Free UK HR calculator

Irregular-hours holiday pay calculator

Work out holiday for irregular-hours and part-year workers: the 12.07% that accrues each pay period, rolled-up holiday pay and the 52-week average pay for leave taken.

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Leave years from April 2024

Use the calculator

Calculate irregular-hours holiday

Choose what you need, enter the hours or the weekly pay history and see the answer and full working.

8 hoursof holiday accrued at the end of this pay period

£106.70 rolled-up holiday pay, if you pay holiday this way

The working

68 hours worked × 12.07% = 8.2076 hours of holiday
The part hour is 12.45 minutes. Under 30 minutes counts as zero, so 8 hours accrue
Rolled-up holiday pay: £884.00 × 12.07% = £106.70, rounded to the nearest penny

Worth knowing

Holiday accrues on the last day of each pay period. A worker cannot accrue more than 28 days of statutory leave in a leave year, so keep a running total.
Weeks on sick leave or statutory leave, such as maternity leave, still accrue holiday using the average hours from earlier weeks. This calculator does not work that out.
If the contract gives more than the statutory minimum, the accrual percentage is higher than 12.07%.
Rolled-up holiday pay must be paid with the pay for the same period and shown as a separate item on the payslip. The worker still needs time off: they take it unpaid because it has already been paid.
During sick leave or statutory leave, keep paying rolled-up holiday pay, even with no work: the average paid per pay period over the 52 weeks before the leave began, or over the complete weeks it has been paid if fewer. This calculator does not work that out.

Basis: Working Time Regulations 1998, regulations 15B, 16 and 16A, for leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, in Great Britain. Where the law needs judgement, such as classifying a worker or treating a bonus, the result says so instead of guessing. Rules checked 8 November 2026.

Regulation 15B: accrual Regulation 16: a week's pay Regulation 16A: rolled-up pay GOV.UK 2024 holiday reforms Acas holiday pay guidance

The method

How irregular-hours holiday is worked out

Holiday builds up as hours are worked. A week's holiday pay then comes from the paid weeks before the leave.

1
Accrue 12.07% of the hours worked
At the end of each pay period, holiday accrues at 12.07% of the hours worked in it. A part hour under 30 minutes counts as zero and 30 minutes or more as a whole hour, up to 28 days in a leave year.
2
Average the last 52 paid weeks
Count back from the last complete week before the leave. Skip weeks with no pay, look back no more than 104 weeks and use fewer weeks if the worker has not been employed for 52.
3
Turn the week's pay into an hourly rate
For leave held in hours, divide the average week's pay by the average hours worked in the same weeks. Rolled-up holiday pay instead adds 12.07% to the pay for each period.

Worked example

Worked example: eight weeks of casual work

A casual worker has been employed for eight complete weeks and takes 8 hours of holiday. Two of those weeks had no pay.

Inputs

8 complete weeks of pay history
2 weeks with no pay
£2,360 earned for 172 hours in the other 6 weeks
8 hours of holiday taken

Working

Weeks 2 and 5 have no pay and are skipped
6 weeks count towards the average
Total pay in the counted weeks: £2,360.00
£2,360.00 ÷ 6 = £393.33, the average week's pay
Hours worked in the same weeks: 172 ÷ 6 = 28.6667 hours a week on average
Hourly holiday rate: £393.33 ÷ 28.6667 hours = £13.72 an hour
8 hours of holiday × the hourly rate = £109.77, worked from the unrounded rate

A week's holiday pay is £393.33, or £13.72 an hour. The 8 hours of holiday are worth £109.77.

Use it with context

A clear starting point for variable hours

Use the result with the contract and the pay records. Classifying the worker and judging unusual pay need a closer look.

This calculator covers

Holiday accrued at 12.07% in one pay period
Rolled-up holiday pay for the same period
A week's pay from up to 52 paid weeks within 104
An hourly rate for leave held in hours

Check the full guidance for

Whether the worker is irregular-hours or part-year
Accrual and rolled-up pay during sick or statutory leave
Bonuses, carry-over and holiday pay on leaving
Workers in Northern Ireland, where different rules apply

From calculation to record

Keep the leave record beside the pay records

HollyHR records each person's working pattern, approved time off and leave history. It does not calculate irregular-hours accrual or holiday pay, so keep this working with your payroll records.

See time off in HollyHR

Questions

About the irregular-hours holiday pay calculator

What is the 12.07% holiday accrual rate?

It is the statutory accrual rate for irregular-hours and part-year workers in Great Britain: 5.6 weeks of leave divided by the 46.4 weeks left to work in a year. Holiday accrues at that rate on the hours worked in each pay period, up to 28 days in a leave year.

Who counts as an irregular-hours or part-year worker?

An irregular-hours worker's paid hours in each pay period are wholly or mostly variable under their contract. A part-year worker has weeks in the year that they are not required to work and are not paid for. A zero-hours or casual label does not decide it: check the contract.

Is rolled-up holiday pay lawful?

Yes, for irregular-hours and part-year workers in leave years that began on or after 1 April 2024, which now covers every current leave year. Pay 12.07% of the pay for the period at the same time, shown as a separate item on the payslip. It is not lawful for regular-hours workers.

How is the 52-week average worked out?

Start with the last complete week before the leave. Count back over weeks with pay, skipping any week with no pay, until 52 paid weeks are found or you reach 104 weeks back. If the worker has been employed for fewer than 52 weeks, use the complete weeks they have.

What pay counts: overtime, commission and bonuses?

For these workers, all statutory leave is paid at normal pay. That includes commission, pay linked to the tasks they do, pay for seniority or qualifications, and overtime paid regularly. Whether a bonus counts depends on what it is paid for.

How is holiday different for regular-hours workers?

Regular workers get 5.6 weeks a year, capped at 28 days, rather than 12.07% of hours. Their first 4 weeks are paid at normal pay, including regular overtime and commission. The other 1.6 weeks can be paid at basic pay. Rolled-up holiday pay is not lawful for them.

What about weeks with sick leave or maternity leave?

GOV.UK's guidance leaves out any week in which the worker was on sick leave or statutory leave, such as maternity leave, and uses an earlier week instead. Acas describes the same step for weeks paid only Statutory Sick Pay or reduced statutory pay. The calculator follows GOV.UK: mark those weeks as sick. Holiday pay received in a week still counts.

Keep going

Useful next steps

GuideManaging annual leave

GlossaryIrregular-hours worker

GlossaryRolled-up holiday pay

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