Holiday entitlement: how much time off you get
TL;DR, the essentials
- Holiday entitlement is the amount of paid time off you build up for taking annual leave, on top of any public holidays your contract grants.
- In the UK, almost all workers get a statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year, which is 28 days for someone on a five-day week (the statutory amount is capped at 28 days).
- Part-time and irregular-hours workers get the same 5.6 weeks calculated pro rata, so fewer actual days but the same proportion.
- Rules, minimums and pay methods vary widely by country. The figures below are indicative, not personal legal advice. Source: gov.uk and Acas.
Booking time off raises a simple question: how many days are you actually owed, and are they paid? The answer depends on where you work, how many hours you do and what your contract says. This guide explains holiday entitlement in plain terms, uses the UK statutory rules as a concrete reference point, and flags where things differ from one country to another so you know what to check.
What is holiday entitlement?
Holiday entitlement (also called annual leave or paid time off) is the paid time away from work that you accrue as an employee. It is separate from sick leave, parental leave and unpaid time off. In most countries there is a legal minimum that an employer cannot go below, and contracts or collective agreements can offer more.
In the UK, the legal framework is set by the Working Time Regulations. Nearly all workers, including most agency, casual and zero-hours staff, are legally entitled to paid holiday. The mechanics come down to three ideas.
You accrue entitlement
You build up holiday based on the time you work, usually expressed in weeks or days per year.
You book and take leave
You use those days as paid time off, subject to your employer’s booking and notice rules.
You are paid for it
Each day of leave is paid at your normal rate of pay, so a holiday costs you nothing in earnings.
Worth knowing
Entitlement is a minimum floor, not a ceiling. Many employers offer more than the statutory amount as a benefit, and some add extra days for length of service. Always read your contract: it can only improve on the legal minimum, never reduce it.
How much holiday do you actually get?
In the UK, most workers on a five-day week are entitled to a statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year. For a standard five-day week that works out at 28 days (5 days multiplied by 5.6). This statutory entitlement is capped at 28 days, so someone working six days a week is still only legally entitled to 28, not 33.6.
The number of calendar days depends on how many days a week you work, because the 5.6 weeks are multiplied by your working pattern:
- A 5-day week gives 5 x 5.6 = 28 days (the cap applies).
- A 4-day week gives 4 x 5.6 = 22.4 days.
- A 3-day week gives 3 x 5.6 = 16.8 days.
Rule of thumb
To estimate a part-timer’s entitlement, multiply the number of days they work each week by 5.6. It is the same proportion of leave as a full-timer, just expressed as fewer calendar days.
This is UK-specific
The 5.6 weeks and 28-day cap are UK statutory rules. Other countries set very different minimums, and some have no statutory minimum at all. If you work elsewhere, check your national labour law or collective agreement rather than assuming the UK figures apply.
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How is holiday entitlement calculated?
For a full year on a fixed pattern, the calculation is straightforward: take the statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks and multiply by the days you work per week, then apply the 28-day cap if needed. Things get more interesting when someone joins or leaves partway through the year, because entitlement is then pro rated to the time they are employed.
A common way to pro rate a starter’s first-year leave is to work out the fraction of the leave year remaining:
- Full-year entitlement: 28 days (five-day week).
- Someone starting exactly halfway through the leave year: 28 x (6 / 12) = 14 days.
- Someone with three months left: 28 x (3 / 12) = 7 days.
These figures are indicative and usually rounded up in the employee’s favour. The precise method can vary by employer, and for people with no fixed hours the UK now uses a percentage-based accrual approach. When in doubt, the official gov.uk holiday entitlement calculator gives an exact answer for a given start date and pattern.
Not personal advice
These calculations are illustrative methods, not tailored advice. Your exact entitlement depends on your contract, your working pattern and your country’s rules. For your own situation, speak to your HR or payroll team, or check official sources such as gov.uk and Acas.
How does it work for part-time and irregular hours?
Part-time workers are entitled to the same 5.6 weeks as full-timers, calculated pro rata. That means fewer total days off, but exactly the same proportion of the year. The principle is that no one should be penalised for working fewer hours.
Irregular hours and part-year workers (for example, term-time or zero-hours staff) are a trickier case. In the UK, entitlement for these workers is typically accrued as a percentage of the hours worked in each pay period, which spreads leave fairly across an unpredictable schedule.
Entitlement scales with your working pattern, not your job title. A three-day-a-week employee and a five-day-a-week employee are both owed 5.6 weeks. The only thing that changes is how many calendar days that adds up to.The MiisterSoftware team, HR basics.
What about bank holidays and carrying leave over?
A frequent source of confusion is whether public or bank holidays count as part of your entitlement. In the UK there is no automatic legal right to take bank holidays off. An employer can choose to include the (usually eight) bank holidays within the 28 days, or grant them on top. Your contract decides, so it is always worth checking which model applies to you.
Carrying leave over to the next year is also governed by contract and law. As a general rule, the core statutory leave is meant to be taken in the year it is earned, though there are specific circumstances (such as long-term sickness or family leave) where UK rules allow some of it to be carried forward.
Two things to confirm in your contract
First, whether bank holidays are included in or added to your 28 days. Second, how much unused leave you are allowed to carry over. These two clauses explain most of the disputes over time off, and a good HR system tracks both automatically per employee.
Automate leave and payroll
See the HR platforms that manage entitlement, booking, carry-over and holiday pay in one place.
What is holiday pay, and how does it relate?
Entitlement is about how many days you get. Holiday pay is about how much you are paid for each of those days. In the UK, the general principle is that a week’s holiday should be paid at a week’s normal pay, so you are not worse off for taking leave.
For workers with variable pay (overtime, commission, shift premiums), holiday pay is calculated from an average of recent earnings rather than basic salary alone, so those extras are reflected. The exact reference period and inclusions are set by law and can change, which is one reason payroll software is useful: it recalculates the average automatically each time.
Good to know
When someone leaves a job with unused leave, they are usually owed pay in lieu of that untaken holiday in their final pay. The reverse can also apply: if they have taken more than they accrued, the employer may recover it, if the contract allows. As always, the details and amounts vary by country.
Next step
Managing leave for a whole team? See our best HR software of 2026 comparison, or head back to the HR & Payroll hub to understand how HRIS and payroll tools fit together.
Frequently asked questions
How much holiday am I legally entitled to in the UK?
Almost all UK workers are entitled to a statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year. For a five-day week that equals 28 days, and the statutory entitlement is capped at 28 days. Employers can offer more, but not less. Rules and minimums differ in other countries. Source: gov.uk.
Does holiday entitlement include bank holidays?
Not automatically. In the UK there is no legal right to take bank holidays off, and an employer can either include them within your statutory 28 days or grant them on top. Your employment contract determines which applies, so it is worth checking.
How is holiday entitlement calculated for part-time workers?
Part-time workers get the same 5.6 weeks pro rata. Multiply the number of days they work each week by 5.6. For example, three days a week gives 3 x 5.6 = 16.8 days of paid holiday a year. The proportion is the same as a full-timer, just fewer calendar days.
Is holiday entitlement the same in every country?
No. Statutory minimums, whether public holidays are included, pay methods and carry-over rules all vary widely by country, and some countries set no statutory minimum. The 5.6 weeks and 28-day cap described here are UK rules. Always check your national labour law or contract.
What is the difference between holiday entitlement and holiday pay?
Holiday entitlement is how many days of paid leave you get. Holiday pay is how much you are paid for each of those days, generally a week’s normal pay per week of leave. For variable earnings, holiday pay is based on an average of recent pay so overtime and commission are reflected.