Calculate leave entitlement

Annual leave begins to build up (‘accrue’) as soon as a worker starts their job. An employer can use a ‘leave year’ or an ‘accrual’ system to work out how much leave their staff should get. Staff who were on temporary leave (‘furloughed’) because of coronavirus (COVID-19) are entitled to accrue leave as if they were at work. Use the holiday entitlement calculator to work out how much leave someone should get. Leave year An employer should tell their staff the dates of their statutory leave year as soon as they start working, for example, it might run from 1 January to 31 December. Workers must take their statutory leave during this time. If a leave year is not set out in a contract then it will start: on the first day of a new job (if started after 1 October 1998) on 1 October (if started on or before 1 October 1998) The leave year and holiday entitlement is not affected by maternity, paternity or adoption leave. The employee still builds up (‘accrues’) holiday over these periods. Leave entitlement when starting a new job If a worker starts their job part-way through a leave year, they’re only entitled to part of their total annual leave for the current leave year. What they get depends on how much of the year is left. Use the holiday entitlement calculator to work out how much leave someone has left. Accrual system An employer can use an accrual system to work out a worker’s leave during the first year of the job. Under this system, a worker gets one-twelfth of their leave in each month. Example Someone works a 5-day week and is entitled to 28 days’ annual leave a year. After their third month in the job, they’d be entitled to 7 days’ leave (a quarter of their total leave, or 28 ÷ 12 × 3). Carrying over leave The worker’s contract says how many days’ leave they can carry over into the next year. If a worker gets 28 days’ leave, they can carry over a maximum of 8 days. If a worker gets more than 28 days’ leave, their employer may allow them to carry over any additional untaken leave. Check the employment contract, company handbook or intranet to see what the rules say. Leave affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) Workers may be able to carry over untaken leave into the next 2 years if they cannot take it because their work is affected by coronavirus. They could do this if, for example: they need to provide cover for their co-workers and have no other opportunity to take holiday in their leave year there will be staff shortages if too many workers take their leave before the end of the leave year they’re classed as critical workers , such as healthcare or supermarket workers If a worker is able to take leave, the standard rules for carrying over leave still apply. Workers on parental or sick leave If a worker cannot take all of their leave entitlement because they’re already on a different type of leave (for example sick, maternity or parental leave), they can carry over some or all of the untaken leave into the next leave year. An employer must allow a worker to carry over a maximum of 20 of their 28 days’ leave entitlement if the worker could not take annual leave because they were off sick.

Workers are entitled to a week’s pay for each week of statutory leave that they take. Most workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year. You can use the holiday calculator to work out how much leave someone should get. A week’s pay is worked out according to the kind of hours someone works and how they’re paid for the hours. This includes full-time, part-time, term-time and casual workers. Working pattern How a week’s pay is calculated Fixed hours and fixed pay (full- or part-time) A worker’s pay for a week Shift work with fixed hours (full- or part-time) The average number of weekly fixed hours a worker has worked in the previous 52 weeks, at their average hourly rate No fixed hours (casual work, including zero-hours contracts) A worker’s average pay from the previous 52 weeks (only counting weeks in which they were paid) Calculating average hourly or weekly rate To calculate average hourly rate, only the hours worked and how much was paid for them should be counted. Take the average rate over the last 52 weeks. A ‘week’ usually runs from Sunday to Saturday. Only use another 7-day period (like Thursday to Wednesday) if that’s how a worker’s pay is calculated. If no pay was paid in any week, count back another week so the rate is based on 52 weeks in which pay was paid. You can count back a maximum of 104 weeks to find these. If a worker has less than 52 weeks of pay, use the average pay rate for the full weeks they have worked. Workers who are paid monthly To work out a week’s pay for someone who’s paid monthly: Calculate the worker’s average hourly pay for the last month. Do this by dividing the month’s pay by the number of hours worked in the month. Calculate the weekly pay. Do this by multiplying the average hourly pay by the number of hours worked in a week. Use the weekly pay calculation for each of the last 52 weeks to work out an average week’s pay. Rolled-up holiday pay Holiday pay should be paid for the time when annual leave is taken. An employer cannot include an amount for holiday pay in the hourly rate (known as ‘rolled-up holiday pay’). If a current contract still includes rolled-up pay, it needs to be re-negotiated. More information There’s guidance for calculating holiday pay for workers without fixed hours or pay , which includes several examples. You can also contact the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service ( Acas ) with questions about general holiday pay issues. Acas helpline Telephone: 0300 123 11 00 Textphone: 18001 0300 123 1100 Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm Find out about call charges

The general notice period for taking leave is at least twice as long as the amount of leave a worker wants to take, plus 1 day. For example, a worker would give 3 days’ notice for 1 day’s leave. An employer can refuse a leave request or cancel leave but they must give as much notice as the amount of leave requested, plus 1 day. For example, an employer would give 11 days’ notice if the worker asked for 10 days’ leave. If the contract says something different about the notice a worker or employer should give, what’s in the contract will apply. Although employers can refuse to give leave at a certain time, they cannot refuse to let workers take the leave at all. Part leave days Some workers may be entitled to a part leave day - for example if they’re part-time or have a half day’s leave to take. How a part day should be taken is up to the employer. When leave can and cannot be taken Employers can: tell their staff to take leave, for example bank holidays or Christmas restrict when leave can be taken, for example at certain busy periods There may be rules about this in the employment contract or it may be what normally happens in the workplace. The notice period for this is at least twice as long as the leave they want their staff to take. The employer must tell the worker before the notice period begins. If an employer wants a worker to take leave, they need to make sure that the worker can relax, rest and enjoy leisure during their holiday. For example, an employer cannot force a sick worker to take leave.

Taking holiday before leaving a job

During their notice period the worker may be able to take whatever is left of their statutory annual leave. Use the holiday entitlement calculator to work this out. How much they get depends on how much of the holiday year has passed. Taking more leave than the entitlement If a worker has taken more leave than they’re entitled to, their employer must not take money from their final pay unless it’s been agreed beforehand in writing. The rules in this situation should be outlined in the employment contract, company handbook or intranet. Getting paid instead of taking holidays The only time someone can get paid in place of taking statutory leave (known as ‘payment in lieu’) is when they leave their job. Employers must pay for untaken statutory leave, even if the worker is dismissed for gross misconduct. If an employer offers more than 5.6 weeks’ annual leave, they can agree separate arrangements for the extra leave. Zero-hours contracts When a worker on a zero-hours contract has not worked for 4 weeks, this may be treated as the end of the employment. The employer will usually pay the worker for untaken leave, even if they’re going to offer them more work later.

Holiday entitlement

Entitlement

Almost all people classed as workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year (known as statutory leave entitlement or annual leave).

This includes:

agency workers
workers with irregular hours
workers on zero-hours contracts

An employer can include bank holidays as part of statutory annual leave.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) does not affect workers’ entitlement to holiday pay and leave, except for carrying over leave.

Statutory annual leave entitlement

Most workers who work a 5-day week must receive at least 28 days’ paid annual leave a year. This is the equivalent of 5.6 weeks of holiday.

Working part-time

Part-time workers are entitled to at least 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday, but this will amount to fewer than 28 days.

For example, if they work 3 days a week, they must get at least 16.8 days’ leave a year (3 × 5.6).

Use the holiday entitlement calculator to work out a part-time worker’s leave.

Irregular hours

People working irregular hours (like shift workers or term-time workers) are entitled to paid time off for every hour they work.

They might find it helpful to use the holiday entitlement calculator to get an estimate based on days or hours worked in an average week.

Limits on statutory leave

Statutory paid holiday entitlement is limited to 28 days. For example, staff working 6 days a week are only entitled to 28 days’ paid holiday.

Bank holidays

Bank or public holidays do not have to be given as paid leave.

An employer can choose to include bank holidays as part of a worker’s statutory annual leave.

Extra leave

An employer can choose to offer more leave than the legal minimum. They do not have to apply all the rules that apply to statutory leave to the extra leave. For example, a worker might need to be employed for a certain amount of time before they become entitled to it.

Other aspects of holiday entitlement

Workers have the right to:

get holiday pay
build up (‘accrue’) holiday entitlement during maternity, paternity and adoption leave
build up holiday entitlement while off work sick
request holiday at the same time as sick leave

Disputes

Paid annual leave is a legal right that an employer must provide. If a worker thinks their right to leave and pay are not being met there are a number of ways to resolve the dispute.

View a printable version of the whole guide

Holiday entitlement

Entitlement

Statutory annual leave entitlement

Working part-time

Irregular hours

Limits on statutory leave

Bank holidays

Extra leave

Other aspects of holiday entitlement

Disputes

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Holiday entitlement

Entitlement

Statutory annual leave entitlement

Working part-time

Irregular hours

Limits on statutory leave

Bank holidays

Extra leave

Other aspects of holiday entitlement

Disputes

Related content

Is this page useful?

Help us improve GOV.UK

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