Holiday Entitlement Calculator
Enter your working days per week — or hours worked, if your hours are irregular — to see your statutory paid holiday for the year under the 5.6-week rule. The result applies the statutory 28-day cap automatically and switches to the 12.07% accrual method for irregular-hours workers.
How it works
Almost all workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year. For someone with fixed days, entitlement = days per week × 5.6: a 5-day week gives 28 days, a 3-day week gives 16.8 days.
The statutory entitlement is capped at 28 days, so working 6 days a week still gives 28 (not 33.6). Employers can offer more by contract, and they may include bank holidays within the 28 days.
More worked examples: 2 days a week gives 2 × 5.6 = 11.2 days; 4.5 days gives 25.2; anyone on 5 or more days hits the 28-day cap. Fractional results are real entitlement — 16.8 days cannot be rounded down to 16, because 5.6 weeks is a legal minimum, though an employer may round up.
For irregular-hours and part-year workers (including most zero-hours contracts), holiday accrues at 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period — a rule made statutory by the Employment Rights (Amendment) Regulations 2023 for leave years from April 2024. Work 100 hours, accrue about 12 hours of paid holiday.
Which method applies depends on the working pattern, not the job title: a fixed number of days a week means days × 5.6 (capped at 28), while genuinely irregular hours accrue at 12.07% of hours actually worked, pay period by pay period. Both routes deliver the same underlying right — 5.6 weeks — expressed in the units that fit the pattern.
Three things the result does not decide: whether bank holidays sit inside or on top of your entitlement (a contract question — neither approach is automatic), any extra contractual holiday beyond the statutory minimum, and holiday pay rates. When employment ends mid-year the same arithmetic runs pro-rata: accrued but untaken statutory holiday must be paid out, a right that cannot be signed away.
FAQ
How many days holiday am I entitled to?
Multiply your working days per week by 5.6: five days a week gives 28 days, four gives 22.4, three gives 16.8. The result is capped at 28 days by law. Your employer chooses whether bank holidays are taken out of that entitlement or given on top — check your contract, because neither approach is automatic.
How does the 12.07% rule work for zero-hours contracts?
For workers whose hours vary, holiday builds up at 12.07% of the hours actually worked in each pay period. The figure comes from the maths of the statutory entitlement itself: 5.6 weeks of leave divided by the 46.4 working weeks that remain (52 − 5.6) equals 12.07%. If you work 130 hours in a month you accrue about 15.7 hours of paid leave.
Do bank holidays count towards my 28 days?
There is no statutory right to time off on a bank holiday in the UK. An employer can include the usual 8 English bank holidays inside your 28-day entitlement (leaving 20 days to book freely) or grant them in addition — whichever your contract says. Part-timers should get a pro-rata share of bank holidays regardless of which weekdays they work.
What happens to unused holiday when I leave a job?
Your employer must pay you for any statutory holiday you have accrued but not taken by your leaving date — this is a legal right that cannot be signed away. The payment is worked out from your accrued entitlement up to the termination date, pro-rata for the part of the leave year you worked. Conversely, if you have taken more than you accrued, the contract may allow a deduction.
How much holiday do I get working 2 days a week?
11.2 days — 2 days × 5.6 weeks. The odd-looking decimal is normal for part-timers: it can be taken as 11 days plus part of a day, or your employer may round it up (never down, as 5.6 weeks is the legal floor). You should also receive a fair pro-rata share of bank holidays regardless of which weekdays you actually work.
Can my employer offer more than 28 days?
Yes — 28 days is the cap on the STATUTORY calculation, not a limit on generosity: many contracts offer more, and anything above the statutory figure is governed by the contract rather than the regulations. What an employer cannot do is provide less than the 5.6-week statutory entitlement, however the contract is worded.
How many holiday hours do I accrue working 80 hours a month?
Under the 12.07% method, about 9.7 hours for that month (80 × 0.1207 = 9.66). The percentage comes from the statutory maths itself: 5.6 weeks of leave divided by the 46.4 working weeks that remain in the year. Accrual runs pay period by pay period, so months with more hours earn proportionally more leave.