UK employees are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave per year — equivalent to 28 days for a full-time worker working 5 days a week. This statutory minimum includes bank holidays. Employees on irregular hours and part-year contracts gained new rights from 1 April 2024 under changes to the Working Time Regulations.
The statutory minimum — 5.6 weeks
The Working Time Regulations 1998 entitle all workers (not just employees) in the UK to a minimum of 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave per year.
For a full-time worker working a standard 5-day week, this equals 28 days per year.
Employers can choose whether to include bank holidays within the 5.6 weeks or to offer them on top. Many UK employers offer 20 days of holiday plus 8 bank holidays — which totals 28 days and meets the statutory minimum. Others offer 25 days plus bank holidays, which exceeds it.
Key point: The statutory minimum is 5.6 weeks — not 20 days. If bank holidays fall on working days and are not treated as holiday, workers must still receive 5.6 weeks in total.
Who is entitled to statutory holiday?
Statutory holiday entitlement applies to:
- Employees — workers employed under a contract of employment
- Workers (including zero-hours workers and casual workers)
- Agency workers — from day one of their assignment
It does not apply to:
- Genuinely self-employed contractors
- Volunteers
The right begins on day one of employment — there is no qualifying period for statutory holiday entitlement.
Part-time and reduced-hours workers
Part-time workers are entitled to the same 5.6 weeks — but calculated proportionally to the days or hours they work.
| Working days per week | Statutory entitlement | |---|---| | 5 days | 28 days (5 × 5.6) | | 4 days | 22.4 days (4 × 5.6) | | 3 days | 16.8 days (3 × 5.6) | | 2 days | 11.2 days (2 × 5.6) | | 1 day | 5.6 days (1 × 5.6) |
Fractions of a day can be rounded up to the nearest half-day — they cannot be rounded down.
Irregular hours and part-year workers — new rules from April 2024
From 1 April 2024, the rules for calculating holiday entitlement changed significantly for workers who do not work regular hours — including zero-hours contract workers, term-time workers, and casual workers.
The new 12.07% accrual method
For irregular hours workers and part-year workers, holiday now accrues at a rate of 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period.
This method replaces the previous practice of calculating holiday based on a 12-week average — which was ruled by the Supreme Court in Harpur Trust v Brazel (2022) to be unlawful for part-year workers.
How it works:
- A worker works 30 hours in a given pay period
- They accrue 30 × 12.07% = 3.62 hours of holiday entitlement for that period
- This accrual continues throughout the year
Rolled-up holiday pay — now permitted again
From 1 April 2024, employers can once again offer rolled-up holiday pay to irregular hours workers and part-year workers. This means including an additional 12.07% on top of each pay packet to represent holiday pay — instead of paying it when holiday is taken.
Rolled-up holiday pay must be:
- Clearly identified on the payslip as holiday pay
- Paid at the correct rate (12.07% of total pay including overtime and commission)
Bank holidays
The UK has 8 bank holidays per year in England and Wales (9 in Scotland, 10 in Northern Ireland). There is no statutory right to paid bank holidays off work — the right depends entirely on the worker's contract.
Most employment contracts either:
- Include bank holidays within the 5.6-week entitlement (common in retail, hospitality, shift-based roles)
- Offer bank holidays as additional paid days on top of the 5.6 weeks
Workers required to work on bank holidays can be paid at standard rate, overtime rate, or offered a day in lieu — whatever the contract specifies.
Holiday pay — what must be included?
Holiday pay must reflect normal remuneration — not just basic pay. Under a series of Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal decisions, holiday pay must include:
- Regular overtime (if regularly worked)
- Commission (if a regular part of pay)
- Allowances regularly received (e.g. shift allowances, unsociability payments)
The Supreme Court confirmed in British Gas Trading Ltd v Lock [2016] that commission regularly received must be included in holiday pay. An employer who pays only basic salary during leave is likely underpaying holiday pay.
Carrying over holiday
Under the Working Time Regulations, workers can only carry over a maximum of 4 weeks of the 5.6-week entitlement into the next leave year — the remaining 1.6 weeks must be used or paid out on termination.
Exceptions allow full carryover where:
- The worker was on sick leave and could not take holiday
- The worker was on maternity, paternity, adoption or shared parental leave
- The employer did not give the worker a reasonable opportunity to take their leave
The COVID-19 provisions (allowing 2 years of carryover) expired on 31 March 2024. Any unused COVID-carried leave that was not taken by that date is forfeit.
Common employer mistakes
| Mistake | Consequence | |---|---| | Not offering 5.6 weeks to part-time workers proportionally | Unlawful deduction from wages claim | | Including zero-hours workers in holiday exclusions | Unlawful — all workers are entitled | | Paying only basic salary during holiday | Underpayment of holiday pay — tribunal claim | | Not allowing holiday rollover for workers on sick leave | Unlawful — must permit carryover | | Using the 12-week average for part-year workers | Unlawful since Harpur Trust v Brazel |
Frequently asked questions
Can I force employees to take holiday at a specific time (e.g. Christmas shutdown)? Yes. Employers can require workers to take holiday at specified times by giving at least twice the notice of the holiday period (e.g. 2 weeks' notice to require 1 week of holiday). This must not conflict with the worker's right to take their full 5.6 weeks during the leave year.
What happens to unused holiday when an employee leaves? On termination, employees must be paid out for any accrued but untaken statutory holiday (5.6 weeks, pro-rated for the leave year). Contractual holiday above the statutory minimum may be paid out or not, depending on the employment contract.
Can I have a use-it-or-lose-it policy? Yes — for contractual holiday above the 4-week statutory minimum, you can implement a use-it-or-lose-it policy. However, the first 4 weeks must be permitted to carry over if the worker was unable to take it due to sickness or family leave.
Does holiday entitlement change during the first year of employment? No — holiday accrues from day one. Workers are legally entitled to take accrued holiday as it builds up throughout the first year, not only after completing a qualifying period.
Do I have to pay bank holiday premium rates? Only if the employment contract requires it. There is no statutory requirement to pay enhanced rates for working on bank holidays.