Disclaimer: Statutory minimum estimate. Many UK employers offer more than the 5.6 week minimum. Check your contracts. For complex working patterns (job-share, term-time only, annualised hours, casual contracts with regular hours) get tailored advice.
How UK holiday entitlement works
Every worker in the UK is entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave per year. For a full-time worker doing 5 days a week, that is 28 days per year (5.6 × 5 = 28). The maximum statutory minimum is capped at 28 days.
Three common ways to calculate entitlement:
- Fixed days per week. Multiply days per week by 5.6. A 3-day-per-week worker gets 16.8 days (round up to 17).
- Irregular hours or part-year. Accrue holiday at 12.07% of hours worked. So 100 hours worked accrues 12.07 hours of holiday.
- Part-year / starter mid-year. Pro-rate the full-year entitlement by the fraction of the leave year worked.
Bank holidays: included or extra?
UK law does not require employers to give bank holidays on top of the 5.6 weeks. The 5.6 weeks can include them. Many employers give them on top as a benefit, which makes 5.6 weeks + 8 bank holidays = 36 days for a 5-day-per-week worker.
Whatever you choose, write it clearly in the contract.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting to pro-rate for part-time workers
- Calculating bank holidays separately for part-time workers (use the same pro-rata fraction)
- Missing the 12.07% accrual for casual workers
- Not honouring carry-over for sickness absence