Notes on annual leave

Know your rights. Get your days. Stop letting employers shortchange your holiday.

Your Holiday Rights at Work: What UK Employers Must Provide in 2026

Too many UK workers are being short-changed on holiday. Full-time, part-time, zero-hours: the law guarantees you 5.6 weeks. Here's what that actually means, how pro-rata works, and what to do if your employer isn't delivering.

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Carrying Over Annual Leave: UK Rules Explained

"Use it or lose it" isn't the whole story. The carry-over rules are more complex than most employers let on, and sickness, maternity, and employer obstruction all create legal rights to roll holiday forward.

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Bank Holidays and Your Annual Leave: How It Really Works

You do NOT have an automatic right to bank holidays off. That surprises a lot of people. Here's what the law actually says, how it affects your 28 days, and what to check in your contract.

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Holiday for Part-Time, Zero Hours and Irregular Hours Workers

Part-time and irregular hours are not the same thing and the law treats them completely differently. The 12.07% accrual method, when rolled-up holiday pay is lawful, and why an employer still working it out the 2022 way is probably underpaying you.

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What Happens to Your Holiday When You Leave a Job

The Working Time Regulations set out a formula for accrued untaken leave, and a much narrower rule about clawing back leave you took but had not earned. What your employer can and cannot deduct, and what to check on the final payslip.

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How Holiday Pay Is Calculated When Your Pay Varies

Overtime, commission and shift premiums should be in your holiday pay, and the weeks you were off sick should not be dragging the average down. The 52-week reference period in detail, plus why the first four weeks can be paid at a different rate to the other 1.6.

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Holiday, Sick Leave and Family Leave: How Entitlement Keeps Building

You keep earning annual leave while off sick or on maternity leave, and leave you could not take is not leave you have lost. The carry-over rules for each type of absence, the 18 month sickness limit, and the notice rules nobody reads.

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