Some maths wizards over at lifestyle magazine The Debrief, have put some serious thought into when you should take your holidays this year.

holiday-entitlement-uk

They have calculated that with your statutory entitlement of 28 days, and taking into account 3 days being taken off for bank holidays, you could have 55 days of holiday this year. In their calculations this equates to: one 16-day holiday, one 12-day holiday and three 9-day holidays. Sounds good to us.

So, what days should you take off?

Eight holiday days taken in March/April to make a 16-day holiday

SATURDAY and SUNDAY – NO HOLIDAY DAYS

Monday 30th
Tuesday 31st
Wednesday 1st
Thursday 2nd – 4 HOLIDAY DAYS

FRIDAY BANK HOLIDAY/SATURDAY/SUNDAY/MONDAY BANK HOLIDAY – 4 Days off, NO HOLIDAY DAYS

Tuesday 7th
Wednesday 8th
Thursday 9th
Friday 10th – 4 HOLIDAY DAYS

SATURDAY and SUNDAY – NO HOLIDAY DAYS

Four holiday days taken in early May to make a 9-Day Holiday

SATURDAY and SUNDAY with MONDAY BANK HOLIDAY- NO HOLIDAY DAYS

Tuesday 5th
Wednesday 6th
Thursday 7th
Friday 8th

SATURDAY and SUNDAY – NO HOLIDAY DAYS

Four holiday days in late May to make a 9-day holiday

SATURDAY, SUNDAY and MONDAY BANK HOLIDAY – NO HOLIDAY DAYS

Tuesday 26th
Wednesday 27th
Thursday 28th
Friday 29th – 4 HOLIDAY DAYS

SATURDAY and SUNDAY – NO HOLIDAY DAYS

Four days in September to a make 9-day holiday

SATURDAY, SUNDAY and MONDAY BANK HOLIDAY – NO HOLIDAY DAYS

Tuesday 1st
Wednesday 2nd
Thursday 3rd
Friday 4th – 4 HOLIDAY DAY

SATURDAY and SUNDAY – NO HOLIDAY DAYS

Five days in December to make a 12-day holiday

Wednesday 23rd
Thursday 24th – 2 HOLIDAY DAYS

FRIDAY BANK HOLIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY and MONDAY BANK HOLIDAY

Tuesday 29th
Wednesday 30th
Thursday 31st

FRIDAY BANK HOLIDAY, SATURDAY and SUNDAY

As you need to start soon, you might want to just copy and paste this into an email to your boss right now - before any of your dastardly colleagues catch up with your master plan.

However, even if you can't take advantage of this double-holiday-days-bonus, we want to make sure you know your rights regarding holiday entitlement. So today at Unlock the Law, we take a look at the rules relating to holiday entitlement.

How much holiday am I entitled to?

Nearly all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks paid holiday each year. This is called statutory leave entitlement or annual leave, and an employer may choose to include bank holidays as part of this entitlement.

Self-employed workers are not entitled to annual leave.

How is leave entitlement calculated?

In order to calculate how many days you are entitled to, the number of days you work per week is multiplied by 5.6 weeks.

This means that workers who work a 5-day week must receive 28 days' paid annual leave per year.

Part-time workers are also entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday, however this will equate to fewer actual holidays days than a full-time worker would get.

For example, a part-time worker who works 3 days per week would get 3 x 5.6 days of holiday per year which is 16.8 days of annual paid leave.

What if I work shifts, only at term-time or irregular hours?

If you work shifts or other irregular hours your holiday entitlement will be calculated based on the number of hours you have worked. You can calculate this if you know how many hours you have worked, or speak to your employer to find out how much holiday you are entitled to.

Calculate leave entitlement for irregular hours.

If I work more than 5 days a week, am I entitled to more leave?

Statutory paid holiday entitlement is limited to 28 days. This means that those working more than 5 days a week are not entitled to more statutory paid holiday.

Can my employer offer extra leave?

Employers may choose to offer more than the legal minimum paid leave, however the rules that apply to statutory leave do not need to be applied to extra leave. For example, extra leave may only be given when a worker has been in employment for a certain amount of time.

Other rights relating to holiday entitlement

Under the law, workers have the right:

How much notice do I have to give to take time off?

Generally, the notice period required for taking leave is at least twice as long as the amount of leave you want to take. For example, you would need to give two weeks notice for one week of leave. This will be the case unless there are different requirements stated in your contract.

Can my employer refuse to let me take time off?

Your employer may refuse your request for leave, but they must give you as much notice as the amount of leave requested. So, if you request 1 week of leave, they must give you at least 1 week of notice that your request has been refused.

Although, your employer can refuse to let you take leave at a certain time, they cannot refuse to let you take leave at all.

Your employer may also

More Information:

Free Employment Law Guides

Follow us on Social

Twitter - @unlockthelaw
YouTube - UnlockTheLaw