Checked against gov.uk · 3 September 2026
Holiday entitlement when leaving a job
You must be paid for statutory holiday you built up but did not take. Enter your leave year, last day and days already taken to see what belongs in your final pay.
Final pay sheet · untaken statutory leave
Statutory minimum only (28 days a year for 5 days a week). If your contract gives more, use your contractual figure in place of the 5.6 weeks.
28 days × 74.8% of the leave year gone, minus 10 taken. Paid at your normal rate as payment in lieu.
The formula: (A × B) minus C
Regulation 14 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 sets out how untaken leave is paid when your employment ends part-way through the leave year:
leave owed = (A × B) − C
A is your annual entitlement (5.6 weeks as a minimum). B is the proportion of the leave year that has expired on your last day. C is the leave you have taken since the leave year began.
Your contract or a collective agreement can set a different sum, but only for the part above the statutory minimum. Leaving a job is the one situation where statutory holiday can be paid instead of taken.
Worked examples
| Situation | The sum | Owed |
|---|---|---|
| 5-day week, leave year from 1 January, leaves 30 June, 5 days taken | 28 × 181/365 = 13.88, minus 5 | 8.88 days |
| 3-day week (16.8 days), leaves after a quarter of the year, none taken | 16.8 × 0.25 | 4.2 days |
| Zero-hours, 600 hours worked this leave year, 40 hours taken | 600 × 12.07% = 72.42, minus 40 | 32.42 hours |
Acas uses a weeks-based version of the same sum: a 5-day worker with 28 days who leaves after 26 of 52 weeks has accrued 14 days. Our calculator counts calendar days, which gives the same answer to within a fraction of a day.
Taken too much holiday? Deductions need written agreement
If the formula comes out negative, you took more leave than you had accrued. The employer may only recover it from your final pay if that was agreed beforehand in writing, typically a clause in the contract or staff handbook. No written agreement, no deduction.
The payment itself should come on your normal pay date with the rest of your final pay, and the payslip should show holiday pay as a separate item. Your employer must also give you a P45.
Zero-hours and irregular hours workers
If your hours vary, A × B is replaced by what you have actually accrued: 12.07% of the hours you worked in this leave year. Take off the hours of holiday already used and the rest is paid at your normal rate. Where the employer used rolled-up holiday pay (a separate 12.07% line on every payslip), the holiday pay was paid as you earned it and nothing more is due. Our zero-hours contract holiday guide explains both methods.
Leaving a job: holiday questions
Do I get paid for untaken holiday when I leave a job?
Yes. Leaving a job is the only time statutory holiday can be paid instead of taken (payment in lieu). Your employer must pay for any untaken statutory leave you have built up in the current leave year, even if you were dismissed for gross misconduct. Holiday above the 5.6-week minimum can follow separate rules set out in your contract.
How is holiday pay on leaving calculated?
Regulation 14 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 sets the formula: (A × B) minus C. A is your annual entitlement, B is the proportion of the leave year that has passed by your last day, and C is the leave you have already taken. On 28 days a year, leaving halfway through the leave year with 5 days taken: 28 × 0.5 minus 5 = 9 days to be paid.
I have taken more holiday than I accrued. Can they deduct it?
Only if you agreed to it in writing beforehand, for example a clause in your contract. Without that written agreement, the employer must not take money for over-taken holiday from your final pay.
Can I take my remaining holiday during my notice period?
Usually, yes. gov.uk says workers may be able to take whatever is left of their statutory leave during the notice period, subject to the normal booking rules. Your employer can also require you to take it. Anything still untaken on your last day is paid in lieu.
What about a zero-hours or irregular hours contract?
Your entitlement is the 12.07% of hours worked that you have accrued in this leave year, minus hours already taken. If your employer paid rolled-up holiday pay as a separate line on each payslip, the holiday pay was already paid as you worked, so no further holiday pay is due on leaving.
When should the payment arrive?
With your final pay, on your normal pay date. If you are paid at the end of the month and leave mid-month, expect it at the end of that month. The payslip should show the holiday pay as its own item, and your employer must give you a P45.
Still in the job? The holiday entitlement calculator works out your full-year figure, and the pro rata pay calculator checks the salary side.
Sources
- gov.uk: Holiday entitlement, taking holiday before leaving a job
- legislation.gov.uk: Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 14 (compensation related to entitlement to leave)
- Acas: How much holiday someone gets (employment ending part-way through a year)
- Acas: Final pay when someone leaves a job (updated 19 May 2026)
Figures checked on 3 September 2026. Statutory minimums only: your contract can give more, never less.