Calculate Holiday Entitlement for Part-Time Workers
Full time employees are entitled to a minimum of 28 days annual leave, but do you know how many days annual leave a part-time employee is entitled to? Here we will show you how to calculate holiday entitlement for full and part time employees
It is helpful to understand that a part-time employee entitlement is pro-rated, based on a full-time employee entitlement.
Calculating Holiday Entitlement for Days Worked
If you offer the minimum holiday of 5.6 weeks per year annual leave, the formula to work out a full-time employee entitlement is 5.6 weeks holiday entitlement multiplied by number of work days per week.
As an example, an employee working 5 days per week, the formula to work out their entitlement is 5.6 x 5 = 28 days annual leave.
The following table will help you work out a part time employee annual leave based on days worked where the holiday entitlement is 28 days for a full-time employee.
| Days Worked | Annual Leave Days | Formula |
| 1 | 5.6 | 1 day x 5.6 |
| 1 ½ | 8.4 | 1 ½ days x 5.6 |
| 2 | 11.2 | 2 days x 5.6 |
| 2 ½ | 14 | 2 ½ days x 5.6 |
| 3 | 16.8 | 3 days x 5.6 |
| 3 ½ | 19.6 | 3 ½ days x 5.6 |
| 4 | 22.4 | 4 days x 5.6 |
| 4 ½ | 25.2 | 4 ½ days x 5.6 |
Please note, you can round the holiday entitlement up if you wish, so 25.2 days becomes 25 ½ days but you cannot round down by law.
If you wish to give more than 28 days annual leave, take the number of days annual leave for a full-time employee, let’s say 34 days and divide by 5 = 6.8 weeks annual leave.
For an employee working 4 ½ days the calculation would therefore be 4 ½ x 6.8 = 30.6 days annual leave entitlement.
The statutory entitlement to holiday is capped at 28 days for a full-time employee.
Where an employee is not required to work because they work as an example Tuesday to Friday, any bank holidays falling on a Monday should not be deducted from their holiday entitlement. Their holiday can only be reduced for fixed days if they are required to work on those days.
As an example, an employee who works 4 days per week is entitled to 22.4 days holiday. If they work Tuesday to Friday and a bank holiday falls on a Monday, this will not reduce their holiday entitlement as they do not normally work on a Monday.
If the employee normally works Monday to Thursday and they are required to take bank holidays as annual leave, this will reduce their annual leave where a bank holiday falls on a Monday. As an example, an employee who is entitled to 22.4 days annual leave takes a Bank Holiday Monday off, this reduces their entitlement in the company holiday year to 21.4 days holiday entitlement remaining.
Calculate Holiday Entitlement for Hours Worked
Calculating holiday entitlement for someone who works different hours per day is similar assuming they work a set number of hours per week.
As an example, an employee who works 25 hours per week and is entitled to 28 days annual leave based on a full-time employee the calculation is as follows:
28 days divided by 5 = 5.6
25 hours per week multiplied by 5.6 = 140 hours holiday entitlement
If an employee works 5 hours on Monday, 7 hours on Tuesday, 3 ½ hours on Friday and wishes to take these days as annual leave the total hours taken for the week would be 15 ½ hours reducing entitlement to 124 ½ hours remaining.
Calculating Holiday Entitlement for Casual Workers or Employees with Irregular Hours
Calculating holiday entitlement for casual corkers or employees with irregular hours can pose some problems, particularly as the government guidance is vague and the Working Time Regulations makes no provision for pro-rating
Where an employee has fixed regular hours, they can receive their holiday entitlement in advance if you wish, with casual or irregular hours, this is not possible as it is difficult to predict how many hours/days annual leave they will accrue over the course of a company holiday year.
Another issue is should the holiday entitlement be taken during days the workers are required to work or when there are periods when no work is required? Employers must ensure workers receive their full holiday entitlement for time worked.
One method for calculating holiday entitlement for casual or irregular hours workers is the 12.07% method however following an Employment Appeal Tribunal, (EAT), ruling which is now being taken to the Supreme Court on appeal, employers should seek HR/Legal advice.
The EAT found that employers should identify a week's pay in accordance with the provisions of sections 221-224 of the Working Time Regulations and multiply that figure by 5.6.
Details of the ruling can be found here, The Harpur Trust v Brazel [2019] EWCA Civ 1402 (employmentcasesupdate.co.uk)
Further advice and support
If you require any advice or support, please contact us and one of our friendly team will be pleased to help.
This article was correct at the time it was written. Always check the latest rules on holiday entitlement before taking any action.
