Holiday Entitlement Calculator UK: Annual Leave in Days or Hours (2026)

Work out your statutory annual leave in days or hours, including part-time, part-year and irregular-hours workers. A full-time worker on 5 days a week gets 28 days a year; someone working 3 days a week gets 16.8 days, and an irregular-hours worker earns 12.07% of the hours they work as holiday.

How much holiday am I entitled to?

• Almost all workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year.
• For a 5-day week that is 5 × 5.6 = 28 days. Statutory paid holiday is capped at 28 days, so someone working 6 days a week still gets 28.
• Part-time workers get the same 5.6 weeks, pro-rated: multiply the days you work each week by 5.6.
• Your employer can include bank holidays in the 5.6 weeks. There are 8 bank holidays in England and Wales in both 2026 and 2027.

Bank holidays across the UK

There is no legal right to have bank holidays off as paid leave on top of the 5.6 weeks. If your contract says you get 20 days plus bank holidays, that adds up to the 28-day minimum in England and Wales.

Starting or leaving part way through the year

If you join or leave part way through your employer’s leave year, your entitlement for that year is pro-rated. For example, a full-time worker employed for 6 months of the leave year is entitled to 14 days. When you leave, you must be paid for any statutory holiday you have built up but not taken.

Irregular hours and part-year workers

For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, workers with irregular hours (such as zero-hours contracts) and part-year workers build up holiday at 12.07% of the hours they actually work in each pay period, up to the 5.6-week maximum. The figure comes from 5.6 weeks of holiday divided by the 46.4 weeks a year left to work (5.6 ÷ 46.4 = 12.07%).

• 120 hours worked in a month builds up 14.48 hours of holiday.
• For these workers only, employers can pay rolled-up holiday pay: an extra 12.07% added to each pay packet instead of paying when holiday is taken. It must be shown as a separate line on the payslip.
• Holiday pay for variable hours is based on your average pay over the previous 52 weeks you were paid.

FAQs

Can my employer refuse my holiday request?

Yes. Employers can tell you when to take holiday and can refuse requests, as long as you are given the chance to take your full entitlement in the leave year. They must give notice of at least twice the length of the holiday they want you to take.

Can I carry over unused holiday?

Workers can carry over up to 8 days of the statutory 5.6 weeks if their contract allows. Leave you could not take because of sickness or family leave can be carried over by law.

Is holiday pay the same as my normal pay?

It should be. Holiday pay is based on what you would normally earn, including regular overtime, commission and some allowances for the first 4 weeks.

Related calculators

• Take-Home Pay Calculator 2026/27Tax, NI and pension on your salary
• Statutory Maternity Pay CalculatorSMP for 39 weeks
• Redundancy Pay CalculatorStatutory redundancy pay

Sources

• GOV.UK: Holiday entitlement
• GOV.UK: Holiday pay and entitlement reforms from 1 January 2024
• GOV.UK: UK bank holidays