About LeaveCalculators.com
We build free, transparent leave and pay calculators that help people turn complicated employment rules into numbers they can actually understand — with the formula, assumptions, sources and limits shown clearly.
What is LeaveCalculators.com?
LeaveCalculators.com is a free calculator and guidance website for statutory leave, holiday, sick pay, parental leave, redundancy and related employment calculations. It is designed to make official rules easier to use without hiding the working behind a black-box result.
The site currently covers the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Ireland. Because employment rules do not work the same way in every country — and often not even in every state, province, territory or employment category — our calculators are separated by jurisdiction rather than forcing one universal formula onto everyone.
Why we built LeaveCalculators.com
Leave calculations sound simple until a real person tries to work one out. A full-time employee with a fixed five-day week may have a straightforward question. A part-time worker, someone starting midway through a leave year, a worker leaving employment, a person with irregular hours, or an employer trying to calculate accrued leave can face a very different problem.
The rules are often spread across legislation, government guidance, payroll terminology and employer-specific policies. A user may know the question they need answered — “How much holiday have I earned?”, “What should I be paid?”, “How many days do I have left?” — without knowing the legal vocabulary required to find the relevant rule.
We built LeaveCalculators.com to make that gap smaller. The aim is not to replace official government guidance. It is to make the calculation layer easier to understand and easier to check.
“A useful calculator should do more than produce a number. It should help you understand what went into that number, which rule it used, and when you need to check something more specific.”
That principle shapes the site. Results are available without forcing a signup. Important assumptions are placed near the calculator rather than buried in small print. Where a legal rule varies by location, status or working arrangement, we try to surface that difference before a user relies on the answer.
Six countries, separate rules
Leave and employment entitlements are jurisdiction-specific. That matters because two people with similar jobs can have different statutory rights simply because they work in different countries — or, in some places, different states, provinces or territories.
We do not assume that the law of one country can be copied into another. We also do not treat a future law as if it already applies. When a change has been announced but has a later commencement date, the current rule remains the calculation rule until the new law becomes effective.
What makes our calculators different
There are plenty of calculators online. Our goal is not to win by adding more boxes to a form. We focus on the parts that help a user judge whether a calculation is actually relevant to their situation.
Official sources first
We start with the government department, labour authority, legislation or statutory guidance that actually governs the rule. Secondary summaries can help with context, but they do not outrank the primary source.
The formula stays visible
Where possible, we show the arithmetic behind the result so a user can see the inputs, rate, period, cap or multiplier rather than receiving an unexplained figure.
Assumptions are disclosed
A calculator is only as useful as its assumptions. We identify the employment pattern or eligibility conditions the calculation expects and flag situations that need a different route.
Dates matter
Employment rates and rules can change. Pages are reviewed against the relevant update cycle and should identify when a rate, threshold or method was last checked.
Limits are part of the answer
If a collective agreement, contract, local law or unusual work pattern can change the outcome, we would rather tell you that than present a false sense of precision.
No signup wall
The calculator result should be the useful part of the page, not bait for an email form. You can use the core calculations without creating an account.
How a LeaveCalculators.com calculator is built
Our full standards are set out on the Methodology page, but the practical process follows a consistent sequence.
Define the exact question
We start by narrowing the calculation to a specific user problem and jurisdiction. “Holiday entitlement” is too broad on its own; the formula may depend on work pattern, start date, leave year, status or local law.
Find the controlling primary source
We identify the relevant government guidance, labour authority, statute, regulation or official published rate. Our Sources page explains the source hierarchy used across the site.
Translate the rule into inputs and formulas
The legal or policy wording is converted into the minimum inputs required for a useful calculation. We avoid requesting information that does not affect the result.
Map eligibility, caps and exceptions
We identify where the formula stops being universal — for example, when a cap applies, a worker category is excluded, a regional rule differs, or contractual entitlement may be more generous than the statutory minimum.
Test ordinary and awkward scenarios
A calculator is checked with normal inputs and edge cases: part-time patterns, mid-year starts, final-year employment, unusual working weeks, zero values, rounding boundaries and dates close to a rule change where relevant.
Show the working
The result page should explain enough of the calculation for a user to reproduce or challenge it. That includes the central formula, significant rates or thresholds and the assumptions that materially affect the answer.
Review when the law or rate changes
We revisit pages when official authorities publish new rates, amendments, commencement dates or replacement guidance. The displayed review date refers to the calculator or content check, not simply the day the page was first published.
Who the site is for
LeaveCalculators.com is written for people who need a clear first answer before deciding what to do next. That includes employees checking their own entitlement, managers handling a straightforward leave question, small-business owners, HR teams, payroll staff, advisers and people comparing a calculation with an employer’s figure.
Those audiences do not all need the same level of detail. That is why our pages aim to work in layers: a calculator or quick answer first, then the formula and explanation, then deeper guidance, limitations, FAQs and sources for users who need more context.
We also write for search and answer systems in a deliberately structured way. Definitions are stated directly. Jurisdictions are named. Dates and units are explicit. FAQs answer one question at a time. This helps traditional search engines, AI answer engines and users scanning on mobile understand the same page without changing the underlying facts.
That does not mean writing for algorithms instead of people. A page that ranks but leaves the user unsure what the result means has failed at the more important job.
Who researches the content?
Ruby Miller
Ruby Miller researches and maintains LeaveCalculators.com’s employment-law and leave-calculation content. Her role on the site is to turn official rules into clear, usable explanations while preserving the conditions and exceptions that make those rules accurate.
That means checking the source behind a number, separating statutory minimums from contractual benefits, watching effective dates, and making sure a calculator does not imply certainty where the law depends on facts the tool cannot know.
Ruby’s byline is part of our accountability model: users should be able to see who is responsible for the editorial content, how that content is produced, and how to flag a problem if something needs correction.
What our calculators can — and cannot — tell you
A calculator can apply a formula consistently. It cannot know every fact that might matter in an employment dispute or payroll decision. That distinction is important.
Our tools are designed to estimate or calculate entitlements based on the information you enter and the rule stated on the page. They are most useful when the user’s circumstances match the assumptions shown. They should not be treated as a substitute for individual legal, tax, payroll or HR advice.
- Contracts can be more generous than the statutory minimum. A legal minimum is not always the employee’s full contractual entitlement.
- Collective agreements may affect the outcome. Unionised or collectively bargained terms can add rights or change how a workplace administers leave.
- Local rules can matter. This is especially important in countries where state, provincial, territorial or city rules sit alongside federal law.
- Employment status can matter. Employee, worker, contractor, casual, irregular-hours and other classifications may not receive identical treatment.
- A dispute can turn on facts a calculator cannot verify. Dates worked, normal pay, qualifying service, employer size, location, previous leave and contract wording can all be relevant.
For more detail, read our Disclaimer and the limitations shown on the individual calculator you are using.
Keeping the site current
Employment rules do not all update on the same date. Some statutory rates change annually. Some changes follow a new Act or regulation. Others depend on a state, province, territory or local authority. A single “updated this year” label is therefore not enough.
We review calculators according to the rule they depend on. If a page uses a statutory rate, that rate needs to be checked when the responsible authority updates it. If a page uses a stable formula but no annual rate, the review focuses on whether the governing rule, eligibility criteria or official guidance has changed.
We also distinguish between announcement date, enactment date and effective date. A law can be passed today and still not change a calculation until a future commencement date. Users should not receive tomorrow’s formula for today’s entitlement.
If you spot a figure or explanation that appears wrong or out of date, please use our Contact page. Our Editorial Policy explains how corrections are reviewed and handled.
Frequently asked questions about LeaveCalculators.com
Is LeaveCalculators.com free to use?
Yes. The core calculators are designed to be used without creating an account or submitting an email address to reveal the result.
Where do your leave and pay rules come from?
We prioritise primary official sources: government departments, labour authorities, legislation, regulations and officially published statutory guidance. The exact source set depends on the country and calculator. See our Sources and Methodology pages for more detail.
Does LeaveCalculators.com provide legal advice?
No. The site provides calculators and general information. A result can help you understand how a published rule works, but it cannot assess every fact, contract term or legal issue in an individual employment situation.
Why do calculators differ by country?
Because statutory leave and pay laws are not universal. The UK, Australia, Canada, the US, New Zealand and Ireland use different legal frameworks, definitions, rates and eligibility rules. Some countries also have important state, provincial, territorial or local variation.
How do you handle changes in employment law?
We review the affected calculator against the official source and use the rule that is legally in force for the relevant date. Future changes are not applied early simply because they have been announced or enacted.
Who is Ruby Miller?
Ruby Miller is the HR & Employment Law Content Lead for LeaveCalculators.com. She researches and maintains the site’s leave and employment-law content and is linked from our editorial and methodology pages for transparency.
What should I do if I think a calculation is wrong?
First check the assumptions and limitations shown on the calculator. If the page still appears incorrect, contact us with the page URL, the figure you believe is wrong and, if possible, the official source you are comparing it with. We review correction reports under our Editorial Policy.
Need a leave calculation?
Start with the calculator that matches your country and situation, then review the formula and assumptions shown with your result.