The calculator above works out how much paid holiday you're entitled to, whatever your pattern of work. Most disputes about holiday don't come from the headline number, though. They come from bank holidays, carrying leave over, and how holiday pay is worked out when your pay varies. This guide covers those three.
Bank holidays for part-time staff
The legal minimum of 5.6 weeks includes bank holidays. There's no separate right to have bank holidays off on top. For a full-time worker on five days a week, 5.6 weeks is 28 days, which covers the usual eight bank holidays plus 20 other days.
Part-time workers get 5.6 weeks of their own working pattern. Someone working three days a week gets 16.8 days. The problem arises with bank holidays. Most fall on a Monday, so a part-timer who works Mondays may find several of their days used up by bank holidays, while one who doesn't work Mondays gets none of them as time off. To be fair to both, many employers pro-rate bank holidays too. The part-timer's total entitlement, including bank holidays, is 5.6 weeks of their own pattern, and they book any bank holidays that fall on their working days from that total. Ask your employer how they handle it, especially if your working days change.
Carrying holiday over
Under the rules, four weeks of the 5.6 must normally be taken in the year they're earned. The extra 1.6 weeks can be carried into the next year if your contract allows. There are important exceptions. If you couldn't take your holiday because you were on sick leave or family leave, you can carry over the four weeks too, generally for up to 18 months for sickness. If your employer didn't give you a reasonable chance to take holiday, or didn't tell you it would be lost, you may be able to carry it over as well.
Many employers offer more than the statutory minimum. Rules for that extra holiday are set by your contract, so check the handbook for carry-over limits and deadlines.
Holiday pay when your pay varies
For the core four weeks of holiday, pay must reflect your normal pay, including regular overtime, commission and some allowances, not just basic salary. For people with variable pay, this is usually worked out from the average of the last 52 weeks in which you were paid, ignoring weeks with no pay. If you regularly work overtime, your holiday pay should be noticeably higher than your basic rate.
For irregular-hours and part-year workers, holiday builds up at 12.07% of hours worked, and employers can choose to pay it as rolled-up holiday pay with each payslip. If yours does, the holiday element must be shown separately. Put it aside so your weeks off are actually paid.
A worked example: a three-day week
Kim works Tuesday to Thursday and joins in July. A full year's entitlement on a three-day week is 16.8 days. Joining part-way through, Kim earns a proportion of that for the rest of the leave year, which the calculator above works out. Because Kim doesn't work Mondays or Fridays, most bank holidays fall on non-working days. Under a pro-rated approach, Kim books all their leave as normal days and isn't disadvantaged by when the bank holidays fall.
Leavers and unused holiday
When you leave a job, you're entitled to be paid for any statutory holiday you've built up but not taken. Your employer can ask you to take it during your notice period instead. If you've taken more holiday than you've built up, your contract may allow the employer to deduct the overpayment from your final pay, but only if the contract says so. Work out your pro-rata entitlement for the part of the year you've worked using the calculator above, and check it against your final payslip.
Next steps
Choose fixed part-time days, irregular hours or a part-year start above to see your entitlement. If your hours vary week to week, the hourly wage calculator shows what rolled-up holiday pay adds, and the pro-rata salary calculator covers pay for reduced hours.