The UK annual leave calculator that shows its working
The number, the method, the risk, and the words to send the manager and payroll.
Annual Leave Logic by Thrive. The UK holiday entitlement tool that shows the calculation, records the assumptions, flags the risk and gives you the words to use.
Please avoid entering employee names, medical details or sensitive case information unless necessary. Use role-based or anonymised details wherever possible.
This tool is guidance, not legal advice. The contract is the final word.
Annual Leave Logic and the related calculation logic, wording, risk flags and design are proprietary to Thrive HR UK. © Thrive HR UK 2026. All rights reserved.
Not a number and good luck. A decision with an audit trail.
Most holiday calculators hand you a figure and leave you to defend it. This one shows the calculation, records the assumptions, flags the risk and gives you the words to use. That is the difference between a guess and a decision you can stand behind.
It shows the method
Every figure comes with the working behind it. You see the entitlement, the pro rata basis and how each part was reached, in hours, days or weeks.
It records the assumptions
The leave year, the working pattern, how bank holidays are treated and the pro rata basis are all logged. Keep the record with the staff file, ready for the April 2026 duty.
It flags the risk and gives the words
Where an input needs a closer look, it says so. Then it hands you plain wording to send a manager and a note for payroll, so the answer travels properly.
How UK annual leave is calculated
A short, accurate walk through the parts that trip people up, from statutory entitlement to the 12.07% method and the latest reforms. This is general guidance drawn from GOV.UK and Acas, not legal advice. Your contract is the final word.
Statutory entitlement: 5.6 weeks and the 28-day cap
Almost all UK workers are entitled to a statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks of paid holiday each leave year. For a five day week that comes to 28 days, and the statutory entitlement is capped there. So someone working six days a week still has a statutory minimum of 28 days, not 33.6. A contract can offer more, but it cannot offer less than the statutory floor.
Part-time and pro-rata holiday entitlement
Part time workers get the same 5.6 weeks, scaled to the days or hours they work. A common approach is days worked each week times 5.6, so a three day week gives 16.8 days. Where hours vary across the week it is safer to work in hours, because a day is no longer a fixed quantity. A part time holiday entitlement worked out in hours is easier to defend than one forced into whole days.
Irregular hours, part-year workers and the 12.07% method
For genuinely irregular hours workers and part-year workers, holiday accrues as they work rather than being fixed up front. For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, the accrual rate is 12.07% of the hours worked in each pay period. That figure is 5.6 weeks divided by the 46.4 working weeks left in the year. The labels casual, term time and zero hours are not automatic, so confirm the pattern against the contract before applying 12.07%.
Bank holidays: included, on top, or closure days
There is no separate legal right to bank holidays off. The eight permanent bank holidays in England and Wales can be counted within the 5.6 weeks or given on top, depending on the contract. If the workplace closes on bank holidays, check whether those days are charged to the allowance. Part time workers should be handled fairly so they do not lose out when a bank holiday rarely lands on a working day.
Starters and leavers mid-year
When someone joins or leaves partway through the leave year, entitlement is pro-rated to the part of the year they actually work. For a leaver, accrued but untaken leave must be paid in the final pay, which is a strict statutory requirement. If a leaver has taken more than they accrued, an employer can usually only recover the overage from final pay where the contract expressly allows it.
Holiday pay versus entitlement, and the 52-week average
Entitlement is how much leave someone gets. Holiday pay is what a day of that leave is worth. Where pay varies, the first four weeks of holiday must be paid at an average of the previous 52 paid weeks, including regular overtime and commission, looking back up to 104 weeks to reach a full 52. Working the two out separately, rather than assuming basic pay, is what keeps holiday pay right.
The April 2024 reforms and rolled-up holiday pay
Following the Harpur Trust case, the government reset the rules for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024. Irregular hours and part-year workers accrue at 12.07%, and rolled-up holiday pay is lawful again for those workers, paid as a clearly itemised addition to normal pay in the same period. Rolled-up holiday pay does not remove the duty to make sure leave is actually taken.
The 6 April 2026 record-keeping duty
From 6 April 2026, employers must keep adequate records showing workers have received their annual leave and been paid for it. The practical answer is to keep the calculation, the assumptions and the method with the staff file, clear enough that someone could check how a figure was reached. That record-keeping is built into this tool, which is why it logs every assumption alongside the answer.
NHS Agenda for Change annual leave
NHS staff on Agenda for Change receive more than the statutory minimum. Annual leave is 27 days on appointment, 29 days after five years and 33 days after ten years, plus the eight general and public holidays. These figures are for a full time worker and are pro-rated for part time staff. Local terms and the individual contract still take precedence.
This page is general guidance based on GOV.UK and Acas at the time of writing. It is not legal advice, and it does not cover accrual during sickness, maternity or other statutory leave, or carry-over, which are handled separately. The contract is the final word on any individual entitlement.
Annual leave and holiday entitlement, answered
How much annual leave am I entitled to in the UK?
Almost all workers in the UK get a statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year. For a five day week that works out at 28 days, which is also where the legal cap sits. Your employer can offer more than this, but never less. Whether bank holidays sit inside that allowance or on top of it depends on your contract.
How do I calculate pro-rata holiday for a part-time employee?
Take the full time entitlement and scale it to the days or hours the person actually works. A common approach is to multiply the days worked each week by 5.6, so someone on three days a week gets 16.8 days. It is often cleaner to work in hours, because a day stops being a fixed quantity once the pattern varies. GOV.UK and Acas both set out this pro rata approach.
How does holiday work for zero-hours or irregular-hours workers?
For workers with genuinely irregular hours, or who work only part of the year, holiday builds up as they work. For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024 the accrual rate is 12.07% of the hours worked in each pay period. Employers can also use rolled up holiday pay for these workers, paid as a clearly itemised addition to normal pay. The label casual or zero hours is not automatic, so check the arrangement against the contract.
Do bank holidays count towards my holiday entitlement?
Bank holidays are not a separate legal right on top of your holiday. There are eight permanent bank holidays in England and Wales, and your 5.6 weeks can include them or be given on top of them. What matters is what your contract says. Part time workers should be treated fairly so they do not lose out when a bank holiday rarely falls on a working day.
How do I work out holiday for someone starting or leaving mid-year?
Work out the full year entitlement, then pro rata it to the part of the leave year the person actually works. For a leaver, compare what they have accrued with what they have taken, and pay any accrued but untaken leave in the final pay. If they have taken more than they accrued, you can usually only recover it from final pay where the contract expressly allows it.
What is the 28-day statutory holiday cap?
The statutory cap means paid statutory holiday is capped at 28 days, even if someone works six or seven days a week. So 5.6 weeks only reaches 28 days at a five day week, and beyond that the statutory entitlement stops rising. Anything above 28 days is contractual rather than statutory. The cap applies to the statutory minimum, not to enhanced contractual leave.
What changed in the April 2024 holiday pay rules?
The government confirmed that normal pay for the first four weeks of holiday must include regular overtime, commission and similar payments. For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, irregular hours and part year workers accrue holiday at 12.07%, and rolled up holiday pay became lawful again for those workers. These reforms followed the Harpur Trust case and are set out on GOV.UK.
What holiday records must employers keep from April 2026?
From 6 April 2026 employers must keep adequate records showing that workers have received their annual leave entitlement and been paid for it. Keeping the calculation, the assumptions and the method with the staff file is the practical way to meet this. Records should be clear enough that someone could check how a figure was reached. This is exactly why a tool that shows its working matters.
What is Agenda for Change annual leave entitlement?
NHS staff on Agenda for Change get more than the statutory minimum. Annual leave is 27 days on appointment, 29 days after five years and 33 days after ten years, plus the eight general and public holidays. These figures are for a full time worker and are pro rata for part time staff. Local terms and the contract still take precedence.
Need this checked properly?
Annual Leave Logic gives you the calculation, method, assumptions and risk flags. If the case is complex, disputed, historic, or involves variable pay, annualised hours, maternity, sickness, carry-over or contract uncertainty, you can ask Thrive HR UK to review it properly.
Rosie Campbell, LLM Employment Law and Practice, CIPD-qualified HR practitioner
Founder of Thrive HR UK, with senior HR experience across primary care and federation services. Rosie builds practical tools and advice that hold up when they are challenged, grounded in employment law and real workplace judgement.
Reviewed and maintained by Rosie Campbell, Thrive HR UK. Last reviewed 4 July 2026.
Built and maintained as part of Thrive HR UK, alongside practical people-risk and employment-law guidance for UK employers.