Last Updated on November 10, 2026
Holiday mistakes rarely come from full-time staff. They come from the part-timer, the zero-hours worker and the person who started in July.
This calculator works out the legal minimum paid holiday for all of them: full-time, part-time, irregular hours, part-year workers and new starters.
No email, no sign-up. It runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere.
The rules the calculator uses
| Worker | Legal minimum | How it is worked out |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time, 5 days a week | 28 days | 5.6 weeks times 5 days |
| Part-time, same days each week | Less than 28 days | 5.6 times the days worked. Three days a week gives 16.8 days |
| Six or seven days a week | 28 days | The legal minimum stops at 28 days |
| Irregular hours or part-year (England, Scotland, Wales) | Up to 28 days | 12.07% of the hours worked in each pay period |
| New starter | A share of the year | One twelfth of the yearly total for each month worked |
Sources: GOV.UK: holiday entitlement and GOV.UK: holiday pay and entitlement reforms.
Bank holidays are not extra by law
An employer can count bank holidays as part of the 5.6 weeks. Whether they are on top is down to the contract.
The number differs by nation: 8 in England and Wales, 9 in Scotland and 10 in Northern Ireland in a normal year. Tick the box and the calculator shows how many days are left to choose.
Where the nations differ
The 5.6 week minimum is the same across the UK. The 12.07% method for irregular hours and part-year workers is law in England, Scotland and Wales only. Northern Ireland did not adopt it, and rolling holiday pay into the hourly rate is still not allowed there.
If the job is in Northern Ireland, the calculator says so and does not apply 12.07%.
A worked example
GOV.UK gives this one. A worker on irregular hours works 68 hours in June. 12.07% of 68 is 8.21 hours of paid holiday built up that month.
Holiday is a cost. Price it in.
Paid leave is time you pay for and cannot bill. Add it to the real cost of a hire with the employee cost calculator. If you work for yourself, the day rate calculator builds your own time off into what you charge.
Questions people ask
How much holiday does a part-time worker get?
Multiply the days worked each week by 5.6. Someone who works 3 days a week gets at least 16.8 days of paid holiday a year.
How is holiday worked out for zero-hours or irregular hours workers?
In England, Scotland and Wales, holiday builds up at 12.07% of the hours worked in each pay period, for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024. It stops at 28 days a year.
Do bank holidays have to be given on top of 28 days?
No. The law lets an employer count bank holidays as part of the 5.6 weeks. Check the contract to see what was agreed.
This shows the legal minimum to help you plan. It is not legal advice. Contracts can give more, and special rules apply to sick leave and family leave.
