gov.uk · WTR 1998 |
| Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 | legislation.gov.uk · PTW 2000 |
| 12.07% accrual for irregular hours and part-year workers | ACAS · Irregular hours and part-year workers |
| April 2024 holiday entitlement reforms | GOV.UK · Holiday pay and entitlement reforms |
| Official UK bank holiday calendar (8 E&W, 9 Scotland, 10 NI) | GOV.UK · UK bank holidays |
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Related guides
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.
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