Pro Rata Holiday Entitlement Calculator UK

How to use the holiday entitlement calculator

Choose the work pattern. Days a week if you work the same days every week, Hours a week if your days are different lengths, or Irregular hours if your hours change from one pay period to the next or you only work part of the year.
Enter your days (and hours) a week. Part days are fine, such as 2.5 days or 4.5 days.
Choose the period: a full leave year, starting part way through it, leaving part way through it, or both. Then add the dates it asks for.

The result is the statutory minimum, the paid holiday the law says you must get. Many contracts give more. If you want an official second opinion, GOV.UK has its own holiday entitlement calculator; we checked our worked examples against it.

The rule: 5.6 weeks, up to 28 days

"Almost all people classed as workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year (known as statutory leave entitlement or annual leave)."GOV.UK, Holiday entitlement

For someone working the same days every week, that is 5.6 × the days you work a week. GOV.UK adds that statutory paid holiday "is limited to 28 days", so working 6 or 7 days a week still gives 28 days. GOV.UK's own example: someone working 3 days a week "must get at least 16.8 days' leave a year (3 × 5.6)".

Days worked a week	Sum	Days of holiday a year
1	1 × 5.6	5.6
2	2 × 5.6	11.2
2.5	2.5 × 5.6	14
3	3 × 5.6	16.8
4	4 × 5.6	22.4
5	5 × 5.6	28
6	6 × 5.6 = 33.6, capped	28

Bank holidays. GOV.UK says "Bank or public holidays do not have to be given as paid leave" and that an employer "can choose to include bank holidays as part of a worker's statutory annual leave". So the 28 days for a full-time worker can include the bank holidays; check your contract.

Holiday in hours for fixed hours a week

If your days are different lengths, holiday in hours is fairer. The government's guide on calculating holiday entitlement works out the days first, then multiplies by your average working day (hours a week ÷ days a week). It applies the cap the same way: "In our view it is appropriate to incorporate the cap as 28 days of the average working day."

For example, 30 hours over 4 days is an average day of 7.5 hours. 22.4 days × 7.5 hours = 168 hours a year. Someone working 48 hours over 6 days gets 28 days × 8 hours = 224 hours, because of the cap.

Starting a job part way through the leave year

GOV.UK says a new starter is "only entitled to part of their total annual leave for the current leave year. What they get depends on how much of the year is left." The government guide counts the months you start in the leave year, from your first day, and rounds a part day up: "Leave entitlement for full leave year x (months started ÷ 12) rounded up to the next half or whole day (whichever is closer)".

Example: you start on 2 September working 5 days a week, and your leave year runs from 1 April to 31 March. Months start on 2 September, 2 October and so on to 2 March: 7 months. 28 × 7 ÷ 12 = 16.33 days, rounded up to 16.5 days. GOV.UK's calculator gives the same answer. For hours, the days are rounded first and then multiplied by your average day.

During the first year you build up this leave a twelfth at a time. GOV.UK explains: "If a worker starts part way through the month, they can accrue one-twelfth of their leave from their first day."

Holiday when leaving a job

When you leave, the entitlement is worked out by calendar days, not days worked. The government guide uses "Leave entitlement for full year x Proportion of leave year in employment", and notes that this is "based on calendar days in employment (not days spent working)".

Step (GOV.UK employer guidance example)	Result
Works 6 days a week: full year is capped	28 days
Leave year 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025, leaves 16 November 2024	139 of 365 days
28 × 139 ÷ 365 = 10.66, rounded up	10.7 days

Take away the holiday you have already taken in that leave year to see what is left. GOV.UK says "The only time someone can get paid in place of taking statutory leave (known as 'payment in lieu') is when they leave their job." If you start and leave in the same year, choose Starting and leaving: like GOV.UK's calculator, this counts the year from your first day.

Irregular hours and part-year workers: 12.07%

If your hours change from one pay period to the next (such as a zero-hours contract), or you only work part of the year, a different rule applies for leave years that began on or after 1 April 2024. GOV.UK says:

"Their entitlement will be 12.07% of the hours they worked in a pay period. It must be rounded up to the nearest hour if the entitlement is 0.5 of an hour or more."GOV.UK, Calculate leave entitlement

Its example: 30 hours worked in a weekly pay period earns 4 hours of leave (30 × 12.07 ÷ 100 = 3.621). Applying the same rule ourselves, 20 hours earns 2 hours (2.414, and under half an hour rounds down). The 12.07% comes from the 5.6 weeks: the employer guidance explains a worker's working weeks are "46.4 (52 weeks in a year minus 5.6 weeks of leave). 12.07% of 46.4 is 5.6."

Work out each pay period separately and add them up. For leave years that began on or before 31 March 2024, GOV.UK says leave "does not need to be accrued based on hours they've already worked", and its calculator can estimate it from the average days or hours worked each week instead.

Questions and answers

How many days holiday do I get if I work 3 days a week?

16.8 days a year: 3 × 5.6. GOV.UK uses this exact example. Your employer may round it up to 17, but cannot round it down.

Do bank holidays count as part of my holiday?

They can. Employers do not have to give bank holidays off as paid leave, and they can choose to include them in the 5.6 weeks. Your contract should say which.

How much holiday am I owed when I leave my job?

Choose Leaving part way through a leave year and enter when the leave year started and your last day. Take away the holiday you have already taken that year. Untaken statutory leave is paid when you leave, even after dismissal for gross misconduct.

Can my employer round my holiday down?

Not for holiday worked out from the days or hours you work each week: GOV.UK's calculator says employers "can choose to round up the holiday entitlement, but cannot round it down", and this calculator rounds those figures up. The exception is irregular-hours holiday from 1 April 2024, where GOV.UK's employer guidance says the hours "can be rounded down (to zero if it is less than 30 minutes)" and are rounded up to the next hour at 30 minutes or more.

How is holiday worked out for zero-hours contracts?

For leave years from 1 April 2024, irregular-hours workers earn 12.07% of the hours they work in each pay period, rounded to the nearest hour. Choose Irregular hours and enter the hours for one pay period.

Sources

Checked on 7 October 2026. If a rule has changed, please tell us.