Holiday Entitlement UK: How Many Days Are You Entitled To?

Holiday entitlement is one of the most fundamental rights in UK employment law, yet the rules on how much you are owed, what counts towards your 28 days and what changed in 2024 remain a source of genuine confusion for both employees and employers. This guide gives you the clear, current picture.

Key Facts

• Almost all workers in the UK are entitled to a statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday per year. This is 28 days for someone working five days a week.
• This 28-day entitlement can include bank and public holidays, although some employers offer these on top of the statutory minimum.
• Part-time workers receive a pro-rata entitlement, usually calculated as 5.6 weeks multiplied by the number of days they work each week.
• Holiday entitlement begins building up from the first day of employment or an agency assignment. There is no minimum service requirement.
• Employers must give workers a reasonable opportunity to take their statutory holiday, encourage them to use it and explain if untaken leave will be lost. Carry-over rights may apply if an employer fails to do this.

What Is the UK Statutory Holiday Entitlement?

The Working Time Regulations 1998 set the statutory minimum at 5.6 weeks’ paid annual leave for most workers in England, Scotland and Wales. For someone who works five days a week, that equates to 28 days per year.

The same statutory minimum applies in Northern Ireland under separate working-time legislation.

Working days per week	Statutory holiday entitlement
5 days	28 days, calculated as 5.6 × 5
4 days	22.4 days, calculated as 5.6 × 4
3 days	16.8 days, calculated as 5.6 × 3
2 days	11.2 days, calculated as 5.6 × 2

The statutory entitlement is capped at 28 days. This means someone working more than five days a week is not automatically entitled to more than 28 days of statutory leave.

Employers cannot round a statutory holiday entitlement down. Where the calculation includes part of a day, the employer may allow the leave to be taken in hours or choose to round the entitlement up.

Do Bank Holidays Count Towards Holiday Entitlement?

There is no automatic legal right for workers to have bank or public holidays off, although many employment contracts include them.

The 28-day statutory entitlement can include bank holidays. In England and Wales, for example, an employer can legitimately offer 20 days of annual leave plus the usual eight bank holidays to meet the 28-day minimum.

Some employers offer 25 days plus bank holidays, totalling 33 days. The number and dates of bank and public holidays vary across England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, so workers should check their contract to understand what applies to them.

Holiday Entitlement for Part-Time and Irregular Workers

Part-time workers receive the same 5.6-week statutory entitlement as full-time workers, calculated according to their normal working pattern.

For example, someone working three days per week would usually be entitled to:

3 days × 5.6 weeks = 16.8 days of paid holiday

For leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, qualifying irregular-hours and part-year workers in England, Scotland and Wales generally accrue holiday at a rate of 12.07% of the hours worked during each pay period.

For example, someone who works 100 hours during a pay period would usually accrue:

100 hours × 12.07% = 12.07 hours of holiday

These rules apply to workers who meet the legal definitions of an irregular-hours or part-year worker. Being on a zero-hours contract does not automatically determine how holiday must be calculated, as the worker’s contractual working pattern must also be considered.

Northern Ireland has separate working-time legislation, so workers and employers there should check the relevant Northern Ireland guidance.

Can Holiday Roll Over?

The default position is that statutory leave should be taken within the relevant leave year and cannot be accumulated indefinitely. However, carry-over is permitted in specific circumstances:

• If the employer has not given the worker a reasonable opportunity to take their leave, encouraged them to take it or explained that it may be lost
• If long-term sickness has prevented the worker from taking their holiday
• If the worker has been unable to take holiday because of maternity, paternity, adoption or another form of statutory leave
• If an employment contract, holiday policy or another agreement allows some holiday to be carried over

For most regular-hours workers, up to four weeks of statutory leave can be carried over where long-term sickness prevented it from being taken. This leave must normally be used within 18 months of the end of the leave year in which it was accrued.

Different carry-over rules apply to qualifying irregular-hours and part-year workers, who may be able to carry over up to 5.6 weeks of statutory leave in these circumstances.

Pay During Holiday

Workers must receive holiday pay while taking statutory annual leave.

For workers with fixed hours and fixed pay, holiday pay will normally be based on their usual rate of pay.

For at least four weeks of statutory leave, holiday pay must include relevant payments that form part of a worker’s normal remuneration. This can include regular overtime, commission and payments linked to professional status, seniority or duties required under the contract.

The remaining 1.6 weeks of statutory leave may be paid at the worker’s basic rate. Some employers choose to pay the normal rate for the full 5.6 weeks.

Qualifying irregular-hours and part-year workers must receive their normal rate of pay for all statutory holiday. Depending on the employer’s arrangements, this may be paid when holiday is taken or through a legally permitted rolled-up holiday pay arrangement. Any rolled-up holiday pay must be shown separately on the worker’s payslip.

Gi Group and Your Rights at Work

Gi Group places workers across the UK in temporary, contract and permanent roles.

Agency workers have the same right as other workers to a minimum of 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday during an assignment. Holiday entitlement begins building up from the first day of the assignment.

When you accept a role or assignment through Gi Group, your written terms should explain your statutory holiday entitlement, how your holiday builds up, how to request leave and how your holiday pay will be provided.

The way holiday entitlement and holiday pay are calculated may depend on your contract and working pattern. Speak to your Gi Group branch if you are unsure how your entitlement applies.

You can also learn more about worker rights or search our latest current vacancies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my employer tell me when to take my holidays?

Yes. An employer can direct when leave is taken, provided they give the worker the correct notice.

Unless a contract sets a different notice period, an employer must normally give at least twice as much notice as the period of leave they are requiring the worker to take. For example, they should give at least two weeks’ notice if they require someone to take one week of leave.

Workers can also be required to take leave during a workplace closure.

What happens to untaken holiday when I leave a job?

You are entitled to be paid for any statutory holiday you have accrued but not taken when your employment ends. This should normally be included in your final pay and calculated in line with the applicable holiday pay rules.

Does sick leave affect holiday entitlement?

No. Holiday continues to accrue while a worker is off sick, whether or not they are receiving sick pay.

If illness prevents you from taking your statutory holiday, you may have the right to carry it over into a later leave year, subject to the applicable limits and timeframes.

Legal Basis

The principal legislation is the Working Time Regulations 1998 for England, Scotland and Wales, and the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 for Northern Ireland.

This article provides general information only. Individual holiday entitlement can depend on a person’s employment status, working pattern, contract and location.