Free UK holiday calculator 2026
UK Holiday Entitlement Calculator 2026
Use this free UK holiday calculator to calculate holiday entitlement for full-time, part-time, irregular-hours, part-year and shift workers. Get an instant estimate in days, hours, weeks or shifts — faster and easier than the GOV.UK tool.
Need to work out part time holiday entitlement UK 2026? This calculator handles statutory entitlement, contract-aware bank holiday guidance, compressed hours and irregular shift patterns more clearly.
Holiday Calculator
Answer a few questions below to calculate holiday entitlement using the correct statutory route for the worker's contract, leave year and employment dates.
Calculation Results
Data Breakdown
Important Guidance
Summary of Answers
Algorithm based on UK Employment Rights Act 1996 and 2026 Statutory Formulas.
How to calculate holiday entitlement
To calculate holiday entitlement correctly, you need the worker pattern, the leave year boundaries and the contractual basis for entitlement. This page turns those inputs into a clear statutory holiday calculation you can explain and check.
Pick the correct legal route
Start by choosing whether the employee works a regular pattern or falls into the irregular-hours / part-year category. That choice controls which accrual method applies.
Match the contract unit
Some employers express holiday in days, some in hours, weeks, annualised hours or shifts. The calculator keeps the result in the same practical unit used by the contract.
Pro-rate starters and leavers
If a worker joins or leaves mid-year, the leave year start date and employment dates change the final entitlement. The tool handles those date boundaries and leap-year edge cases.
Review the explanation
You do not just get a number. The result panel shows the calculation formula, a breakdown of the data used and guidance notes so the holiday calculation can be checked or shared.
Who can use this holiday entitlement calculator?
This UK holiday calculator is designed for employers, HR teams, payroll users and workers who need to calculate holiday entitlement across common statutory scenarios without manually rebuilding the formula every time.
- Regular workers: days worked per week, hours worked per week, compressed hours, annualised hours and shifts.
- All period types: full leave year, starting part way through a leave year, leaving part way through a leave year, and starting and leaving in the same leave year.
- Irregular-hours and part-year workers: includes the post-1 April 2024 pay-period accrual route using 12.07% as well as earlier leave year support.
- Built-in checks: validates date ranges, shift patterns, working-time limits and statutory boundaries before giving a result.
This also makes the page useful as a holiday allowance calculator when someone needs to work out the legal minimum before comparing it with a more generous company contract.
When to use a holiday allowance calculator
People search for a holiday allowance calculator when they need a fast answer for a specific employment scenario. The strongest use cases are the ones where manual pro-rating or contract conversions are easy to get wrong.
Part-time and compressed-hours staff
Use the calculator when entitlement is written in days or hours and the worker does not follow a simple five-day pattern. The tool normalises the input to the correct unit before showing the result.
Shift workers
Shift patterns often need entitlement in shifts rather than days. Enter the hours per shift, shifts per pattern and days in the pattern to avoid rough spreadsheet estimates.
Starters and leavers
If someone joins or leaves during the leave year, you can calculate holiday entitlement for the exact dates instead of relying on a full-year figure that overstates or understates the statutory minimum.
Irregular-hours and part-year workers
These scenarios create the most questions. This holiday entitlement calculator supports the pay-period accrual route and older leave years so you can apply the appropriate statutory method with fewer manual steps.
Looking for a GOV holiday calculator?
Many users search for a GOV holiday calculator when they want to calculate statutory leave quickly. This site is an independent holiday calculator and is not affiliated with GOV.UK or HM Government, but it is built for the same practical question: how much statutory holiday is this worker entitled to?
Use the result as a fast statutory baseline, then compare it with the employment contract or internal policy if the employer offers extra contractual annual leave above the legal minimum.
Statutory guidance and legal notes
This calculator is designed to help users estimate UK statutory holiday entitlement quickly, but it does not replace the employment contract, workplace policy or formal legal advice.
For authoritative government guidance, review Holiday entitlement rights on GOV.UK and compare the statutory baseline with any additional contractual leave offered by the employer.
Compliance notice: this is an independent informational tool. It does not use GOV.UK branding, does not claim official status and is not affiliated with GOV.UK or HM Government.
Attribution: public sector information references should be read alongside the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate holiday entitlement for a part-time worker?
Choose the calculation basis that matches the employment contract, then enter the worker's normal days, hours, annualised hours, compressed-hours pattern or shifts. The calculator returns statutory entitlement in the same unit used for the contract.
Why does the tool ask for the leave year start date?
Because the leave year boundary affects pro-rating, leap-year handling and which accrual route applies for irregular-hours and part-year workers.
Can I use this holiday calculator for irregular-hours and part-year workers?
Yes. The calculator supports the pay-period accrual route for irregular-hours and part-year workers and keeps legacy support for older leave years where the statutory method differs.
What if someone starts or leaves part way through the leave year?
Select the starting, leaving, or starting-and-leaving route and enter the employment dates. The tool then pro-rates statutory holiday entitlement for that leave year.
Is this the same as a GOV holiday calculator?
No. This is an independent UK holiday entitlement calculator and it is not affiliated with GOV.UK or HM Government. It is designed to help with the same statutory annual leave question while keeping the branding clearly separate.
Can employers give more leave than the calculator shows?
Yes. The result is the statutory minimum holiday entitlement. Contracts and workplace policies can offer more annual leave than the statutory baseline.
How do I calculate pro-rata bank holidays for irregular hours?
Bank holidays are not a separate statutory entitlement. Start with the statutory holiday result, then check the employment contract to see whether bank holidays are counted within leave or given in addition. 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 each pay period.
Is this a GOV.UK holiday calculator alternative?
Yes. This is an independent alternative to the GOV.UK holiday calculator. It uses the same statutory logic but provides a faster, mobile-friendly experience with visual breakdowns and contract-aware bank holiday guidance.
Privacy Policy
This tool does not collect, store or transmit any personal data. All calculations are performed entirely in your browser. No cookies are used for tracking purposes. We do not share any information with third parties.
If you open a saved result link, the calculation parameters are encoded in the URL only. No data is sent to any server.