UK statutory holiday entitlement explained (2026)

Almost every worker in the UK is legally entitled to paid time off. This guide explains how statutory holiday entitlement works in plain English, so you can set the right allowance for your team.

Not legal advice. This is a general guide to help you understand the rules. For decisions about pay and entitlement, check the official guidance on GOV.UK or speak to an employment adviser.

How much holiday are UK workers entitled to?

Under the Working Time Regulations, almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year. For someone working a standard 5-day week, that works out to 28 days of paid annual leave.

That 28 days is a statutory cap — an employer doesn’t have to give more than 28 days of statutory leave, even if the person works 6 or 7 days a week. Employers can, of course, choose to offer more as a contractual benefit.

Do bank holidays count towards holiday entitlement?

There is no automatic legal right to paid time off on bank holidays. An employer can:

Include the 8 UK bank holidays within the 5.6 weeks statutory entitlement, or
Offer them on top of the statutory minimum (a contractual benefit).

What matters is that the total paid leave is at least 5.6 weeks. Your employment contracts should make clear which approach you use.

How does holiday work for part-time staff?

Part-time workers get the same 5.6 weeks, applied pro rata to the days they work. For example, someone working 3 days a week is entitled to:

3 × 5.6 = 16.8 days of paid holiday per year.

The 28-day cap still applies to full-time equivalents; part-timers simply get a proportionate share.

What about irregular hours and term-time workers?

For workers with no fixed hours (casual, zero-hours, or term-time), holiday is generally calculated based on the hours they actually work. Recent reforms allow rolled-up holiday pay and an accrual method of 12.07% of hours worked for irregular-hours and part-year workers in some cases. If this applies to your team, check the current GOV.UK guidance carefully.

Setting entitlement in LeaveTrac

In LeaveTrac you set each employee’s annual entitlement once — for example 28 days for full-time staff or their pro-rata figure for part-timers. From there, every approved day is deducted automatically, so balances stay correct all year without any spreadsheet formulas.

If you’re not sure of the pro-rata figure, see our guide on how to calculate pro-rata holiday entitlement.

Quick reference

Statutory minimum: 5.6 weeks per year
Full-time (5 days/week): 28 days (the cap)
Part-time: 5.6 × days worked per week
Bank holidays: can be included in, or added to, the 5.6 weeks
Leave year: you choose the start date; LeaveTrac tracks against it