How pro rata holiday entitlement works in the UK
Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, almost all workers in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid statutory annual leave per year, capped at 28 days for full-time workers.
For part-time employees who work a fixed pattern of days each week, statutory entitlement is calculated pro rata by multiplying their weekly working days by 5.6 weeks. For example, a member of staff working 3 days every week receives 16.8 days of paid statutory holiday per year. Employers can include the UK's 8 standard bank holidays within this statutory allowance.
If you start a new job or leave employment partway through the leave year, your statutory leave is calculated pro rata based on the fraction of the year worked. An employee entitled to 28 days across a full 12 months who joins at the midpoint of the company's leave year receives 14 days of paid leave.
For irregular-hours and part-year workers in Great Britain with leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, statutory holiday accrues under updated legislation at 12.07% of the actual hours worked in each pay period.
Worked example: 3 days per week with full leave year
Consider an employee contracted to work 3 days per week throughout a complete leave year (100% share of the leave year).
Applying the statutory formula: 3 days per week multiplied by 5.6 statutory weeks equals 16.8 days of paid holiday per year, equivalent to 5.6 weeks of leave.
If that same 3-day-a-week worker joins their employer halfway through the company leave year (a 50% year share), their pro rata entitlement for that initial period is 8.4 days of paid holiday (2.8 weeks).
Inputs for the pro rata holiday calculator
How do you work?
Select whether your employment is arranged around a fixed number of days per week, fixed weekly hours, or irregular hours and part-year work.
Days worked per week
The number of working days you normally work in a standard week, from 0.5 to 7 days.
Hours worked per week
The total contracted hours you work each week when calculating leave entitlement in hours.
Share of the leave year you work
The percentage of the company holiday year you are employed for. Enter 100% for a full year, or a lower percentage if you joined or leave during the year.
Hours worked in the pay period
The actual hours completed during the pay period for irregular-hours workers accruing leave under the 12.07% statutory rule.
CALCULATOR QUESTIONS
Pro rata holiday calculator questions
Can an employer round down pro rata holiday entitlement?
No. Under UK employment law, an employer cannot round down statutory annual leave entitlement. For example, if an employee accrues 16.8 days, the employer can either round up to 17 days or allow the employee to take 16 full days and a partial day.
How are bank holidays handled for part-time workers?
Employers can count bank holidays towards statutory holiday entitlement. However, part-time workers must not be treated less favourably than full-time colleagues under the Part-Time Workers Regulations 2000. If bank holidays fall on days a part-time employee does not work, they must receive a pro rata allowance added to their bookable annual leave.
What happens to untaken pro rata holiday when leaving a job?
When an employment contract ends, the employer must pay the worker for any statutory leave accrued but not taken up to the termination date. Payment in lieu of statutory holiday is only legally permitted upon termination of employment.
How does the 12.07% irregular hours accrual work?
The statutory 12.07% figure is derived from 5.6 weeks of statutory holiday divided by the remaining 46.4 working weeks in a year (5.6 / 46.4 = 12.0689%). For every hour an irregular-hours worker works, they accrue approximately 7.24 minutes of paid holiday.