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Tax year 2026/27 · Rest of UK · annual

Holiday Entitlement Calculator

Statutory holiday for full time and part time workers.

Tax year
Region
Schedule

Your details

Annual holiday (days)

28.0

Annual holiday (hours)

210.0

Statutory weeks5.6
Days worked / week5.0
Statutory cap28 days
Your entitlement28.0 days
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Interactive scenarios

Tax and deductions, your way

Tax year

Region

Pay schedule

Salary £45,000

Net (monthly)

£2,806

Income tax (monthly)

£541

NI (monthly)

£216

Effective rate

20.2%

Modelled on a 5% pension. Showing monthly figures, rest of UK, tax year 2026/27.

The full guide

Everything worth knowing about Holiday

Worked examples with real figures, the rules underneath the number, and the traps that catch people out.

01

Holiday entitlement calculator: your statutory leave in days

The holiday entitlement calculator converts the UK statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks into days for your working pattern. Full time staff on a five day week get 28 days a year, part time staff get the same 5.6 weeks pro rated, and irregular hours workers accrue leave at 12.07% of hours worked.

Part time and irregular hours are where the arguments start, because holiday entitlement is a fraction of a week rather than a fixed pile of days.

An abstract calendar grid
Weeks first, then days, then the pattern you actually work.
02

How the Holiday Entitlement Calculator works: the order payroll applies deductions

Deductions are not a flat set that each take a bite of the same cake. They run in sequence, and the sequence decides the cost of every one after the first.

Pension goes first under salary sacrifice, leaving gross pay before tax and National Insurance ever see it. Under relief at source it leaves net pay instead and HMRC tops the pot up. Same percentage on paper, different payslip.

Income tax then applies band by band against the tax code. National Insurance follows, worked out per pay period rather than across the year. Student loan sits on top of all of it and never reduces taxable pay.

Change the order and the answer changes. That is why a payslip with the same gross as a colleague's can pay a different net.

Pay flow

Gross, pension, tax, National Insurance, net

72%
14%
  • Net pay
  • Income tax
  • NI
  • Pension
  • Student loan
03

Holiday entitlement for three working patterns

Three days a week gives 5.6 times three, which is 16.8 days of holiday entitlement a year. Rounding up to seventeen is common practice and costs an employer almost nothing.

Starting in October leaves half the leave year, so holiday entitlement halves too and any bank holidays already taken count against it.

Zero hours and irregular shifts use the 12.07 percent accrual method, so a hundred hours worked earns just over twelve hours of paid leave.

Worked payslip

Gross to net, line by line

Sample payslip

Month 06 · 2026/27

Gross pay

£2,916.67

Pension (5%)

£145.83

Taxable pay

£2,770.84

Income tax

£373.83

National Insurance

£149.52

Net pay

£2,247.66

04

Where the Holiday Entitlement Calculator gets its figures

Rates, bands and thresholds follow published HMRC and gov.uk figures for the 2026/27 tax year, held in one table that every tool reads. April arrives, the table changes, and the results move together.

Earlier years stay available through the year selector, so a late self assessment runs on the numbers that applied at the time rather than today's.

Some cases still need an accountant. K codes carrying negative allowances, bespoke sacrifice arrangements, the annual allowance taper for very high earners, and anything involving two employments at once.

05

More UK pay and tax calculators

Holiday Entitlement Calculator answers one question. The salary calculator turns gross into net, the income tax calculator splits the bill by band, the National Insurance calculator shows the step at the upper limit, and the pension calculator prices a percentage change three ways at once.

Every tool reads the same rate table, so two pages never disagree. Run this one, note the figure, then open the next and watch which line moves.

06

What the number will not tell you

Cash is the floor of a decision, not the decision. An hour a day handed back by a shorter commute is roughly two hundred and fifty hours a year, and nothing prices that against a manager worth working for.

Some benefits convert cleanly. Health cover has a taxable value, a learning budget has a receipt, extra leave has a daily rate. Share options that vest over four years and enhanced parental leave do not, so weigh those separately rather than treating them as salary.

Example gallery

Real inputs, real outputs

Graduate starter

First job, default workplace pension.

rUK

Gross / yr

£28,000

Pension

5%

Income tax

£3,086

NI

£1,234

Take home / month£1,857

Mid career

Standard tax code, modest pension uplift.

rUK

Gross / yr

£45,000

Pension

6%

Income tax

£6,486

NI

£2,594

Take home / month£2,768

Higher rate

Crossing the higher rate band.

rUK

Gross / yr

£72,000

Pension

8%

Income tax

£16,232

NI

£3,451

Take home / month£3,880

Scotland mid

Scottish bands applied.

Scotland

Gross / yr

£45,000

Pension

5%

Income tax

£6,882

NI

£2,594

Take home / month£2,773

About this calculator

Almost all UK workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year , capped at 28 days for full-time. Part-time entitlement is pro rata based on the days you actually work.

Quick reference

Allowance 0%
0%
Basic 20%
20%
Higher 40%
40%
Additional 45%
45%

Frequently asked questions

Do bank holidays come out of my allowance?+
That depends on your contract. The statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks can include the eight bank holidays, so many employers count them within the total. Check whether your written terms say in addition or inclusive.
How does holiday work on an irregular hours contract?+
Entitlement builds as you work, based on hours in each pay period. Employers commonly accrue it at 12.07 percent of hours worked for irregular patterns.
What happens to unused holiday when I leave?+
Untaken statutory leave is paid at your normal rate on your final payslip. If you have taken more than you accrued, an employer can recover it only where the contract allows.
How much holiday do I get working 4 days a week?+
5.6 weeks times 4 days, which is 22.4 days a year. Your employer may round up, and bank holidays count inside that total unless your contract says otherwise.
Can my employer refuse my holiday dates?+
Yes, with proper notice of at least twice the length of the leave you requested. They cannot refuse the holiday entitlement itself, only the timing, and they must let you take statutory leave in the leave year.
Do I get paid for bank holidays?+
Only if your contract includes them. The statutory 28 days for full time staff can include the eight bank holidays, so check whether your terms say inclusive or in addition.
Can I carry unused holiday into next year?+
Usually not. Most contracts require statutory leave to be used in the leave year, with limited carryover allowed for long term sickness or family leave. Contractual leave above the minimum follows your employer's policy.