Holiday entitlement calculator

Basic holiday entitlement refers to the allowed number of days workers are allocated for their statutory leave. In the UK workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of holiday every year, including payment. A holiday entitlement calculator helps determine the number of days each worker should get for their statutory leave while considering several factors. The number of working days or hours the employees work is considered. 

Read on to find out how to calculate your holiday allocation, what pro-rata holiday entitlement is, and other aspects related to holiday entitlement.

Statutory leave entitlement in the UK

Statutory leave entitlement refers to the number of days full-time workers are eligible. In the UK, these workers should get at least 28 days or 5.6 weeks of paid holiday annually. Employers cannot round down the number of days as they can only be rounded up. The 28 days of statutory leave entitlement also include public holidays.

Part-time workers

Working part-time means that you are also entitled to 5.6 weeks or 28 days. However, workers will get fewer days than 28 for their holiday allocation because it's part-time. For instance, if you work 4 days a week, the holiday entitlement will be (4×5.6), 22.4 days each year. When rounded up, it becomes 23 days.

Irregular hours

This applies to shift or term-time workers who are allowed paid time off. If you work for irregular hours, your holiday entitlement will be calculated according to the number of hours you work. Counting the number of days may not be effective as shift workers can work different hours on different days.

Limits on statutory leave

Statutory paid leave entitlement is capped at 28 days for all workers. You cannot have more than 28 days of statutory leave even though you work for more than 5 days.

Bank Holidays

It's not a must for you to have your bank or public holiday counted together with your entitled paid leave. The employer determines whether they want to count the days as part of your leave or not.

How do you calculate holiday entitlement?

Pro-rata holiday entitlement is the computation of the number of days you are allocated for your statutory leave considering the days worked in the holiday year. To calculate the pro-rata holiday entitlement, you count the days or hours you covered at work and multiply it by 5.6. The result gives the number of annually allocated days for your holidays. For instance, if you work five days a week all year round, you will be allocated 28 days. However, allocated days are fewer for part-timers or those working fewer days. Working three days will earn you 16.8 days, rounded to 17 days. 

Holiday allocation days are available provided you give notice to your employer prior. If you want to take five days off, your employer must be notified 10 days before the date. Employers should have a standard process for employees to ask for days off. 

Employees are entitled to a payout for untaken vacation days even if they are fired or suspended. Suppose you fall sick while on holiday; you should contact your employer to convert your holiday to sick leave or decide to take your holiday later in place of the time you were sick.

Other aspects

Holiday carryover

The annually allocated days, 28, should be taken during the year, or they will go unused. Although with an extra 1.6 weeks in the UK, that translates to 8 days, you can be allowed to carry over the days. If you fall sick or go on maternity leave, your holiday allocation can be carried over to the next year, provided they are utilized during the first 18 months.

Parental leave

Since statutory leave is still one of the benefits employees enjoy, employees taking parental leave continue to accrue their days off. Employers and employees need to form an agreement as it is not mandatory to accrue days off while on parental leave.

The upper limit of statutory leave

Each worker in the UK is entitled to 28 days off. For example, working 5 days and 6 days a week only earns you 28 days annually. The one extra day to standard working days doesn't make a difference to your holiday allocation.

Starting or leaving part way through a year

Once you join employment as the year continues, your holiday allocation will be calculated from when you began working. On the other hand, if you leave partway into a year, your entitlement tie will run from the start of the holiday year up to the leaving date.