UK holiday entitlement calculator

How to use this calculator

1. Enter the number of days you normally work each week. Use 0.5 for a half day.
2. Add your weekly hours if your employer tracks leave in hours rather than whole days.
3. Leave the contract figure at 5.6 weeks for the legal minimum, or change it if your contract is more generous.
4. Tick the part-year box if you joined or are leaving during the leave year, then enter the dates.

Pro rata holiday calculator: part-time, starters and leavers

Use the calculator above for a fixed weekly work pattern. Enter your normal working days and, if useful, your weekly hours. Part-time entitlement is based on the same number of weeks as full-time entitlement, but on your own working pattern.

For a part-year calculation, choose whether you are starting or leaving and enter the leave-year dates. The calculator follows the official distinction: a starter's statutory entitlement builds monthly during the first year, while a leaver's proportion is worked out using the days employed in the leave year. Use the separate irregular-hours calculator if your hours vary or you work only part of the year.

Bank holidays in 2026 and 2027

Check the official GOV.UK calendars for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The dates differ by nation and year.

A bank holiday is not automatically an extra day of statutory leave. Your contract can include bank holidays within the 5.6-week entitlement or give them in addition, as the GOV.UK holiday entitlement guidance explains. Enter the total number of contractual weeks in the calculator; do not add calendar dates unless your contract says they are extra.

How to calculate your holiday entitlement: days and hours per year

The annual leave calculation is the same however it is described — holiday, annual leave or paid leave. Multiply the days you work each week by 5.6, then cap the statutory result at 28 days:

• 5 days a week → 5 x 5.6 = 28 days a year
• 4 days a week → 4 x 5.6 = 22.4 days a year
• 3 days a week → 3 x 5.6 = 16.8 days a year
• 2 days a week → 2 x 5.6 = 11.2 days a year

For an answer in hours, multiply your normal weekly hours by 5.6 instead. Someone contracted to 30 hours a week has 30 x 5.6 = 168 hours of paid leave a year. Enter your own pattern in the calculator above to see the same workings for your hours or days.

Holiday entitlement in Northern Ireland

The 5.6-week minimum and the 28-day cap apply in Northern Ireland exactly as they do in England, Scotland and Wales, so this calculator works for Northern Irish employment. Two things differ: Northern Ireland has 10 bank and public holidays rather than 8, and it has not adopted the Great Britain 12.07% accrual method for irregular-hours and part-year workers — see nidirect holiday entitlement guidance.

What the numbers mean

Almost all UK workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year. For someone working five days a week that is 28 days, which is also the statutory maximum — working six or seven days a week does not increase the legal minimum. Bank holidays can be counted inside the 5.6 weeks; your contract decides whether they are on top.

If your hours are irregular or you only work part of the year, different rules apply. Use the irregular hours calculator instead. To work out what a week of leave should be paid at, use the holiday pay calculator.

Worked examples

Common questions

Is this the same as an annual leave calculator or a holiday calculator?

Yes. “Holiday”, “annual leave” and “paid leave” all describe the same statutory entitlement in the UK. The law calls it annual leave; most employers call it holiday.

Do bank holidays come out of my entitlement?

They can. For example, if a five-day worker's contract includes all eight England and Wales bank holidays within the statutory 28 days, 20 days remain to book. That pattern is not automatic: dates and numbers differ across the UK, and your contract decides whether bank holidays are inside the 5.6 weeks or added on top.

How is pro rata holiday worked out when I leave?

By days employed in the leave year, not whole months: full-year entitlement x days employed / days in the leave year. Anything you have not taken by your last day is normally paid out.

What if my hours change every week, or I only work part of the year?

A fixed weekly pattern is what this page assumes. For irregular hours, zero-hours or term-time work in Great Britain, leave builds up at 12.07% of the hours worked in each pay period — use the irregular hours calculator.

I work for the NHS. Does this apply to me?

Only as the legal floor. NHS staff on Agenda for Change get considerably more, increasing with reckonable service — see the NHS annual leave calculator.

What this calculator does not cover

• Contractual schemes that add days for length of service or grade.
• Sector-specific schemes such as NHS Agenda for Change bands or teaching contracts.
• Leave carried over from a previous year, or leave during sickness or maternity.
• How your employer rounds part days — most round up, but check your contract.
• What your holiday is paid at. That is a separate calculation — see the holiday pay calculator.

The 5.6-week minimum and the 28-day cap are the same across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The separate 12.07% accrual method for irregular hours and part-year workers applies in Great Britain only; Northern Ireland has not adopted it.

This is general information based on published GOV.UK and Acas guidance, not legal advice.

Official sources

• GOV.UK — Holiday entitlement
• Acas — Checking holiday entitlement

Rules checked 15 September 2026. General information, not legal advice.