If you work irregular hours or only part of the year in the UK, you build up paid holiday at 12.07% of the hours you work in each pay period. Your employer can either pay you for that holiday when you take it, or add 12.07% to every payslip as "rolled-up" holiday pay.
If you work irregular hours or only part of the year in the UK, you build up paid holiday at 12.07% of the hours you work in each pay period. Your employer can either pay you for that holiday when you take it, or add 12.07% to every payslip as "rolled-up" holiday pay. These rules apply to leave years that began on or after 1 April 2024, and from 6 April 2026 employers must keep detailed holiday records for six years.
That one percentage covers a lot of people: zero-hours staff, bank nurses, casual bar workers, supply teachers, seasonal farm workers and many agency temps. Yet plenty of payslips still get it wrong, usually because the worker or the employer doesn't know where 12.07% comes from.
This guide explains the maths in plain English, shows worked examples, compares the two payment methods and lists the checks worth doing on your own payslip. For regular weekly patterns, the holiday entitlement calculator gives a quick answer in days or hours.
In this guide:
The rules depend on what your contract says, not just on how your weeks happen to turn out. Acas guidance on irregular hours and part-year workers sets out two groups.
Rotating shift patterns don't automatically count. If you work 15 hours one week and 20 the next on a fixed rota, your hours are fixed, so the normal 5.6-week rules apply instead.
Agency workers can fall into either group if their working pattern matches the definition. If you're unsure, check your contract wording and ask your employer or agency which method they use.
Almost every UK worker gets 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year. For someone who works a full year, that's 5.6 weeks off and 46.4 weeks at work (52 minus 5.6).
To give irregular workers the same deal, the law spreads 5.6 weeks of holiday across the 46.4 working weeks:
So for every hour you work, you build up 0.1207 hours of paid leave. Work 100 hours and you earn just over 12 hours of holiday.
The figure is a minimum. If your contract gives more holiday than the legal 5.6 weeks, your employer needs to use a higher percentage. Someone entitled to 6 weeks, for example, would accrue at 6 ÷ 46 = 13.04%.
Bank holidays aren't extra on top of the 5.6 weeks. They're part of it, unless your contract says otherwise. That's the same for regular and irregular workers.
For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, irregular-hours and part-year workers accrue holiday on the last day of each pay period. The amount is 12.07% of the hours actually worked in that period.
Acas explains that part-hours get rounded: under 30 minutes rounds down and 30 minutes or more rounds up. Here's how that plays out over a few months:
| Month | Hours worked | 12.07% of hours | Holiday accrued (rounded) |
|---|---|---|---|
| June | 70 | 8.45 | 8 hours |
| July | 112 | 13.52 | 14 hours |
| August | 45 | 5.43 | 5 hours |
| September | 136 | 16.42 | 16 hours |
| October | 0 | 0 | 0 hours |
Under the statutory minimum, accrual is capped at 28 days in a leave year. Your employer can also let you take holiday before you've built it up, which helps if a family trip falls early in the leave year.
Remember that you need to take this holiday. Accruing hours on paper does nothing for your wellbeing if your employer never lets you use them.
Once you've built up holiday, your employer has a choice of payment method. Both are legal for irregular-hours and part-year workers, but they feel very different.
| Method | How it works | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay when holiday is taken | You get a week's pay, averaged over the last 52 paid weeks, for each week of holiday | Workers who want income during time off | Average can be low after quiet months |
| Rolled-up holiday pay | An extra 12.07% of your total pay appears on every payslip | Very variable or short engagements | No pay arrives when you actually take holiday |
With rolled-up pay, budgeting matters. If you spend the extra each month, your holiday weeks will be unpaid weeks. Some workers move the holiday line straight into a savings pot so the money is there when they need it.
Employers can't use rolled-up holiday pay for regular-hours workers. If you have fixed hours and see a "holiday included" hourly rate, ask questions.
Employers who switch to rolled-up pay should talk to staff first and check whether contracts need changing. Acas also reminds employers that rolled-up pay doesn't remove their duty to make sure workers actually take time off. A worker who never takes a break, even if they've been paid for holiday, is still a wellbeing and legal risk. If your employer moves you onto rolled-up pay, ask for the change in writing and check the first payslip carefully.
Rolled-up holiday pay must be at least 12.07% of your total pay in the pay period, paid at the same time and shown as a separate line on your payslip.
| Pay for work in period | Rolled-up holiday pay (12.07%) | Total before deductions |
|---|---|---|
| £500 | £60.35 | £560.35 |
| £889.70 (70 hours at £12.71) | £107.39 | £997.09 |
| £1,000 | £120.70 | £1,120.70 |
| £1,525.20 (120 hours at £12.71) | £184.09 | £1,709.29 |
| £2,000 | £241.40 | £2,241.40 |
The £12.71 figure is the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over from 1 April 2026. If your hourly rate falls below the current legal minimum, the holiday line isn't the only problem, and our guide to the minimum wage in 2026 explains the rates for each age band.
"Total pay" means more than basic hours. It should include things like commission, regular overtime and certain allowances that form part of your normal pay. A one-off bonus usually doesn't count.
If your employer pays holiday when you take it, each week off is worth a week's pay. For irregular hours, that means your average weekly pay over the previous 52 weeks in which you were paid.
If you've worked for less than 52 weeks, your employer uses the full weeks you've worked so far. GOV.UK's holiday pay guidance covers monthly-paid workers too, where a month's pay is converted to a weekly figure first.
Here's a quick example. Priya earned £14,560 across her last 52 paid weeks. Her average week's pay is £14,560 ÷ 52 = £280. If she takes a full week of holiday, she should receive £280 for it, paid at her normal rate including regular overtime and commission.
Since 6 April 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 has required employers to keep adequate records of annual leave and holiday pay, and to keep them for at least six years. The duty covers every worker, but it matters most for irregular-hours staff, where calculations change every pay period.
Good records should show:
Employers can choose their own format, from payroll software to a well-kept spreadsheet. What they can't do is skip it. GOV.UK notes that employers may face a fine if they can't show they keep holiday records.
For workers, the change means you should be able to ask how your holiday pay was worked out and get a clear answer.
In most cases you should use your 5.6 weeks within the leave year. But irregular-hours and part-year workers can carry over up to 5.6 weeks of accrued, untaken holiday in a few situations:
Anyone using rolled-up holiday pay has already been paid for their holiday, so carry-over mostly matters for people paid when they take leave. Even so, employers must still make sure everyone actually gets time off.
A quick monthly check catches most errors early, before they turn into months of underpayment. Run through these points:
Keep your own spreadsheet of shifts and payslips. If something looks wrong, raise it with your manager or payroll team first. The Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100 can give free, confidential advice if you can't resolve it.
Your take-home pay after tax and National Insurance depends on the full total, including holiday pay. The take-home pay calculator shows what lands in your account.
It's the rate at which irregular-hours and part-year workers in the UK build up holiday. It equals 5.6 weeks of leave spread over 46.4 working weeks.
Multiply your total pay for the pay period by 0.1207. On £1,000 of earnings, rolled-up holiday pay is £120.70.
Yes, for irregular-hours and part-year workers with leave years that started on or after 1 April 2024. It's not allowed for regular-hours workers.
Yes. Zero-hours workers usually count as irregular-hours workers, so they build up holiday at 12.07% of hours worked and get paid for it.
Yes. Bank holidays count towards the statutory 5.6 weeks unless your contract gives them on top of your normal entitlement.
With statutory minimum entitlement, the most you can accrue in one leave year is 28 days, the same as 5.6 weeks for a five-day worker.
Yes. Since 6 April 2026, employers must keep records of annual leave and holiday pay for at least six years.
Regular overtime and commission should be included in normal pay for holiday purposes. One-off bonuses usually aren't.
Last checked: 18 October 2026. Rates, rules and app settings can change, so confirm anything important with the official source linked above.
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