Annual Leave Calculator
Work out a regular-hours worker’s full-year holiday entitlement, a pro-rata amount for part of a leave year, and an estimated accrued balance after leave already taken. There is also a separate Great Britain calculator for irregular-hours and part-year workers using the statutory 12.07% accrual method.
Calculate annual leave
Calculation updates instantlyInformational estimate based on statutory guidance. It does not determine employment status, contractual enhancements, special-sector rules, or whether leave may be taken in advance.
What this annual leave calculator actually works out
Annual leave questions usually mix together three different numbers. Keeping them separate makes the result much easier to check against an HR system or final payslip.
For regular days, the statutory minimum is 5.6 times the normal working week, subject to the 28-day cap.
If employment starts or ends during the leave year, the calculator estimates the proportion attributable to the part of that leave year in employment.
The tool subtracts leave already taken from the pro-rata figure. This is useful for checking a balance, but it is not the same as a legal limit on what may be booked in advance.
How annual leave is calculated for regular-hours workers
Almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid statutory holiday a year. For someone who works the same number of days each week, the basic calculation is simple: multiply weekly working days by 5.6. The statutory result is capped at 28 days, so someone working 6 days a week does not receive 33.6 statutory days under this basic days-per-week calculation.
Bank holidays do not automatically sit on top of those 5.6 weeks. An employer can include bank or public holidays within the statutory allowance. If your contract gives 25 days plus bank holidays, however, use the calculator’s Known employer allowance option and enter the total annual allowance that actually applies to you.
Statutory annual leave by regular days worked
This table shows the full-year statutory minimum before any contractual enhancement.
| Days worked per week | 5.6-week calculation | Statutory full-year entitlement |
|---|---|---|
| 1 day | 1 × 5.6 | 5.6 days |
| 2 days | 2 × 5.6 | 11.2 days |
| 3 days | 3 × 5.6 | 16.8 days |
| 4 days | 4 × 5.6 | 22.4 days |
| 5 days | 5 × 5.6 | 28 days |
| 6 days | 33.6 before cap | 28 days |
| 7 days | 39.2 before cap | 28 days |
Accrued, remaining and available leave are not the same thing
Full-year entitlement is the total allowance for a complete leave year. Pro-rata entitlement is the portion associated with only part of that leave year. Remaining leave normally means the relevant entitlement minus leave already taken, plus or minus any carry-over or adjustments.
The distinction matters because an employer can allow regular-hours workers to take holiday before it has built up. After the first year, workers may have access to the year’s entitlement from the start of the leave year subject to workplace booking rules. A negative “accrued balance” in this calculator therefore does not automatically mean the worker has done anything wrong; it can simply mean they have taken leave in advance of the pro-rata point reached so far.
Starting or leaving part way through the leave year
A worker who starts or finishes employment part way through a leave year is entitled to a proportion of the full-year amount. The regular-hours calculator uses the dates you enter to calculate the number of calendar days in employment within that leave year, divided by the total number of calendar days in that leave year.
This date-based approach is particularly useful for a leaver checking final holiday entitlement. When employment ends, untaken statutory holiday that has built up must normally be paid in lieu. If more leave has been taken than built up, an employer can only deduct the excess from final pay where that deduction was agreed in the contract or in writing beforehand.
Irregular-hours and part-year workers: the Great Britain 12.07% rule
For qualifying irregular-hours and part-year workers in Great Britain, the current statutory accrual method applies 12.07% to the hours worked in each pay period. The percentage comes from the relationship between 5.6 weeks of statutory leave and the remaining 46.4 working weeks in a year.
This is why the calculator has a separate irregular-hours mode rather than forcing irregular workers through a “days per week × 5.6” calculation that may not match the current Great Britain method.
Cases that can change the number
The arithmetic is only one part of a real annual-leave balance. These are the adjustments most likely to explain a difference between this calculator and an employer’s system.
- ✓Sickness and statutory family leave: statutory holiday continues to accrue during sickness absence and statutory leave such as maternity, paternity and adoption leave.
- ✓Contractual extra leave: an employer can provide more than 5.6 weeks. The rules for the extra contractual portion can differ from the statutory minimum.
- ✓Carry-over: some leave can carry into another leave year depending on the contract and circumstances such as sickness, family leave, or an employer failing to provide a reasonable opportunity to take leave.
- !Working-pattern changes: if days or hours change during the leave year, one single weekly pattern may no longer be a fair representation. Calculate each period separately or use the employer’s detailed method.
- !Bank holidays: they can be included inside the statutory 5.6 weeks. Do not automatically add them on top unless the contract says they are additional.
Worked annual leave examples
Annual leave calculator FAQs
Answers to the questions that most often cause a leave balance to look “wrong”.
How many days annual leave do I get in the UK?
Most workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave. A regular 5-day worker normally gets 28 days; a 4-day worker 22.4 days; and a 3-day worker 16.8 days. Contractual entitlement may be higher.
Do bank holidays count towards the 28 days?
They can. There is no general rule that bank holidays must be additional to the statutory 5.6 weeks. Check the contract or staff handbook.
How do I calculate annual leave for a part-time worker?
For regular days worked throughout the year, multiply the number of days worked each week by 5.6. For example, 3 days a week gives 16.8 statutory days for a full leave year.
How is annual leave calculated when I leave a job?
For a regular-hours worker leaving part way through the leave year, the full-year entitlement is normally pro-rated for the part of the leave year in employment. Untaken statutory leave that has built up must normally be paid in lieu when employment ends.
Does maternity leave reduce annual leave?
No. Statutory holiday continues to build up during maternity leave and other statutory family leave. It also continues to accrue during sickness absence.
Can my employer round my holiday entitlement down?
Part-day statutory entitlement should not simply be rounded down so that the worker receives less than the legal minimum. First-year accrual has specific rounding guidance, and employers may choose to round entitlement up.
What does 12.07% holiday accrual mean?
For qualifying irregular-hours and part-year workers in Great Britain, statutory leave for current leave years is generally accrued at 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period. The calculator’s second mode applies this method.
Does the 12.07% rule apply in Northern Ireland?
Do not assume that it does. Northern Ireland has separate working-time legislation and guidance. This page therefore restricts the 12.07% calculator to Great Britain.
Why does my employer’s figure differ from this calculator?
Common reasons include a different leave-year start date, contractual extra leave, carry-over, a change in working pattern, first-year monthly accrual, leave already taken, or an employer policy allowing leave to be used in advance.
Can I be paid instead of taking statutory holiday?
Normally statutory leave should be taken as leave. Payment in lieu of untaken statutory holiday is generally permitted when employment ends.
Primary guidance checked for this page
Other UK leave and pay calculators
Use the next calculator for the specific figure you need rather than trying to force one formula to answer every leave question.
Informational estimates only. LeaveCalculators.com does not provide legal, employment, tax or payroll advice. Contractual terms and individual facts can change the correct result.