Holiday Entitlement UK

Quick answer

Almost all workers in the UK are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year under the Working Time Regulations 1998. For a full-time worker on a five-day week, that is 28 days (5.6 × 5). Part-time workers get a pro-rata amount (for example, a three-day-a-week worker gets 16.8 days). The 5.6 weeks is made up of a 4-week minimum required by EU-derived law (regulation 13) plus an additional 1.6 weeks under UK law (regulation 13A). Employers can offer more, but not less. Bank holidays can be included in the 5.6 weeks - there is no separate statutory right to bank holidays off.

Where the 5.6 weeks comes from

The Working Time Regulations 1998 implement the EU Working Time Directive and set the UK statutory floor. Regulation 13 gives workers a right to four weeks' annual leave, and regulation 13A adds an extra 1.6 weeks, giving 5.6 weeks in total. The regulations also set out how leave accrues, how it may be carried over, and that a worker must be paid for leave not taken when their employment ends (regulation 14). A worker's contract can always grant more generous entitlement, but any attempt to contract below the statutory minimum is ineffective.

How many days you actually get

The statutory entitlement is expressed in weeks, so it scales with how many days a week you work. To convert to days, multiply 5.6 by the number of days you work each week:

An employer may round a part-year or part-time figure up to the nearest half or whole day, but must not round down below the statutory minimum. A worker who is entitled to 16.8 days must receive at least 16.8 days' worth of leave, however the employer chooses to express it in the holiday-year system.

Bank holidays and the 5.6 weeks

Bank holidays are not an automatic extra on top of the 5.6 weeks. An employer can choose to count the eight England-and-Wales bank holidays as part of the 5.6 weeks, which is why many full-time workers have 20 days of "bookable" holiday plus 8 bank holidays, totalling 28. If a workplace is closed on a bank holiday, the employer can require the worker to take it from their annual entitlement. Workers do not have a separate statutory right to paid time off on bank holidays; whether they get bank holidays off depends on their contract.

Part-time and irregular-hours workers

Part-time workers must not be treated less favourably than comparable full-time workers, so their holiday is pro-rated against the 5.6-week minimum. For a part-time worker, a week of holiday is whatever their normal working pattern is - a "week" for someone working two days is two days, so 5.6 weeks still represents 5.6 of their working weeks.

For workers with irregular hours or who work part of the year only, the rules changed for leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024 (under the Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023). For these workers, holiday now accrues at a rate of 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period, and "rolled-up holiday pay" (adding an uplift to each hour's pay instead of giving time off) is permitted again in limited circumstances. Always check current guidance, because these are among the most commonly misapplied holiday rules.

Holiday when you start or leave mid-year

Holiday accrues throughout the year; you do not get the full year's entitlement on day one. In the first year of employment, leave accrues at one-twelfth of the annual entitlement for each month worked (regulation 15A), and an employer can require leave to be accrued before it is taken. When employment ends, the worker is entitled to payment in lieu for any statutory leave accrued but not taken (regulation 14), calculated on the proportion of the leave year worked. This is where a holiday entitlement calculator helps, especially for mid-year starters and leavers.

Worked example: a part-time starter

Use the holiday entitlement calculator to run your own numbers, including irregular-hours accrual at 12.07%.

Step-by-step: working out your holiday entitlement

1. Confirm your working pattern - how many days (or hours) you normally work each week.
2. Multiply by 5.6 to get your annual statutory minimum in weeks' worth of days.
3. Check your contract for any enhanced entitlement and how bank holidays are treated.
4. Adjust for part-year or irregular hours using the 12.07% accrual rule where it applies.
5. Prorate for mid-year start or leaving by the proportion of the leave year worked.
6. Verify with the holiday entitlement calculator and confirm against Acas or GOV.UK guidance.

Key takeaways

• The statutory minimum is 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year - 28 days for a five-day worker.
• The right comes from the Working Time Regulations 1998 (regulations 13 and 13A).
• Part-time workers get a pro-rata amount; irregular-hours and part-year workers accrue at 12.07% of hours worked.
• Bank holidays can be counted within the 5.6 weeks; there is no separate right to bank holidays off.
• On leaving, workers are paid in lieu for statutory leave accrued but not taken.

Related guides

• How to Work Out Notice Period UK
• Business Days vs Calendar Days
• Subject Access Request Time Limit UK

References

• Working Time Regulations 1998 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 13 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 14 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Acas - Checking holiday entitlement
• GOV.UK - Holiday entitlement