Holiday pay is a legal right for most UK workers, including many part-time, agency and casual workers. Yet payslips can become confusing when shifts change, overtime is regular or someone leaves a job midway through the holiday year. How much paid time off have you earned, and what should your employer pay you for it?
Holiday entitlement determines the time off you can take. Holiday pay determines the money you receive. Understanding both makes it easier to check your rights and challenge a shortfall.
How Much Paid Holiday Are UK Workers Entitled To?
Almost all workers receive at least 5.6 weeks of statutory paid annual leave for a full leave year. For a five-day working week, that is normally 28 days. The statutory entitlement is capped at 28 days, even for someone working six days weekly, although an employer can offer more.
Part-time workers still receive 5.6 weeks based on their own schedule. Someone working three days a week generally gets 16.8 days per year. Employers can include bank holidays within statutory leave; there is no separate automatic entitlement to paid leave on every bank holiday.
Holiday rights generally start on the first day of work. Allowances need adjusting when a worker joins or leaves partway through a leave year, changes hours, or qualifies under the irregular-hours rules. Check the contract for the holiday-year dates and any additional leave.
How Is Holiday Pay Calculated?
For fixed hours and fixed pay, the calculation is straightforward: a week’s holiday ordinarily means a week’s usual pay. Someone earning £560 per week on a regular five-day schedule would normally receive £560 for a full week’s statutory leave.
Variable pay requires closer attention. Depending on the working pattern, employers use average earnings from a 52-week reference period. Certain weeks with no relevant pay are replaced by earlier weeks, looking back no further than 104 weeks where required. A shorter employment history calls for the available qualifying weeks.
Does Overtime Count as Normal Pay?
Holiday pay is not necessarily basic wages alone. For at least four weeks of the statutory 5.6 weeks, normal remuneration includes relevant regular overtime, commission linked to contractual duties and certain payments associated with seniority or qualifications. The remaining 1.6 weeks may generally be paid at the basic rate.
Employers may pay the full 5.6 weeks at the normal rate. If regular overtime vanishes from holiday pay, compare your payslips and seek an explanation. Our guide to overtime pay rights provides related background on additional hours and wages.
Irregular Hours Holiday Pay and Leave Accrual
For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, workers meeting the legal definitions of irregular-hours or part-year workers generally accrue holiday at 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period. A statutory cap and rounding rule apply, with separate provisions for sickness and statutory leave.
For example, someone working 100 hours in a pay period accrues 12.07 hours before statutory rounding, resulting in 12 hours of leave. That calculation concerns holiday time, not a cash payment automatically added to ordinary wages.
When holiday is paid as it is taken, these workers generally receive pay based on the relevant 52-week paid-week reference period. Regular overtime and qualifying commission count towards the normal rate for their full statutory entitlement.
When Is Rolled-Up Holiday Pay Allowed?
Qualifying irregular-hours and part-year workers can instead receive rolled-up holiday pay for applicable leave years. An additional 12.07% of remuneration for work done is paid alongside earnings and identified separately on the payslip. They must still be able to take their leave.
Employers cannot use rolled-up holiday pay for ordinary regular-hours workers. Simply describing an hourly rate as inclusive of holiday pay does not override their legal rights.
Booking Leave and Carrying It Forward
An employer may control when leave is taken and refuse particular dates, subject to the contract and notice rules. However, it must still allow workers to take their statutory holiday. Bank holiday closures and company shutdowns can be managed within the leave allowance where lawful.
Normally, leave should be used in its holiday year. Carryover may be required when long-term sickness, statutory family leave or an employer’s failure to enable or encourage holiday prevents it being taken. The precise rules differ between regular-hours and irregular-hours workers.
Holiday and rest-break entitlements are separate matters. Our guide to working time and rest breaks explains how they fit together.
Unused Holiday When Employment Ends
When someone leaves a job, the employer must normally pay for statutory leave accrued but not taken. The calculation accounts for the share of the leave year worked and holiday already used. This applies even following dismissal.
Where more leave was taken than earned, an employer generally needs prior written agreement before deducting the excess from final wages. Contractual holiday above the statutory minimum may have additional terms.
How to Challenge Unpaid Holiday Pay
Start by comparing the contract, rota, leave history and payslips. Ask payroll which weeks and payments went into its holiday pay calculation. Identify a specific error, such as excluded regular overtime or unpaid accrued leave, and request a written correction.
If the issue remains unresolved, raise a grievance and consider advice from Acas or a trade union. Underpayments may amount to unlawful deductions from wages; our guide to unlawful wage deductions covers that related protection.
Tribunal time limits are strict. A claim may need to begin within three months minus one day of the relevant underpayment, although a series of deductions and Acas early conciliation can affect timing. In Great Britain, qualifying unlawful-deduction claims generally have a two-year back-pay limit. Seek advice promptly rather than waiting for an internal process to finish.
Since 6 April 2026, employers have also been required to keep detailed annual-leave and holiday-pay records for at least six years, making accurate recordkeeping especially important.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do zero-hours workers get paid holiday?
Yes. Workers with zero-hours arrangements generally qualify for statutory paid leave. Their entitlement and pay calculation depend on the actual working arrangement and whether the legal irregular-hours definition applies.
Does holiday pay include overtime?
Regular overtime included in normal remuneration generally counts for at least four weeks of statutory leave. Qualifying irregular-hours and part-year workers have normal-rate rules covering their full statutory entitlement.
Can bank holidays be included in my 28 days?
Yes. An employer may include bank holidays within the 28-day statutory allowance for someone working five days weekly, subject to contractual rights.
Can I take money instead of annual leave?
Usually not while employment continues. Statutory leave is meant to be taken, although lawful rolled-up pay exists for qualifying workers. Payment for unused statutory leave is generally due when employment ends.
Check the Days and the Money
To assess your holiday pay rights in the UK, check both the leave you have earned and the rate applied when you take it. Keep records, ask for calculations you can understand and act quickly when holiday pay is missing. Different working patterns change the maths, not the underlying right to paid time off.