Skip to main content
Free UK holiday pay tool

Calculate holiday accrual and pay for UK agencies

For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024. Enter hours and hourly rate, choose rolled-up or paid when taken, and see the accrued hours and holiday pay in seconds.

April 2024

Rules

12.07%

Statutory

GB + NI

Region-aware

No signup

Required

Work out holiday pay for this period

Three quick steps. Statutory 5.6 weeks defaults to 12.07% accrual; enhanced entitlements use the raw formula.

Calculate holiday pay

All figures update instantly as you type.

April 2024 rules

Minimum £12.71/hr (UK NMW, effective 2026-04-01).

Your entries stay in this browser and are not submitted to Youtemp.

Try an example

Illustrative presets only. Actual holiday pay depends on the contract and how the reference-period rules apply.

Warehouse temp, rolled-up

40 hours a week at £12.71/hr with statutory 5.6-week entitlement.

£12.71/hr · 40h
5.6 wks
Rolled-up

Care assistant, paid when taken

Irregular-hours carer averaging 32 hours a week at £13.00/hr.

£13.00/hr · 32h
5.6 wks
Paid when taken

Hospitality shift, enhanced 6.6 weeks

25 hours at £11.50/hr with a contractual 6.6-week entitlement.

£11.50/hr · 25h
6.6 wks
Rolled-up

Term-time cleaner, part-year

20 hours a week during term; rolled-up simplifies the payslip.

£12.71/hr · 20h
5.6 wks
Rolled-up

Belfast agency worker (NI)

Rolled-up is not permitted — the calculator forces paid-when-taken.

£12.71/hr · 37.5h
5.6 wks
Rolled-up
NI region

Employer NI on holiday pay

Same warehouse temp with the informational 15% employer NI line on.

£12.71/hr · 40h
5.6 wks
Rolled-up
+Employer NI

How holiday pay works for irregular-hours and part-year workers

For leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, statutory holiday accrues at 12.07% of the hours worked in each pay period. Agencies can choose to pay this either as rolled-up holiday pay — an uplift on every payslip — or the traditional way, when the worker takes leave.

Hours worked in the pay period
Accrual rate (12.07% for statutory 5.6 weeks)
Holiday hours accrued (round to nearest whole hour)

Rolled-up vs paid when leave is taken

MethodWhen it can be usedHow the worker is paid
Rolled-up (GB only)Irregular-hours and part-year workers in England, Scotland and Wales.12.07% uplift added to every payslip as a distinct holiday-pay line.
Paid when takenAll workers, and the only option in Northern Ireland or for fixed-hours employees.A week’s pay for each week of leave, based on the previous 52 paid weeks.

Who counts as an irregular-hours worker

  • The number of paid hours varies each week under the contract.
  • Zero-hours and agency temps are typical examples.
  • Fixed-hours workers with occasional overtime are not irregular-hours.

What has to go on the payslip

  • Rolled-up holiday pay must be a separate line, not merged with basic pay.
  • Show the accrual rate (12.07% for statutory 5.6 weeks).
  • Keep records of hours worked and holiday accrued.

Quick estimator: pay when leave is taken

For workers paid when leave is taken, a week’s holiday pay equals the average pay over the previous 52 paid weeks. This simplified estimator multiplies your average by the weeks taken — payroll should apply the full lookback rules where they matter.

Estimated holiday pay for this leave

£450.00

Post-April 2024 methodology

Key statutory assumptions used by this calculator.

Statutory entitlement
5.6 weeks
Statutory accrual
12.07%
Rounding of accrued hours
Nearest whole hour (0.5 up)
Reference period (paid when taken)
52 paid weeks
Reference lookback limit
104 weeks
Employer NI (optional line)
15.0%
GOV.UK holiday entitlement ↗Acas checking holiday entitlement ↗GOV.UK 2024 holiday pay reforms ↗

Illustrative calculation only. The paid-when-taken estimator here is a simplified average — payroll should apply the full 52 paid-week reference and 104-week lookback where required. Confirm statutory treatment with your payroll provider.

Holiday pay calculator FAQs

Plain-English answers to the most common holiday-pay questions.

How do I calculate holiday pay for an irregular-hours worker?
For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, statutory holiday accrues at 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period. Multiply the hours worked by 12.07% to find the holiday hours accrued, then pay at the worker’s normal hourly rate — either rolled up into each payslip or when leave is taken.
Where does the 12.07% figure come from?
It is the statutory 5.6 weeks of annual leave expressed as a percentage of the 46.4 working weeks in a year (5.6 ÷ 46.4 ≈ 12.07%). GOV.UK publishes it as 12.07%, so agencies and payroll teams reconcile against that exact figure rather than a longer float.
What is rolled-up holiday pay?
Rolled-up holiday pay adds the holiday pay uplift to each payslip as a separate line, so the worker is paid for holiday as they earn it rather than only when leave is taken. It is permitted for irregular-hours and part-year workers in Great Britain for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, provided the payslip shows the amount clearly.
Can I use rolled-up holiday pay in Northern Ireland?
No. The 2024 reforms that allow rolled-up holiday pay apply to Great Britain only. In Northern Ireland, holiday pay must still be paid when leave is taken. The calculator forces the paid-when-taken method when the Northern Ireland option is selected.
Does 12.07% apply to fixed-hours employees?
No. The 12.07% accrual method and rolled-up holiday pay only apply to irregular-hours and part-year workers. Fixed-hours employees continue to accrue holiday under the ordinary rules (5.6 weeks a year, pro-rated for part-time), and are paid a week’s pay for a week’s leave.
How is a "week’s pay" calculated for holiday paid when taken?
For workers without normal working hours, a week’s pay is the average of the previous 52 paid weeks. Weeks with no pay are skipped and the reference period can look back up to 104 weeks to find 52 paid weeks. Round the accrued holiday hours to the nearest whole hour, with 0.5 rounding up, per the Acas guidance.
What has to appear on the payslip?
If you use rolled-up holiday pay, it must be shown as a separate item on the payslip so the worker can see how much of their pay relates to holiday. Basic pay and holiday pay should not be combined into a single line. Keep records of hours worked and holiday accrued to evidence compliance.
Does employer National Insurance apply to holiday pay?
Yes. Holiday pay is treated as earnings, so employer National Insurance is due on the holiday pay portion in the same way as on ordinary pay. The optional NI cost line in this calculator uses the same 15% employer NI rate applied by the Charge Rate Calculator for 2026/27.

Pair holiday pay with your charge rate

Use the Charge Rate Calculator to see how holiday pay flows into your client rate, then keep it all consistent inside Youtemp.

Try the charge rate calculatorExplore Youtemp for agencies