Part-Time Holiday Entitlement
Part-time workers receive a pro-rata share of the statutory 5.6 weeks. The calculator below applies the rule for any pattern.
Mid-year joiner, leaver, or above-statutory entitlement
Your entitlement
28 days(210 hours)
Annual entitlement. Statutory minimum is 28 days.
5 days per week × 5.6 weeks (statutory minimum) = 28 days per year Your contract treats bank holidays as part of this total — book them as you would any other day off.
The basic rule
Part-time workers in the UK get the same 5.6 weeks of paid leave a year as full-time workers — but a part-time week is shorter. So a three-day-a-week worker gets 5.6 × 3 = 16.8 days, a four-day worker gets 22.4, and a five-day worker gets the full 28.
The statutory cap of 28 days applies only to workers doing five days a week or more. Below that, the multiplier is the real entitlement. Your contract can give you more than this, but it cannot give you less.
Bank holidays — the tricky bit
The Part-Time Workers Regulations 2000 say a part-timer cannot be treated less favourably than a comparable full-timer. For bank holidays, that means the eight UK bank holidays (more in Scotland and Northern Ireland) cannot all silently land on a non-working day and disappear.
Two approaches are commonly used and both are lawful:
- Bank holidays are included in the pro-rata entitlement, leaving the part-timer free to book leave on any day.
- Bank holidays are allocated when they fall on a working day, plus a pro-rata top-up for bank holidays that fall on non-working days.
The contract should make clear which one applies. If it's silent, ACAS recommend the inclusive approach by default.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate pro-rata holiday for a part-time worker?+
Multiply the standard weekly working pattern by 5.6 weeks. For three days a week that is 16.8 days a year; for four days, 22.4. The 28-day statutory cap is what a five-day worker gets — part-time workers receive a proportionate share.
What if a bank holiday falls on a day a part-time worker doesn't normally work?+
Two approaches are both legal. Some employers count bank holidays as part of the pro-rata entitlement, leaving the worker free to book leave on any day. Others give bank holidays only when they fall on the worker's contractual days, plus a pro-rata top-up. The contract should say which applies.
How do you pro-rata for a mid-year joiner?+
Take the annual entitlement and multiply by (days remaining in the leave year ÷ total days in the leave year). ACAS recommends rounding up to the nearest half-day in favour of the worker.
Can a contract give a part-time worker fewer than 5.6 weeks?+
No. 5.6 weeks is a statutory minimum. The part-time worker's weeks should match the full-time worker's weeks; only the days within those weeks are pro-rata.