Annual Leave
The statutory minimum paid holiday entitlement for workers in the UK. All workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks (28 days for full-time) of paid annual leave per year, which can include bank holidays. Part-time workers receive a pro-rata entitlement.
The right to paid annual leave is set out in the Working Time Regulations 1998. Full-time workers receive a minimum of 5.6 weeks (28 days) per year; employers may include bank holidays within this entitlement. Part-time workers receive a pro-rata entitlement — for example, a worker doing three days per week gets 16.8 days. Following changes introduced in 2024, irregular-hours and part-year workers accrue leave at 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period. Holiday pay must reflect normal pay, including regular overtime, commission, and allowances — not just basic salary (following Supreme Court rulings). Workers cannot contract out of the right to paid leave. Unused statutory leave can be carried over in cases of illness, maternity or family leave, or where the employer prevented the worker from taking leave. Employers must not substitute cash payments for untaken leave except on termination.