Holiday entitlement worked examples
Statutory leave is 5.6 weeks. A five-day week is 28 days. A three-day week is 16.8 days (126 hours at 22.5 hours a week). A six-day week is still 28 days.
Almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday. An employer can count bank holidays inside that entitlement. The cap is 28 days, so working more than five days a week does not raise the statutory minimum above 28. A contract can give more. GOV.UK holiday entitlement and nidirect both set the minimum at 5.6 weeks. Part-time days are 5.6 times the days worked. The pro rata salary calculator uses the same 5.6 weeks when it shows holiday next to a part-time salary.
Leaving or starting part-way through the year
GOV.UK’s fixed-hours leaver works four days and 45 hours a week and leaves on day 116 of a 365-day leave year. The full-year entitlement is 22.4 days. 116 ÷ 365 is 31.78%. 31.78% of 22.4 is 7.1 days. The average day is 11.25 hours, so 7.1 days is 79.9 hours. The dates 1 April 2026 to 25 July 2026 are the same 116 days. The guidance is in GOV.UK’s holiday entitlement reforms. Days are calendar days in the leave year, not days at work.
The first year, one-twelfth a month
In the first year a regular-hours worker accrues one-twelfth of the annual entitlement each month. One month of a 28-day entitlement is 2.33 days, and GOV.UK rounds that up to 2.5 days. Three complete months is 28 ÷ 12 × 3, which is 7 days exactly. This calculator rounds a single month up to the next half day and uses the exact fraction once the stretch is longer than a month.
Irregular hours and the 12.07% method
For leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, irregular-hours and part-year workers in Great Britain accrue 12.07% of the hours worked in the pay period. The rate is 5.6 ÷ 46.4. It is in regulation 15B of the Working Time Regulations 1998. A fraction under 30 minutes rounds down. A fraction of 30 minutes or more rounds up to the next hour. Someone who works 68 hours accrues 8.2076 hours, which is 8 hours. Someone who works 30 hours accrues 3.621 hours, which is 4 hours. Accrual in the leave year cannot pass 28 days. Northern Ireland also gives 5.6 weeks, but this 12.07% pay-period rule is the Great Britain regulation.
Frequently asked questions
How many days holiday is 5.6 weeks?
Someone working five days a week gets 28 days. Three days a week is 16.8 days. Six days a week is still 28 days, because statutory leave is capped at 28 days. Bank holidays can sit inside those 28 days.
How much holiday does a leaver keep?
GOV.UK pro-rates the full-year entitlement by calendar days in the leave year. A worker on four days a week who leaves on day 116 of a 365-day leave year has worked 31.78% of the year. 31.78% of 22.4 days is 7.1 days. At 45 hours over those four days, that is 79.9 hours.
What is the 12.07% holiday accrual?
For leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, irregular-hours and part-year workers in Great Britain accrue 12.07% of the hours worked in each pay period. 68 hours accrues 8.2076 hours, which rounds to 8. 30 hours accrues 3.621 hours, which rounds to 4. The year is capped at 28 days.