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Calculating Holiday Entitlement


All the calculations below are for the current statutory paid holiday entitlement of 4.8 weeks. To work out entitlement after 1 April 2009, this figure increases to 5.6 weeks (and the working weeks in the year change from 47.2 to 46.4 weeks).

Part-time workers

Paid holiday entitlement is calculated pro-rata for part-time workers.

So if a member of staff works three days a week, they are entitled to 14.4 days (4.8 x 3).

Shift workers

It is sometimes easier to calculate holiday entitlement as shifts.

So if a member of staff works four 12-hour shifts followed by four days off, the average working week is 3.5 12-hour shifts. So 4.8 weeks’ holiday is 4.8 x 3.5 = 16.8 12-hour shifts.

For other shift patterns, it may be easiest to calculate according to the established repeating pattern.

More irregular working patterns: calculating holiday in hours
If a member of staff annualised hours, you need to calculate how many hours a week are worked on average over the whole year.

So if a member of staff works a total of 1,600 hours a year, or 33.9 hours a week over 47.2 weeks of the year, the holiday entitlement is 4.8 weeks x 33.9 hours a week = 162.72 hours’ holiday for the year.

The statutory holiday entitlement is excluded from the average working week calculations.

Arrangements for term-time-only workers will depend on their contract of employment. If they work a reduced number of weeks during the year, they accrue a pro-rata entitlement to paid leave. You need to calculate how many hours a week are worked on average over the whole year and exclude the statutory holiday entitlement from the average working week calculations.

For example, a worker works 1,600 hours over 40 term-time weeks during the year. This is the equivalent of 33.9 hours a week over 47.2 weeks of the year. Therefore their paid annual leave entitlement is 4.8 weeks x 33.9 hours a week = 162.72 hours holiday for the year.

If they don’t take annual leave during term time, the worker actually works 1,600 hours and accrues holiday on the whole 1,600 hours = 162.72 hours’ holiday.

However, if they take their annual leave only during term time, the 162.72 hours’ holiday is treated as part of the 1,600 hours. Therefore, the worker actually works 1,437.28 hours (1,600 – 162.72) but is paid for 1,600.

For someone working compressed hours, for example, a 36-hour week over four days instead of five, their annual holiday entitlement is 36 hours x 4.8 weeks = 172.8 hours holiday for the year.

Rather than taking a day’s holiday, they would take the number of hours that they would have otherwise worked on that day (ie for 36 hours worked over four days, they would take 9 hours’ holiday for each day otherwise worked).

Casual workers

If a member of staff works on a casual basis or very irregular hours, it is often easiest to calculate holiday entitlement that accrues as hours are worked.

The holiday entitlement of 4.8 weeks is equivalent to 10.2 per cent of hours worked over a year.

The 10.2 per cent figure is 4.8 weeks’ holiday, divided by 47.2 weeks (being 52 weeks - 4.8 weeks). The 4.8 weeks are excluded from the calculation as the worker would not be at work during those 4.8 weeks in order to accrue annual leave.

So if someone works 10 hours, they are entitled to 61 minutes paid holiday (10.2 x 10 = 1.02 hours = 61 minutes).

Part days

Calculations may result in part days (eg 19.2 days for someone working four days a week).

Although they cannot be rounded down to the nearest full day, they don’t need to be rounded up to the nearest full day - but you can choose to do this.

Alternatively, you could allow the worker to:

  • carry over the part day into the following leave year
  • take a full day’s leave - you just pay them for the part day they are owed
  • take part day off a day’s shift, enabling the them to leave early or come in late
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