Zero-hours & casual holiday calculator

Q: Do zero-hours workers really get paid holiday?

Yes — holiday rights attach to being a worker, not to a minimum number of hours. Every hour worked earns 0.1207 hours of paid leave from day one.

If your hours are irregular — zero-hours, bank, casual or agency — you build up paid holiday at 12.07% of the hours you actually work. That's the statutory accrual method for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024.

Accrual rate for irregular-hours workers

2026/27

12.07% of hours worked

Why 12.07%? A year holds 46.4 working weeks after 5.6 weeks' leave, and 5.6 ÷ 46.4 = 12.07%.

Rolled-up holiday pay

For irregular-hours and part-year workers only, employers may instead pay holiday as a 12.07% uplift on every payslip ("rolled-up" holiday pay). It must appear as a separate line on the payslip, and you still have the right to actually take the time off — unpaid at that point, because the pay came early.

If your payslip shows neither a 12.07% uplift nor accrued leave you can book, you are probably owed holiday. Accrual is capped at 28 days a year like everyone else, and untaken accrued leave must be paid out when you leave.

Common questions

Do zero-hours workers really get paid holiday?

Yes — holiday rights attach to being a worker, not to a minimum number of hours. Every hour worked earns 0.1207 hours of paid leave from day one.

What pay rate applies when I take the leave?

Your average pay over the previous 52 paid weeks (weeks with no pay are skipped, looking back up to 104 weeks). One-off spikes get smoothed out.

Is 12.07% right for term-time or seasonal staff too?

Yes — 'part-year workers' use the same accrual method. There's a dedicated term-time calculator that works from your weeks pattern.

Can my employer just include holiday pay in my hourly rate?

Not silently. Rolled-up holiday pay is lawful only for irregular-hours/part-year workers, must be itemised separately on the payslip at 12.07%, and 'the rate includes holiday' with no itemisation doesn't comply.

Sources for the figures on this page

Last checked 3 July 2026

How we keep these current: methodology & update policy.