Holiday leave calculator
- Accrued and not yet taken, days
- 5
- Full-year entitlement, days
- 28
- Accrued so far this leave year, days
- 14
Every figure on this page is computed from the inputs you enter, by the method stated below it. The statutory figures the page names are read from GOV.UK and sourced: 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year for almost all workers, statutory entitlement limited to 28 days, bank holidays allowed to count inside it, and notice of at least twice the leave requested plus one day. Everything else is yours.
The figures above start from a worked example (5). Change any input and the answer updates as you type.
Download the Holiday leave calculator worked example (CSV)
This works out how much holiday an employee has accrued so far in the leave year, which is the figure a request in June is judged against. Days a week times the weeks of leave the contract gives is the full-year entitlement, with the UK statutory 5.6 weeks as the floor; the share of the leave year gone so far is what has accrued; and less the days already taken is what is there to book today. The statutory figure is named and sourced; everything else is yours. Free, on the page, no account; the paid plan keeps the accrual against the employee.
The full year first, on the statutory floor
Almost all people classed as workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year, and statutory paid holiday entitlement is limited to 28 days (GOV.UK). Days a week times the weeks the contract gives is the full-year figure the accrual is a share of, shown on its own so the employee can check it against the contract.
Accrual runs with the leave year
Leave accrues as the year goes by, so six months into the leave year half the entitlement has accrued: 14 of 28 days. The calculator takes the months gone and shows the accrued figure, which is the number to judge a request against when the policy pays leave as it accrues rather than in advance.
Less the days taken is what can be booked today
The accrued days less the days already taken this leave year is what the employee can book now without borrowing against the rest of the year. The paid plan keeps it per person and updates it as each approved request is taken and each month passes.
Holiday leave calculator: common questions
Is this a free holiday leave calculator?
Yes. Enter the days a week, the weeks of leave, the months of the leave year gone and the days already taken, and it works out the full-year, accrued and available figures on the page with no account and no card. WallChartBook Pro keeps the accrual against the employee and updates it from every approved request.
What is the difference between accrued and pro-rata leave?
Pro rata is the entitlement for the part of the year someone is employed, a starter's or a leaver's figure; accrued is how much of a full year's entitlement has built up so far, everyone's figure part way through the year. The annual leave calculator on this site does the first; this one does the second.
Can an employee take leave before it has accrued?
That is the employer's policy, not the law: many employers let people book the year's entitlement in advance and recover any overtaken days on leaving. The calculator shows the accrued figure so the policy can be applied either way, and the policy template states which way yours goes.
WallChartBook Pro
Keeping what you make
The arithmetic is free forever. Pro turns it into the wall chart: every employee with their entitlement, every request against them, the balance that updates as leave is taken, your business name on the policy, and a clean export when payroll or the accountant asks.
- Save worked entitlements and accruals against the employee
- Compare a leave year at two policies
- Share under your own name
- Leave-approved and leave-year-end reminders emailed to your team
- Connect your own Stripe account and get paid online
- Connect your QuickBooks Online or Xero
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Cite or embed this figure
Holiday leave calculator (Accrued and not yet taken, days): 5, WallChartBook, worked example.
Cite as: "Holiday leave calculator, WallChartBook", updated 2026-09-03, https://wallchartbook.com/tools/holiday-leave-calculator/.