How much holiday are UK staff entitled to?
Almost every worker in the UK is entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year. That single number causes more payroll questions than almost anything else, because what it means in days depends on the pattern someone works — and because bank holidays sit inside it rather than on top of it.
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Key takeaways
- Almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year under the Working Time Regulations 1998 — 28 days for someone working five days a week
- The 28-day figure is a cap on the statutory minimum: someone working six days a week is still only entitled to 28 days, not 33.6
- Part-time staff get the same 5.6 weeks pro-rata — three days a week means 16.8 days a year
- Bank holidays do not have to be given as paid leave, and an employer may count them towards the 5.6 weeks
- Since 6 April 2026 employers must keep records of annual leave and holiday pay for at least 6 years
The statutory minimum: 5.6 weeks
The Working Time Regulations 1998 give almost all workers 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave. It is set in weeks deliberately: a week means whatever a week normally means for that person, so the same rule covers a full-time office worker and someone doing two shifts a week.
For a five-day week, 5.6 weeks works out at 28 days. That figure also acts as a ceiling on the statutory minimum:
| Days worked per week | Calculation | Statutory entitlement |
|---|---|---|
| 5 days | 5 × 5.6 | 28 days |
| 4 days | 4 × 5.6 | 22.4 days |
| 3 days | 3 × 5.6 | 16.8 days |
| 2 days | 2 × 5.6 | 11.2 days |
| 6 days | capped | 28 days |
The last row is the one that catches people out. Six days a week does not give 33.6 days of statutory leave — the entitlement is capped at 28. An employer can of course offer more contractually, and many do.
Part-time and irregular hours
Part-time staff are entitled to the same 5.6 weeks, applied to their own pattern. Three days a week gives 16.8 days a year. Nobody takes 0.8 of a day, so in practice most employers either round up as a matter of policy or track holiday in hours rather than days — which is usually cleaner for anyone whose shifts vary in length.
Staff without a settled pattern are handled differently again. For leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, irregular-hours and part-year workers accrue holiday at 12.07% of the hours they actually work. That has its own guide: holiday for part-time and irregular-hours staff.
Where bank holidays fit
Bank and public holidays do not have to be given as paid leave, and an employer may count them towards the 5.6 weeks. This is the single most misunderstood part of UK holiday.
In 2026 there are 8 bank holidays in England and Wales, and 10 in both Scotland and Northern Ireland. If an employer counts all 8 English bank holidays as part of the entitlement, a five-day worker has 20 days left to book freely. If the contract gives 28 days plus bank holidays, they have 28. Both are lawful; what matters is that the contract says which. Our bank holiday guide covers shift workers, part-timers and the four UK nations.
The six-year record duty
This one is new and easy to miss. Since 6 April 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 requires employers to keep records of annual leave and holiday pay for at least six years from the date the record was made.
The test is whether the records are adequate to show that entitlement was given and holiday pay was paid correctly. In practice that means being able to reconstruct, six years later, how much someone was entitled to, what they took, what was carried over and what they were paid for it. A shared calendar and a folder of approved emails will struggle with that.
Keeping track of it
Entitlement is simple to state and awkward to administer. Different start dates, changed hours mid-year, holiday booked in hours for some staff and days for others, and carry-over at year end all compound quickly on a spreadsheet.
Balances that update themselves
Entitlement accrues and deducts as leave is booked and approved, so the balance is right without anyone recalculating it.
Requests against the rota
Approving a request shows what it does to coverage that week, rather than finding out later.
Days or hours
Track in whichever unit suits each contract — hours are usually cleaner where shift lengths vary.
A record you can produce
Who took what and when, kept against the employee record for when a question comes up later.
RosterElf's holiday management software handles the accrual and the balances, and sits alongside the rota so approving leave and covering the shift are the same conversation. The two follow-on questions have guides of their own: handling holiday requests for the notice rules on booking and refusing leave, and final pay when someone leaves for the accrued balance you have to pay out.
Stop working holiday out on a spreadsheet
Track entitlement, approve requests against the rota, and keep a clean record of who took what.
This guide summarises the Working Time Regulations 1998 as they generally apply and is not legal advice. Entitlements vary with contracts, collective agreements and individual circumstances. Check GOV.UK or take advice before relying on it for a specific case. It does not constitute legal, HR, or professional advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice specific to your business, workforce, or circumstances.
UK holiday entitlement questions
- Almost all workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday each year under the Working Time Regulations 1998. For someone working five days a week that is 28 days. The entitlement is expressed in weeks rather than days so that it scales to whatever pattern someone actually works.
- Both, depending on the working pattern. 5.6 weeks is the entitlement; 28 days is what that comes to for a five-day week. The 28 days also acts as a cap — a worker doing six days a week is entitled to 28 days, not 33.6.
- They get the same 5.6 weeks, applied to their own working pattern. Someone working three days a week is entitled to 16.8 days a year (3 × 5.6). See our guide to part-time and irregular-hours holiday for the calculation.
- Not automatically. Bank and public holidays do not have to be given as paid leave, and an employer may count them as part of the 5.6 weeks. Whether they are extra depends entirely on the contract — our bank holiday guide covers how this works in practice.