Every country has its own holiday legislation. Here we give a brief overview of how the system works in the UK.

Almost all workers who work in the UK are entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday per year. It means that the employee gets 28 days of paid holiday and weekends are not taken into account like in some other countries. Paid holiday can also be called a statutory leave entitlement or annual leave. Most workers who work a 5-day week must receive 28 days paid annual leave per year (5 days x 5.6 weeks = 28 days).

Statutory paid holiday entitlement is also limited to 28 days. Therefore, staff who work 6 days per week are only entitled to 28 days’ paid holiday. If you’re a part-time worker, you’re still entitled to 5.6 x the number of days in your normal working week.

You are entitled to be paid during your statutory annual leave and your holiday pay will be your normal weekly wage:

• for workers on fixed hours and pay, it equals the amount due for a week’s work
• for workers on fixed hours and variable pay (bonus, commission), it equals the average hourly rate (over the preceding 12 weeks) multiplied by the normal working hours in a week
• for workers with no normal working hours, a week’s pay is the average pay received over the preceding 12 weeks

The general notice period for taking annual leave is at least twice as long as the amount of leave the employee wants to take (for example 2 days’ notice for 1 day’s leave).

An employer can refuse a leave request but they must give as much notice as the amount of leave requested, for example, 2 weeks’ notice if the leave requested was 2 weeks.

If a full-time employee gets 28 days’ leave, then it’s possible to carry over up to a maximum of 8 days into the next year.  At the end of the employment, if the employee has not taken all of their accrued annual leave, they have the right to be paid in lieu of it.