How much holiday am I entitled to if I work part-time?

Part-time workers receive the same 5.6 weeks' entitlement as full-time workers, calculated pro-rata to the days or hours you work. For example, if you work three days a week, your entitlement is 3 × 5.6 = 16.8 days per year. Your employer must round up any fraction — they cannot round down.

Do I have to work on bank holidays?

There is no statutory right to time off on bank holidays in the UK. Whether you must work, and whether you receive extra pay or time off in lieu, depends on what your contract says. Always check before accepting a role, particularly in sectors like retail, hospitality, and healthcare where bank holiday working is common.

How is holiday pay worked out if my pay varies each week?

If your pay varies — for instance because of overtime, commission, or irregular hours — your holiday pay must be based on the average of your earnings over the previous 52 weeks (excluding weeks with no pay). This average should include regular overtime and commission that form part of your normal remuneration, not just your basic hourly rate.

Can I carry over unused holiday to next year?

Generally, you must take your holiday within the leave year. However, if you could not take it due to sickness or maternity or parental leave, you have the right to carry it over. Your employer can also agree to allow carry-over beyond the statutory minimum — get any agreement in writing. When you leave a job, any accrued but untaken holiday must be paid out.

What is rolled-up holiday pay and is it legal?

Rolled-up holiday pay means your employer adds 12.07% to your regular pay each week or month instead of paying you when you actually take leave. From January 2024, this method is lawful for irregular-hours workers and part-year workers, provided it is clearly shown on your payslip. If you are a regular full-time or part-time worker on fixed hours, rolled-up pay is not permitted — you must be paid when you take your leave.

Holiday Entitlement UK: Your Statutory Rights (2026)

Holiday entitlement UK explained: the 5.6 weeks statutory minimum, part-time and zero-hours pro-rata accrual, bank holidays, holiday pay, and carry-over rules.

Understanding your holiday entitlement is one of the most important aspects of any job offer or employment contract. Whether you work full-time in a hospital, part-time in a café, or on a zero-hours contract for a logistics firm, UK law gives you a minimum right to paid annual leave. This guide explains statutory holiday entitlement across all worker types, how holiday pay is calculated, and what rights you retain when you are sick, pregnant, or leaving a job.

The Statutory Minimum: 5.6 Weeks' Holiday

Almost all workers in the UK — including part-time workers, agency workers, and those on irregular hours — are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave per year. This is set by the Working Time Regulations 1998.

For someone working five days a week, 5.6 weeks equals 28 days of paid holiday per year. That 28-day figure is the statutory cap — an employer can offer more, but is not required to. If you work fewer days per week, your entitlement is pro-rated:

Four days a week: 4 × 5.6 = 22.4 days
Three days a week: 3 × 5.6 = 16.8 days
Two days a week: 2 × 5.6 = 11.2 days

Employers may round up fractional days but cannot round down. Your contract may grant a more generous allowance; the statutory figure is the floor, not the ceiling. Always verify the current rules at GOV.UK holiday entitlement or Acas, as legislation can change.

Bank Holidays: No Automatic Right

A common misconception is that workers are automatically entitled to paid time off on UK bank holidays (such as Christmas Day, Easter Monday, or the August bank holiday). There is no statutory right to take bank holidays off, and no statutory right for them to be paid.

Whether bank holidays count as part of your 5.6 weeks' entitlement depends entirely on your contract. Many employers include bank holidays within the 28-day allowance, so a worker on a "20 days plus bank holidays" contract is actually receiving more than the legal minimum. Others require staff to work bank holidays — common in retail, hospitality, healthcare, and emergency services — and may compensate with enhanced pay or time off in lieu. Always read your contract carefully and raise any ambiguity before you sign.

If you are considering roles with non-standard bank holiday arrangements, our guide on flexible working requests explains how to negotiate working patterns once you are in post.

Holiday Entitlement for Part-Time and Irregular-Hours Workers

Part-time workers have the same rights as full-time workers on a pro-rata basis. This has been a firmly established principle since the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 — you cannot be treated less favourably simply because you work fewer hours.

For workers with irregular or variable hours — including those on zero-hours contracts, casual workers, and some agency staff — entitlement accrues differently. From April 2024, the government confirmed a rolled-up holiday pay method for irregular-hours and part-year workers:

Holiday pay is calculated at 12.07% of earnings in each pay period. This percentage is derived from the proportion of the year that represents 5.6 weeks (5.6 ÷ 46.4 weeks worked = 12.07%).
Rolled-up holiday pay means that holiday pay is included in each payslip rather than paid when the worker takes leave. This approach was previously legally uncertain but was confirmed as lawful for irregular-hours workers by the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act amendments and the 2023 regulations effective from January 2024.
If your employer uses rolled-up pay, it must be clearly identified on your payslip as a separate element.

Workers in industries such as construction, catering, and social care often have irregular hours. Understanding how the 12.07% rate applies to your earnings can help you budget effectively and identify underpayment.

How Holiday Pay Is Calculated

The amount you are paid during annual leave must reflect your normal remuneration — not just your basic salary. This is particularly important for workers who regularly receive overtime, commission, or shift allowances.

Under the Working Time Regulations (as interpreted following a series of Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal rulings, and the Employment Rights Act), holiday pay for workers with variable pay must be calculated using a 52-week reference period, ignoring any weeks in which no pay was received (up to a maximum lookback of 104 weeks). This means:

Regular overtime that you are obliged to work must be included in the average.
Commission that forms part of normal remuneration must be reflected.
Shift premiums and allowances that are intrinsically linked to the performance of duties should also be included.

Workers on a fixed salary with no variable elements simply receive their normal weekly pay during leave. If you believe your employer is calculating holiday pay based on basic hours only and excluding regular extras, you may have a claim for unlawful deduction of wages — seek advice from Acas or an employment solicitor.

For context on pay-related rights during job transitions, see our guide on notice periods in the UK.

Carrying Over Leave, Sickness, and Maternity

The default rule is that annual leave must be taken within the leave year — you cannot automatically carry it over. However, there are important exceptions:

Sickness absence: If you are too ill to take holiday, you have the right to carry it over. Accrual continues throughout sick leave, and you can request to take the accrued leave on your return or carry it into the next leave year (up to four weeks of the EU-derived leave entitlement). Our guide on statutory sick pay covers the interaction between SSP and leave accrual in more detail.
Maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave: Holiday continues to accrue during all forms of statutory family leave. You cannot be forced to take annual leave during maternity leave. Unused leave accrued during maternity leave should normally be taken before or after the leave period, or carried into the next leave year by agreement.
Employer agreement: An employer may agree to allow carry-over beyond the statutory minimum — for example, permitting up to five days to be carried into the next year. Always get any such agreement in writing.
COVID-19 carry-over (legacy): The government introduced emergency carry-over rules during the pandemic allowing up to four weeks to be carried over for two years. Those provisions have now largely expired, but workers who were prevented from taking leave during 2020–2022 may still have outstanding entitlement in certain circumstances.

Untaken Holiday When Leaving a Job

When your employment ends — whether through resignation, redundancy, or dismissal — you are entitled to be paid for any accrued but untaken statutory holiday. This is known as payment in lieu of annual leave and should appear on your final payslip.

Conversely, if you have taken more holiday than you have accrued by the time your employment ends, your employer may be able to deduct the excess from your final pay, but only if your contract expressly permits this.

If you are facing redundancy, check our guide on redundancy pay in the UK for a full picture of what you are owed when a role ends. If any deductions from your final pay seem incorrect, raise a formal grievance and seek Acas guidance promptly — there are strict time limits on employment tribunal claims.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much holiday am I entitled to if I work part-time?: Part-time workers receive the same 5.6 weeks' entitlement as full-time workers, calculated pro-rata to the days or hours you work. For example, if you work three days a week, your entitlement is 3 × 5.6 = 16.8 days per year. Your employer must round up any fraction — they cannot round down.
Do I have to work on bank holidays?: There is no statutory right to time off on bank holidays in the UK. Whether you must work, and whether you receive extra pay or time off in lieu, depends on what your contract says. Always check before accepting a role, particularly in sectors like retail, hospitality, and healthcare where bank holiday working is common.
How is holiday pay worked out if my pay varies each week?: If your pay varies — for instance because of overtime, commission, or irregular hours — your holiday pay must be based on the average of your earnings over the previous 52 weeks (excluding weeks with no pay). This average should include regular overtime and commission that form part of your normal remuneration, not just your basic hourly rate.
Can I carry over unused holiday to next year?: Generally, you must take your holiday within the leave year. However, if you could not take it due to sickness or maternity/parental leave, you have the right to carry it over. Your employer can also agree to allow carry-over beyond the statutory minimum — get any agreement in writing. When you leave a job, any accrued but untaken holiday must be paid out.
What is rolled-up holiday pay and is it legal?: Rolled-up holiday pay means your employer adds 12.07% to your regular pay each week or month instead of paying you when you actually take leave. From January 2024, this method is lawful for irregular-hours workers and part-year workers, provided it is clearly shown on your payslip. If you are a regular full-time or part-time worker on fixed hours, rolled-up pay is not permitted — you must be paid when you take your leave.

Knowing your holiday rights before you start a new role puts you in a stronger negotiating position and helps you spot underpayment early. Atlas Job OS reviews job descriptions and contracts across all industries — from nursing and retail to engineering and finance — so you can enter every application informed. Create a free account to let Atlas match you to roles that respect your rights and fit your life.