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Holiday entitlement and holiday pay

Almost all workers, including part-time and agency workers, have a legal right to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year. Your employer can count bank holidays as part of it.

Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland

Go to the official website: gov.uk

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Step by step

  1. Check your contract: your employer can give more than the legal minimum, never less.
  2. Work out your entitlement with the GOV.UK holiday calculator, especially if you work part-time or irregular hours.
  3. Ask for leave giving at least twice as much notice as the time off plus 1 day (for example 3 days' notice for 1 day off), unless your contract says otherwise.
  4. When you leave a job, you can take your remaining leave during your notice or get paid for statutory leave you did not take.

What you need

  • Your employment contract or staff handbook
  • A record of your working days or hours, if you work part-time or irregular hours

Common mistakes

  • Accepting money instead of statutory holiday while still in the job: you can only be paid instead of leave when you leave.
  • Thinking you stop building up holiday while on sick, maternity or paternity leave: you keep accruing it.

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