England, Wales and Scotland · Working Time Regulations · NHS Agenda for Change
Free Holiday Entitlement Calculator UK 2026
What type of worker are you?
You'll need: your worker type and region (England, Wales, or Scotland). Part-time workers need days per week. NHS workers need service length, contracted hours, and leave year start date.
Where do you work?
5 days/week x 5.6 weeks = 28 days (statutory maximum for full-time workers).
Estimate only · GOV.UK · gov.scot · NHS Employers
At a glance
Statutory minimum
5.6 weeks
per year for all workers
Full-time equivalent
28 days
the statutory cap
NHS workers
27-34 days
public holidays listed separately by default
Zero-hours accrual
12.07%
of hours worked
Full-time, part-time, zero-hours, and NHS Agenda for Change. Pro-rata for joiners and leavers. Covers England, Wales, and Scotland. No signup. · Verified from gov.uk
Reviewed by Abdul Rafay (source-checked against official employment and NHS guidance) · Published May 2026 · Last verified: May 2026
How Holiday Entitlement Is Calculated
Holiday entitlement is the number of paid days off your employer must give you each year by law.
Nearly every worker in the UK is legally entitled to at least 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year. On a 5-day week that is 28 days. Work fewer days and the number drops proportionally. The formula is the same whether you work full-time or part-time on a fixed schedule. Zero-hours workers and NHS staff use different calculations, both covered in the sections below.
How many days is 5.6 weeks of holiday?
Multiply 5.6 by the number of days you work per week. A 4-day week gives 22.4 days. A 3-day week gives 16.8 days. The cap is 28 days regardless of how many days you work.
| Days worked per week | Statutory leave (days) | If bank holidays are included |
|---|---|---|
| 5 days (full-time) | 28 days | 20 days (28 - 8 BH) |
| 4 days | 22.4 days | Subtract only bank holidays on working days |
| 3 days | 16.8 days | Subtract only bank holidays on working days |
| 2 days | 11.2 days | Subtract only bank holidays on working days |
| 1 day | 5.6 days | Subtract only bank holidays on working days |
Zero and irregular-hours workers
When your hours vary each pay period, leave builds up as you work. Every hour earns you 12.07% of an hour as holiday. Work 30 hours and you earn roughly 3.6 hours of leave, rounded to the nearest hour: 4 hours.
This accrual method applies to leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024. The 12.07% figure comes from dividing 5.6 by 46.4, the number of non-holiday weeks in a year: 5.6 / 46.4 = 0.1207. It is set in the Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2023.
NHS Agenda for Change
NHS leave depends on how long you have worked for the NHS, not your pay band. England and Scotland: 27, 29, and 33 days by service band. Wales: 28, 30, and 34 days. Those figures are for full-time staff. Part-time NHS workers get the same totals scaled to their contracted hours, with public holidays rounded to the nearest half day.
Under Agenda for Change, public holidays are listed separately from annual leave, though local trust or board arrangements can consolidate them. Your trust or board sets the exact public holiday count.
One rule most NHS staff do not know: all previous NHS service counts toward your band, including time at different trusts and gaps between NHS jobs. If you left the NHS and returned after a break, your service does not restart from zero. The calculator also handles mid-year contracted hours changes (LTFT or secondments) and tracks your remaining balance if you enter hours taken and carryover from last year.
Example Calculations
The 5.6-weeks formula applies to full-time and part-time workers on a fixed schedule. Here is how it works for two common examples.
Full-time, 5 days a week (England and Wales)
- 15.6 x 5 days = 28 days total entitlement
- 2Bank holidays included in allowance: 8 fall on working days
- 328 - 8 = 20 days to book freely
Part-time, 4 days a week (England and Wales)
- 15.6 x 4 days = 22.4 days total entitlement
- 2Bank holidays included: typically 6 fall on Mon-Thu working days
- 322.4 - 6 = 16.4 days to book freely
These are statutory minimums. Your employer may offer more. Only bank holidays that fall on your working days reduce your allowance.
How this is checked
Methodology and sources
Published May 2026 · Last verified: May 2026
This calculator applies the statutory 5.6-week formula, the 28-day full-time cap, the 12.07% accrual method for irregular-hours leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, and NHS Agenda for Change service bands. We cross-check the formulas, examples, Scottish bank holiday count, and NHS assumptions against current GOV.UK, legislation.gov.uk, gov.scot, NHS Employers, and NHS Scotland pages.
It shows statutory and published national rules only. Your contract, local NHS trust or board policy, and employer-enhanced leave can change the final figure. Read our editorial policy
Rules and edge cases
Holiday Entitlement Rules: England, Wales and Scotland
- 01
Bank holidays are not automatically paid leave
Your employer can count bank holidays within your 28-day statutory total, or give them on top as extra days. Full-time workers in England and Wales who have the 8 bank holidays inside their 28-day allowance are left with 20 days to book freely. For part-time or part-year workers, deduct only bank holidays that fall on your working days within your employment dates.
- 02
Scottish bank holidays vary by year
Scotland normally has 9 national bank holidays. In 2026, gov.scot lists 10, including an additional World Cup bank holiday on 15 June 2026. England and Wales have 8 bank holidays. The leave formula (5.6 weeks) is the same across Great Britain. Only the bank holiday count differs. Check gov.scot each year for the current list, as the count can vary.
- 03
Your employer can give more than the minimum
28 days is the legal floor for a 5-day week. Many employers offer 25, 30, or even 35 days. Check your contract. If your employer offers more, that full amount is yours. This calculator shows the statutory minimum only.
- 04
Zero-hours workers accrue leave at 12.07% of hours worked each pay period
From 1 April 2024, workers with varying hours accrue holiday at 12.07% of hours actually worked each pay period. Leave builds up while you work. Time not worked does not accrue leave.
- 05
Joining or leaving mid-year? Your entitlement is pro-rated.
If you join or leave part way through a leave year, your entitlement is pro-rata, proportional to the time you actually work in that year. Divide the days worked in the leave year by the total days in that leave year, then multiply by your full-year entitlement.
- 06
NHS leave is based on service, not pay band
Many NHS staff assume leave goes up with pay band. It does not. Your entitlement depends entirely on total NHS service: under 5 years, 5 to 10 years, and 10 or more years. England and Scotland use 27, 29, and 33 days. Wales uses 28, 30, and 34 days.
All NHS service counts, including gaps between employers. Under Agenda for Change, public holidays are listed separately from annual leave, though local trust or board arrangements can consolidate them — check with your employer.
Frequently asked
Your Holiday Entitlement Questions, Answered
How many days holiday am I entitled to in the UK?
If you work 5 days a week, you get 28 days of paid annual leave per year. That is 5.6 weeks, the legal minimum. Your employer can give you more, but not less. Part-time workers get the same 5.6 weeks proportionally: 3 days a week gives 16.8 days, 4 days gives 22.4 days.
How is holiday entitlement calculated for part-time workers?
Multiply 5.6 by the number of days you work per week. A 4-day week gives 22.4 days, a 3-day week gives 16.8 days. If your hours vary across those days, for example a compressed 4-day week of 10 hours a day, your entitlement stays at 22.4 days but each day off is longer. Some employers convert this to hours: 22.4 multiplied by your average daily hours. Your contract should state which method applies.
Do bank holidays count as part of my holiday entitlement?
Bank holidays are not automatically paid days off by law. Your employer decides: they count them within your 28-day statutory total, or give them on top as extra days. For full-time workers in England and Wales, including the 8 bank holidays inside a 28-day allowance leaves 20 days to book freely. For part-time or part-year workers, only deduct bank holidays that fall on your working days within your employment dates.
What is the minimum holiday entitlement in the UK?
The legal minimum is 5.6 weeks per year, which is 28 days for a standard 5-day week. This applies to almost all workers including part-time, agency, and zero-hours staff. The main exception is the genuinely self-employed. This minimum has been in place since April 2009.
How is holiday entitlement calculated for zero-hours contracts?
For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, zero-hours and irregular-hours workers accrue holiday at 12.07% of hours actually worked each pay period. Use the zero-hours option above to enter the hours worked in your pay period and get the accrued holiday in hours.
Is holiday entitlement different in Scotland?
The leave formula is the same across Great Britain: 5.6 weeks per year. The difference is bank holidays. England and Wales have 8 bank holidays. Scotland normally has 9 national bank holidays. In 2026, gov.scot lists 10, including an additional World Cup bank holiday on 15 June 2026. If Scottish bank holidays come out of your 28-day total, a full-time worker has 19 days to book freely in a normal 9-bank-holiday year, or 18 days in 2026.
How does NHS annual leave work under Agenda for Change?
NHS annual leave under Agenda for Change is based on total NHS service, not pay band. Full-time entitlement is 27-33 days in England and Scotland, and 28-34 days in Wales, with public holidays normally listed separately. Use the NHS worker option above to scale the entitlement to contracted hours, region, service length, leave taken, and any mid-year hours change.