How Much Annual Leave Do You Need To Give Employees In The UK?

If you employ staff in the UK, you’re legally required to provide paid annual leave. Sounds simple - but the details can get tricky fast, especially with part-time staff, zero-hour or irregular hours patterns, bank holidays, shutdown periods and new 2024 rules for calculating leave for irregular hours and part-year workers.

In this guide, we’ll break down exactly how much annual leave you must offer, how to calculate it fairly, and the policies and documents that keep you compliant and avoid disputes. By the end, you’ll know where your obligations start and stop - and how to put a clear, workable process in place from day one.

What Counts As Annual Leave Under UK Law?

In the UK, paid annual leave sits under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR). In short, most workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday each leave year. That basic rule applies to full-time, part-time and many casual or irregular hours workers (with the amount pro-rated for those who don’t work full-time hours).

The WTR sit alongside other working time rules (like the 48-hour average weekly limit unless an employee opts out), so it’s sensible to look at your approach to holiday alongside your Working Time Regulations compliance overall.

A few definitions that matter for employers:

• Worker vs employee: Holiday rights apply to “workers” broadly, not only employees. If you engage individuals, it’s important to be clear on status (see your contracts and onboarding processes) and ensure correct leave is provided.
• Leave year: You can set your own leave year in contracts or your Staff Handbook. If you don’t, it defaults to the date the worker started. Clear wording avoids disputes.
• Pay during leave: Holiday should be paid at the worker’s “normal remuneration”. That can include regular overtime, commission or allowances if they are intrinsically linked to work, not just basic pay.
• Breaks vs leave: Rest breaks are a separate entitlement. They don’t reduce holiday, and vice versa. If you’re revisiting working time processes, also refresh your approach to rest breaks.

How Much Annual Leave Must You Give?

The legal minimum in Great Britain is 5.6 weeks per leave year. For a standard five-day employee, that’s 28 days. You can give more by agreement (contractually or as a discretionary benefit) but you cannot go below the statutory minimum.

Key points for calculating the right amount:

• Full-time staff: 5.6 weeks is typically 28 days if they work five days per week. You can express this as “28 days (including bank/public holidays)” or “20 days plus bank holidays”. Be clear which - the wording matters.
• Part-time staff: Pro-rata the 5.6 weeks. For example, someone who works 3 days a week gets 3 × 5.6 = 16.8 days. Round sensibly (and consistently) - many employers round up to the nearest half day.
• Irregular hours or part-year staff: From the 2024 reforms, for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, irregular hours and part-year workers accrue statutory leave at 12.07% of hours worked in the pay period. You may also use rolled-up holiday pay for these categories, subject to strict payslip and percentage rules.
• Bank holidays: There is no separate legal right to bank holidays off. You can include them within the 5.6 weeks or offer them in addition. If your contracts say entitlement is “inclusive of bank holidays”, make sure you manage allocations fairly during busy periods. For deeper detail, see inclusive of bank holidays.

Also remember that holiday entitlement is separate from other types of leave, like dependants’ leave, sick leave and family-related leave. Those don’t “use up” annual leave, and each carries its own rules and pay position.

Part-Time And Irregular Hours: How To Calculate Entitlement

Here’s how to make calculations practical and consistent across your workforce.

Part-Time (Fixed Days Per Week)

Multiply the number of days worked per week by 5.6 to get days of leave. Some employers convert this to hours, which simplifies things when staff vary the length of their working days. For example, if a part-timer works 22.5 hours across 3 days, their annual leave is 22.5 × 5.6 = 126 hours per year. Booking holiday in hours prevents confusion when working days aren’t identical lengths.

Irregular Hours And Part-Year Workers

The 2024 updates provide a statutory method to calculate leave for two specific categories: irregular hours workers (where paid hours vary each pay period) and part-year workers (who work only some weeks of the year). For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, statutory leave accrues at 12.07% of hours worked in the pay period. You can either:

• Accrue leave that the worker later takes as time off; or
• Use rolled-up holiday pay at 12.07% of pay for work done, clearly itemised in the payslip and meeting all requirements.

Consistency and clarity are vital here. Make sure your contracts and HR system reflect how you’re calculating holiday for these categories, and keep clear records of accrued hours. If you engage casual staff or offer highly variable shifts, align your approach with your zero-hour contracts model and scheduling practices.

New Starters And Leavers

In the first year of employment, it’s lawful to operate an accrual system (typically 1/12th of the annual entitlement each month). On exit, calculate unused leave to pay it out, or recoup overused leave from final pay where contracts permit. Set this out clearly in your Employment Contract to avoid disagreements.

Bank Holidays, Shutdowns And When You Can Require Leave

Bank holidays and shutdown periods are where many employers trip up - not because the law is complex, but because the contract wording and communications aren’t clear.

Bank Holidays: Include Or Add On?

You can choose to include bank holidays within the 5.6 weeks, or offer them on top as an additional benefit. If you include them, be explicit in the contract and explain how this works for part-time patterns. If a part-time employee doesn’t usually work Mondays (the day most bank holidays fall), you’ll still need a fair method of allocating bank holiday entitlement to avoid disadvantaging them. The practical implications are covered in detail in our guide on when a non-working day falls on a bank holiday.

Christmas Shutdowns And Compulsory Leave

Employers can require employees to take leave at certain times - for example, a Christmas shutdown - if the contract or policy allows it and you provide adequate notice. The WTR require you to give notice of at least twice the length of the leave you’re asking them to take. Provided you’ve set expectations in advance (ideally in your contracts and handbook), seasonal closures usually run smoothly. If you’re planning compulsory leave, check the rules on dictating holidays and make sure you issue the right notice in writing.

Busy Periods, Refusals And Fairness

You can refuse leave requests during peak periods if you have a legitimate business reason and apply the policy consistently. To reduce the risk of grievances, be transparent about “blackout” dates, set a clear approval process, and avoid treating similar requests differently. Your managers should apply the criteria fairly, especially where multiple requests clash - first-come-first-served or a rota system are both common approaches if written down and followed consistently.

Accrual, Carry Over And Overlapping Rights (Sickness, Family Leave)

Holiday entitlement can’t usually be “lost” simply because a worker didn’t manage to take it - particularly if you didn’t give them a fair and reasonable opportunity to take their leave, or if they were unable to take it for specific reasons like sickness or family leave.

Accrual During Sickness Or Family Leave

Workers continue to accrue statutory leave while off sick, on maternity, paternity, adoption or shared parental leave. If they can’t take holiday during the leave year due to these reasons, they’ll often be entitled to carry it over. Managing this carefully matters, because staff may return with a large bank of leave to take. Have a plan for phased returns and reasonable scheduling, and ensure your managers understand their obligations around long-term sick pay and holiday accrual.

Carry Over Rules

• Where a worker is unable to take their statutory leave due to sickness or specific types of family leave, they can usually carry it into the next leave year. There are time limits and distinctions between the EU-derived 4 weeks and the additional 1.6 weeks, so take care with the detail.
• If you fail to enable or encourage staff to take leave (for example, by not keeping records, not reminding them, or discouraging requests), tribunals can take a dim view. It’s good practice to send periodic reminders and publish balances on payslips or HR portals.
• Any enhanced contractual leave you offer can be made subject to stricter carry-over rules (within reason) if your contract or policy clearly says so.

Rolled-Up Holiday Pay (Irregular/Part-Year)

For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, you can use rolled-up holiday pay for irregular hours and part-year workers only, at 12.07% of pay for work done, itemised on the payslip. This can simplify scheduling, but you still need a process to allow genuine time off. Make sure your contracts and payroll settings are updated if you choose this route.

Common Pitfalls To Avoid

• Letting leave build unchecked until year end, then facing a flood of requests you can’t accommodate.
• Failing to clarify whether entitlement is inclusive or exclusive of bank holidays.
• Using “days” instead of “hours” for part-timers with uneven day lengths, creating unfairness.
• Not documenting compulsory shutdowns, or giving insufficient notice.
• Assuming zero-hour or casual workers don’t get holiday - they do, but the calculation method is different.

Put It In Writing: Policies, Contracts And Payroll

Getting holiday right isn’t just about numbers - it’s also about process. Clear documentation and consistent administration will save you time, reduce disputes and keep you compliant.

Employment Contracts

Your contracts should set the leave year, the total entitlement, whether it’s inclusive or exclusive of bank holidays, how leave is booked and approved, any blackout periods or shutdowns, and rules on carry over. If you use irregular or part-year workers, add the 12.07% accrual/rolled-up approach where relevant and ensure it’s limited to the categories the law allows. If your template needs a refresh, start with a robust Employment Contract that fits your sector and working patterns.

Staff Handbook And Policies

Even if your contracts cover the essentials, a handbook makes day-to-day rules crystal clear for managers and staff. A good holiday policy should include:

• How to request leave, approval timeframes and who signs off;
• Blackout periods or quotas for busy seasons;
• How you handle overlapping requests (e.g. first-come-first-served or rota);
• Notice requirements for both taking and cancelling leave;
• Shutdown rules and how much notice you’ll give;
• Part-time and irregular hours calculations, and whether you use hours or days;
• Carry-over rules for statutory and any enhanced leave.

If you don’t yet have one, implement a practical, tailored Staff Handbook Package so everyone plays by the same rules.

Bank Holiday Wording

Decide whether your leave is inclusive or exclusive of bank holidays and write it plainly. Consider your trading patterns and sector norms - for example, hospitality may need people at peak times, so you might offer days in lieu instead. Our guide to inclusive of bank holidays covers the key choices and wording tips.

Holiday Booking And Payroll

Pick one way to track leave (ideally hours for part-timers) and stick with it. Ensure payroll aligns with your policy: basic pay versus “normal remuneration”, handling overtime/commission elements, the 12.07% approach where applicable, and clear payslip itemisation for rolled-up holiday pay. Train line managers to check balances before approving leave so you don’t create a pay correction problem at month end.

Manager Playbook: Consistent Decisions

Holiday questions often come in hot - last-minute requests, team clashes, sickness overlapping with pre-booked leave. Equip your managers with a simple decision pathway: what to approve, what to refuse (and why), when to escalate, and template responses. Link it to your contracts, policies and your approach to dictating holidays during shutdowns.

Related Working Time Policies

Holiday is one piece of the working time puzzle. It’s helpful to review it alongside your wider approach to limits, opt-outs and breaks under the Working Time Regulations, plus practical processes for rest breaks. When the whole framework is coherent, you’ll have fewer grey areas and far fewer disputes.

Key Takeaways

• The legal minimum is 5.6 weeks’ paid annual leave each year. Pro-rate it for part-time staff and convert to hours where that’s clearer.
• For leave years starting on/after 1 April 2024, irregular hours and part-year workers accrue at 12.07% of hours worked. Rolled-up holiday pay is permitted for those categories if you meet the itemisation rules.
• There’s no automatic right to bank holidays off. Decide whether your entitlement is inclusive or exclusive of bank holidays and write it clearly in your contracts and policies.
• You can require leave during shutdowns with proper notice, as long as your contracts and policies support it and you apply the rules consistently.
• Holiday accrues during sickness and family leave, and untaken statutory leave may carry over if workers couldn’t reasonably take it. Keep records and send reminders.
• Put everything in writing: a clear Employment Contract, a practical holiday policy in your Staff Handbook Package, and payroll processes that match your policy wording.

If you’d like help setting up fair, compliant holiday rules - or you need tailored clauses for part-time, zero-hour or seasonal staff - our team can help. You can reach us on 08081347754 or team@sprintlaw.co.uk for a free, no-obligations chat.