This is general information about UK rules, checked on the date above. It is not legal advice, and rules change. For a decision that matters, check the sources below or ask a qualified adviser.
Holiday is one of the most common sources of small disputes at work, usually because nobody wrote down how it was worked out. The basic rules are short, and once you know them, most questions answer themselves.
The short version
- Almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year.1
- For someone working a 5-day week, that is 28 days.1
- Statutory paid holiday is limited to 28 days, however many days a week someone works.2
- Bank holidays can be included in that total, so check the contract.1
How to work it out
Acas gives a simple rule: multiply the number of days someone works each week by 5.6.2
| Days worked a week | Calculation | Statutory paid holiday |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 5 × 5.6 | 28 days |
| 4 | 4 × 5.6 | 22.4 days |
| 3 | 3 × 5.6 | 16.8 days |
| 6 | 6 × 5.6 = 33.6, but limited to 28 | 28 days |
The last row catches people out. Someone working six days a week does not get 33.6 days, because statutory paid holiday stops at 28.2 An employer can choose to give more than the legal minimum, and many do, but that comes from the contract and not from the statute.
Part-time staff
Part-time workers who work regular hours all year are still entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday, although that comes to fewer than 28 days.1 The entitlement is in proportion to their hours, because part-time workers cannot be treated less favourably than full-time workers.2
GOV.UK has a free holiday entitlement calculator for checking individual cases.3
Different rules apply to people on variable hours and to people who only work part of the year. Those are covered in our separate guide to holiday for irregular-hours and part-year workers.
Bank holidays
There is no separate statutory right to take bank holidays off with pay on top of the 5.6 weeks. An employer can include bank holidays as part of statutory annual leave.1 Whether someone has to work on a bank holiday is up to the employer, and may depend on the industry.4
Bank holidays can cause particular unfairness for part-time staff whose working days rarely fall on them. Acas says employers should tell workers the organisation’s rules for bank holidays, especially when someone is new or is moving from full-time to part-time or shift work.4 Our advice is to write the rule down before someone asks, because it is much harder to agree afterwards.
Starting part way through the year
For regular-hours workers, employers can use either a “leave year” or an “accrual” system.5 In the first year, an accrual system gives the worker one-twelfth of their leave each month.5 GOV.UK’s worked example is someone with 28 days who starts on 13 January: they get 2.5 days for January, because 28 ÷ 12 = 2.33, which is rounded up to the nearest half day.5
Booking and refusing leave
Unless the contract says otherwise, these are the general notice rules:6
| Who | Notice needed | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Worker asking for leave | At least twice the length of the leave, plus 1 day | 3 days’ notice for 1 day off |
| Employer refusing or cancelling leave | As much as the leave requested, plus 1 day | 11 days’ notice for a 10-day request |
| Employer requiring someone to take leave | At least twice the length of the leave | 2 weeks’ notice for 1 week off |
If the contract sets different notice periods, the contract applies.6 An employer can refuse leave at a particular time, but cannot refuse to let workers take their leave at all.6
Carrying holiday over
Workers can carry over some of their statutory holiday if there is a relevant agreement that allows it, such as a workforce agreement or a collective agreement.7 Other rules apply where someone could not take their leave because of sickness or statutory leave, so check Acas’s guidance on the specific situation.7
An employer also cannot force a sick worker to take leave, because the point of leave is that the worker can rest and enjoy leisure.6
Getting the paperwork right
Since April 2026, employers have had to keep records showing they have complied with these rules, and keep them for six years. Our article on the holiday records duty covers what to record.
When you put this into practice, three decisions prevent most arguments. Our suggestion is to write them into your contract or staff handbook:
- When does your leave year start? If the contract does not say, a default applies, and it may not be the date you assume.
- Are bank holidays included in the total or on top of it? Say which, and say what happens for part-time staff.
- How much notice do you want? A shared rule is fairer than deciding request by request.
If you are tired of checking these by hand, you can see a balance update itself in the HR and rota demo.
Sources
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GOV.UK, Holiday entitlement, accessed 7 November 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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Acas, How much holiday someone gets, last updated 1 October 2026, accessed 7 November 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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GOV.UK, Calculate holiday entitlement, accessed 7 November 2026. ↩
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Acas, Bank holidays and Christmas, last updated 1 October 2026, accessed 7 November 2026. ↩ ↩2
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GOV.UK, Holiday entitlement: calculate leave entitlement, accessed 7 November 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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GOV.UK, Holiday entitlement: booking time off, accessed 7 November 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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Acas, Carrying over holiday, last updated 1 October 2026, accessed 7 November 2026. ↩ ↩2
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