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Holiday entitlement

How much holiday someone gets

Employees have the right to 'statutory annual leave' (paid holiday).

This is the case whether they work:

  • full time
  • part time
  • under a zero-hours contract

The number of days' holiday someone gets depends on:

  • how many days or hours they work
  • any extra agreements they have with their employer

Employees 'accrue' (build up) holiday from the day they start working, including when they're on:

  • a probationary period
  • sick leave
  • maternity, paternity, adoption or shared parental leave

Statutory paid holiday

By law, employees are entitled to 5.6 weeks' statutory paid holiday a year. Bank holidays might be included in this paid holiday. Employees should check their contract if they're not sure.

The amount of time off someone gets depends on their circumstances.

For example, to work out someone's holiday entitlement in days, multiply the number of days they work each week by 5.6. If they work 5 days a week, their statutory paid holiday is 28 days a year (5 x 5.6).

Statutory paid holiday is limited to 28 days. For example, if someone works 6 days a week they're still only entitled to 28 days' paid holiday.

Part time

Employees who work part time are still entitled to 5.6 weeks' statutory paid holiday. The entitlement will be in proportion to the hours they work. This is because part-time workers cannot be treated less favourably than full-time workers.

For example, if someone works 3 days a week, they're entitled to 16.8 days' paid holiday a year (3 x 5.6) .

If an employer gives full-time employees more paid holiday than the legal minimum, they must give part-time employees more than the legal minimum.

If someone is employed for less than a year

An employee is entitled to a proportion of a full year's holiday entitlement if their employment contract:

  • lasts for less than a year
  • ends part way through a holiday year
For example, Jo starts employment on 1 January. They work 5 days a week and get the statutory 5.6 weeks' holiday entitlement. Their employment ends after working for 26 weeks. They would have accrued 14 days of holiday at the point their employment ends.

Irregular hours workers and part-year workers

There are specific rules about holiday for irregular hours workers and part-year workers.

Find out more about holiday for irregular hours workers and part-year workers

Holiday for someone who is self-employed

Someone who is self-employed is not usually entitled to paid holiday.

However, contractors or freelancers working through an agency should check their employment status. Their employment status will affect what they're entitled to.

Find out more self-employment

Enhanced or contractual holiday

It might be written in the contract that an employee gets more than statutory holiday entitlement. This can be called 'enhanced' or 'contractual' holiday entitlement.

Holiday that's less than a full day

An employee's holiday entitlement might include 'part days'. For example, someone might get 11.2 days of holiday because they work 2 days a week. The employee should ask their employer how to use the part day.

For example, an employee could agree with their employer to leave early or come in late to use the part day.

Employers cannot round down part days. During the first year of employment, employers must round up part days to the nearest half day. After that, they can choose to round them up, but they do not have to.

Holiday calculator

To work out how much holiday someone gets, use the holiday calculator on GOV.UK.

If someone's not sure how much holiday they should get

If an employee is not sure what their holiday entitlement is, they can:

Contact the Acas helpline

If you have any questions about holiday entitlement, you can contact the Acas helpline.