UK Holiday Pay Calculator

How is pay for untaken holiday calculated?

Work out a day's pay, then multiply it by the days of holiday owed. In the UK, workers get a week's pay for each week of holiday. For someone on a fixed salary, this calculator takes a week's pay as the annual salary ÷ 52, and a day's pay as that ÷ the days they work a week:

Annual salary ÷ 52 ÷ days worked a week × days owed

This is an estimate for someone paid a fixed annual salary for the same number of days each week. It isn't a formula for every contract or working pattern. For a 5-day week, it makes a day's pay 1/260th of the annual salary. Someone on £30,000 who works 5 days a week and is owed 5 days gets £576.92:

1. A week's pay: £30,000 ÷ 52 = £576.92.
2. A day's pay: £576.92 ÷ 5 = £115.38.
3. Holiday pay: £115.38 × 5 days = £576.92. The calculator uses the exact day's pay and rounds only the answer, so it's not £576.90.

When the answer may be different

• The contract sets a day's pay another way, such as dividing by the working days in that year.
• Their pay varies, or includes payments that count towards normal pay, such as commission or regular overtime. Then holiday pay is worked out differently: see how.
• Their days or salary changed during the year.
• Some of the days owed are contractual holiday, above the statutory 5.6 weeks, which the contract can pay differently.

What happens to unused holiday when someone leaves a job?

Their employer must pay them for statutory holiday they've built up but not taken, even if they're dismissed for gross misconduct. This is the only time statutory holiday can be paid instead of taken. During their notice period, they may be able to take what's left instead.

Holiday they've already taken was paid in their usual salary, so it isn't paid again. What's owed is the holiday built up this leave year, plus any carried over, less what's been taken. If someone leaves part-way through the year, they build up a share of the year's holiday. Work it out with the holiday entitlement calculator.

Holiday above the statutory 5.6 weeks can be treated differently, if the employer and worker agree. The contract or staff handbook should say whether it's paid when someone leaves.

How is holiday pay calculated when someone's pay varies?

In Great Britain, it's their average weekly pay over the previous 52 weeks, counting only the weeks they were paid. This calculator doesn't work this out: it's for fixed salaries.

• If a week had no pay, count back another week, so the average covers 52 weeks with pay. You can count back up to 104 weeks. If they've worked less than 52 weeks, use the full weeks they've worked.
• Irregular-hours and part-year workers get all their holiday at their normal rate of pay. For leave years from 1 April 2024, their employer can pay it as rolled-up holiday pay instead: an extra 12.07% of their pay each pay period, shown separately on their payslip. They still take their holiday, but aren't paid when they do, as it's already been paid.
• Workers with regular hours get at least 4 weeks of their holiday at their normal rate of pay. The other 1.6 weeks can be paid at their basic rate.

What counts as normal pay

Normal pay for holiday includes:

• Commission, and other payments linked to the tasks their contract requires them to do.
• Payments for professional or personal status, such as length of service or seniority.
• Overtime and other payments that have been paid regularly over the previous 52 weeks.

Whether a bonus counts depends on the nature of the bonus, so there's no single rule for every bonus. Check each one against GOV.UK's holiday pay guidance and its guidance on the holiday pay reforms from 1 January 2024.

Someone on a salary who also gets payments that count towards normal pay may be owed more than their salary alone gives, so this calculator's answer may be too low for them.

In Northern Ireland

The rules above are for Great Britain. In Northern Ireland, the average is over the previous 12 weeks, and overtime counts if it's been paid regularly over those 12 weeks. The 2024 reforms, including rolled-up holiday pay, don't apply there. See the Labour Relations Agency's guidance on holidays and holiday pay.

What if someone has taken more holiday than they've built up?

The employer can only take the extra back from their final pay if they agreed to that in writing beforehand. The rules should be in the contract or staff handbook. Without that agreement, the employer can't make the deduction.

To see what it's worth, enter the extra days in the calculator: a day's pay is the same either way.

Is holiday pay the same as holiday entitlement?

No. Holiday entitlement is how much paid holiday someone gets or has built up, in days or hours. Holiday pay is how much money they get for it. This calculator values the days you enter: it doesn't check them.

To work out how many days someone has built up, including pro-rata holiday for leavers, use the holiday entitlement calculator.