Annual Leave Calculator UK
Estimate statutory holiday entitlement, pro rata leave for starters or leavers, leave accrued to today, and the balance remaining after time already taken. Built for regular working patterns in days or hours.
Calculate your annual leave
Choose whether you work in days or hours, add your leave year dates, and enter how much leave you have already used.
Your results will appear here. The calculator will show full period entitlement, accrued leave to today, leave already taken, and the remaining balance.
Leave balance chart
Expert guide to using an annual leave calculator in the UK
An annual leave calculator for the UK helps workers and employers estimate holiday entitlement in a way that is practical, transparent, and easier to explain. It is especially useful when someone works part time, joins after the leave year has already started, leaves part way through the year, or tracks holiday in hours instead of days. While many contracts simply state a headline figure such as 28 days including bank holidays, the real world is often more detailed. That is why a reliable calculator can save time and reduce misunderstandings.
At the heart of the UK system is the statutory minimum holiday entitlement. For most workers, the basic legal position is 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year. If you work a regular five day week, that usually means 28 days. If you work three days per week, the equivalent is 16.8 days. If your contract is based on hours, the same concept can be expressed as 5.6 times the number of hours you work in a normal week. The official government guidance on holiday rights is available at GOV.UK holiday entitlement and pay, and the official holiday entitlement tool is at GOV.UK calculate your holiday entitlement.
How the calculator works
The calculator above follows a straightforward logic that matches the way many HR teams and payroll departments assess statutory leave for regular working patterns. First, it calculates a full year entitlement using the statutory 5.6 week rule. Second, it checks how much of the leave year you were actually employed for. Third, it estimates the holiday accrued up to today and compares that with any leave already taken. The result is a practical picture of your leave position.
- Day based calculation: days worked per week multiplied by 5.6.
- Hour based calculation: hours worked per week multiplied by 5.6.
- Pro rata adjustment: reduced proportionally if you only work part of the leave year.
- Accrued to today: useful for starters, leavers, and anyone checking whether they have taken more leave than they have built up so far.
If you are a full year worker with a standard contract, your annual entitlement may be easy to state. However, if you start in the middle of the year, the fair approach is to calculate the portion of the year you will actually work and apply that proportion to your annual total. A similar process applies if you leave before the end of the leave year.
Statutory annual leave comparison table
The table below shows how the statutory 5.6 week formula converts into days for common regular working patterns. This is one of the most useful comparisons for employees who work part time and want to know whether their contract leave allowance looks reasonable.
| Regular days worked per week | Statutory leave in weeks | Statutory leave in days | Typical interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 day | 5.6 weeks | 5.6 days | Suitable for one fixed working day each week |
| 2 days | 5.6 weeks | 11.2 days | Common for part time contracts |
| 3 days | 5.6 weeks | 16.8 days | Often rounded by employer policy |
| 4 days | 5.6 weeks | 22.4 days | Equivalent to four day workweeks |
| 5 days | 5.6 weeks | 28 days | The standard full time statutory maximum in days |
| 6 days | 5.6 weeks | 28 days cap | The statutory entitlement in days is capped at 28 |
One important detail is the 28 day cap for statutory entitlement when measured in days. This means someone working six days per week does not simply receive 33.6 statutory days. Instead, the statutory minimum is capped at 28 days. Employers can always offer more generous contractual leave than the legal minimum, but not less.
Why pro rata leave matters for starters and leavers
Pro rata calculations are one of the main reasons people search for an annual leave calculator in the UK. If your leave year runs from 1 January to 31 December but you join on 1 July, you are not usually entitled to the whole annual allowance. Instead, you normally receive the share of holiday that relates to the part of the leave year that remains. In the same way, if you leave before the end of the holiday year, your final holiday position needs to be reconciled so that any untaken entitlement or overused leave can be addressed correctly.
- Work out your full year statutory leave based on your weekly pattern.
- Identify the part of the leave year during which you are employed.
- Apply that fraction to the full year entitlement.
- Subtract the leave already taken.
- Compare the result with leave accrued so far if you are checking your position before the end of the year.
For example, imagine a worker who normally works three days per week. Their full year statutory entitlement is 16.8 days. If they only work for half the leave year, the rough pro rata total is 8.4 days. If they have already taken 5 days, they may have about 3.4 days left for that period, subject to any employer rounding policy. The calculator above performs this type of estimate automatically using the dates you enter.
Bank holidays in the UK and why they cause confusion
Many workers assume bank holidays are always extra, but that is not necessarily correct. In the UK, an employer can count bank holidays within the statutory 5.6 weeks, as long as the total paid leave still meets the legal minimum. This is why a contract may say something like “20 days plus 8 bank holidays” for a five day worker, or “28 days including bank holidays.” Both can be lawful depending on how the total works out.
Bank holiday treatment becomes even more sensitive for part time workers. If a part time employee does not usually work on Mondays, they should not automatically lose out compared with a full time colleague simply because several bank holidays happen to fall on Mondays. Good holiday systems usually deal with this by expressing leave as an overall entitlement in days or hours and then deducting leave when time off is taken, instead of treating every bank holiday in exactly the same way for everyone.
You can check official public holiday dates at GOV.UK bank holidays.
Bank holiday comparison by UK nation
The number of bank holidays varies across the UK, which is another reason annual leave comparisons need context. The table below shows the typical number of bank holidays in 2025 by nation, based on official published dates.
| Nation | Typical 2025 bank holiday count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 8 | Includes Good Friday, Easter Monday, May and summer bank holidays |
| Scotland | 9 | Usually includes 2 January and St Andrew’s Day substitute where applicable |
| Northern Ireland | 10 | Includes St Patrick’s Day and Battle of the Boyne |
This matters because an annual leave package that sounds generous in one region may be structured differently in another. Always ask whether the number quoted by your employer includes bank holidays or sits on top of them.
Days versus hours: which method is better?
There is no universal best method, but there is a best method for a given work pattern. If you work fixed days, measuring leave in days is intuitive. It is easy to understand and easy to request. If your schedule is built around shifts and weekly hours, holiday in hours can be fairer because it captures the true value of time off more precisely. This is especially relevant where shifts differ in length.
- Use days when each working day is broadly similar.
- Use hours when shift lengths vary or the contract is framed around weekly hours.
- Use a pro rata approach for anyone joining or leaving during the leave year.
- Check your contract for rounding rules, carry over rules, and whether bank holidays are included.
If your employer tracks holiday in hours, you may also see fractional balances that look more precise than day based systems. That is not a problem. In fact, it often improves fairness for staff who work non standard patterns.
Irregular hours, part year workers, and the 12.07% figure
Some workers do not fit neatly into a regular days per week or hours per week model. Casual workers, irregular hours staff, and some part year workers may hear about a 12.07% method. This percentage comes from the statutory 5.6 weeks of holiday as a proportion of the 46.4 working weeks left in the year once that holiday is removed. In practical terms, 5.6 divided by 46.4 equals 12.07%.
That figure is often used to estimate holiday accrual for irregular hours and part year workers in appropriate contexts, but the detailed legal treatment has changed over time and depends on the worker category, leave year, and how holiday pay is administered. Since 2024, there have been updates affecting irregular hours workers and some part year workers, including rules around rolled up holiday pay for certain cases. If you fall into this category, it is worth checking the latest government guidance rather than relying on a generic calculator alone.
The calculator on this page is designed for regular patterns in days or hours. That makes it a good fit for many employees, but not every possible working arrangement. When in doubt, compare the result with your contract and official guidance.
Common mistakes people make with holiday entitlement
Even smart people make avoidable errors when estimating leave. Most mistakes come from mixing up the unit of measurement, misunderstanding bank holidays, or forgetting that accrual and full year entitlement are not the same thing.
- Confusing annual entitlement with accrued entitlement: a new starter may not have built up the full yearly amount yet.
- Forgetting the 28 day statutory cap in day based calculations: six day workers do not automatically receive 33.6 statutory days.
- Ignoring contractual enhancements: some employers offer more than the statutory minimum.
- Assuming bank holidays are always extra: they may be included within the total allowance.
- Using calendar months too loosely: date based pro rata calculations are generally more precise than rough monthly estimates.
A good rule is to treat the calculator as a high quality estimate and then reconcile it against your contract wording, staff handbook, and payroll records. That gives you both the legal baseline and the company specific detail.
What to check in your employment contract
A contract or holiday policy often contains the details that decide how your practical entitlement works in day to day use. You should look for the following points:
- The start and end dates of the holiday year.
- Whether bank holidays are included or additional.
- How part days or part hours are rounded.
- Whether holiday can be carried over and under what conditions.
- What happens if you leave employment with unused or overtaken holiday.
- Whether enhanced contractual leave sits on top of the statutory minimum.
These details matter because two workers with the same weekly schedule may still have different real life outcomes if their contracts use different holiday years or rounding rules. For example, one employer may round 16.8 days up to 17, while another may allow booking in tenths of a day and leave it unrounded.
Practical examples of using the calculator
Example 1: A full time office worker does five days per week across the whole leave year. Their statutory baseline is 28 days. If they have taken 9 days, the remaining statutory balance is 19 days, subject to any company enhancements or bank holiday arrangements.
Example 2: A part time worker does three days per week and starts exactly halfway through the leave year. Their full year baseline is 16.8 days. Working only half the year would produce roughly 8.4 days of entitlement for that period. If they have taken 2 days so far, the estimated remaining balance is around 6.4 days.
Example 3: A shift worker contracted for 30 hours per week uses hours instead of days. Their annual statutory entitlement is 168 hours because 30 multiplied by 5.6 equals 168. If they leave after 75% of the leave year and have already taken 140 hours, a pro rata check may reveal a smaller remaining balance than they expected, or even that they have overtaken their entitlement.
Final thoughts
An annual leave calculator in the UK is not just a convenience. It is a practical way to turn legal concepts into numbers people can actually use. Whether you are checking a standard five day contract, reviewing part time leave, or estimating the position of a starter or leaver, the key principles remain the same: identify the working pattern, apply the statutory 5.6 week rule, adjust for the relevant period of employment, and compare the result with leave already taken.
For the most reliable outcome, use this calculator together with official guidance and your written contract. The official sources most people should bookmark are holiday entitlement rights on GOV.UK, the government holiday entitlement calculator, and the UK bank holiday calendar. If your situation involves irregular hours, part year work, or complex shift patterns, go one step further and verify the latest guidance before relying on a simple formula alone.