Clear CalculatorsEntitlement is the amount of leave
Entitlement is usually expressed in days or hours. A full-time worker might have 28 days including bank holidays. A part-time worker might have a pro-rated number of days. An irregular-hours worker may track leave in hours.
Use the Holiday Calculator when you need to work out how much leave is due.
Holiday pay is the value of that leave
Once you know the days or hours being paid, holiday pay asks what those days or hours are worth. For steady pay, that might be simple: daily pay multiplied by holiday days, or hourly rate multiplied by holiday hours.
Use the Holiday Pay Calculator when you already know the leave amount and want a pay-value estimate.
Why variable pay is harder
If pay changes from week to week, holiday pay may need an average pay figure. Overtime, commission, shift premiums and irregular hours can make the simple calculation less reliable.
For those cases, the calculator is a rough check. Your contract, employer policy, payslip and current official guidance matter more than a generic estimate.
Starter and leaver checks
For someone starting or leaving during the leave year, work out entitlement first. Then estimate pay for the leave due or taken. Do not use a pay calculator to decide the entitlement on its own.
If there is holiday owed in a final pay packet, check both parts: the remaining leave amount and the pay rate used to value it.
A simple order that avoids confusion
- Work out the leave year and full-year entitlement.
- Adjust for start date, leaving date, part-time pattern or irregular-hours rules.
- Subtract holiday already taken, if you are checking a balance.
- Convert the remaining leave into days or hours.
- Only then estimate the pay value.
This order keeps the time question separate from the money question. It also makes it easier to spot which assumption is causing a difference from a payslip or HR record.
Why the payslip may not match a quick estimate
A payslip can include tax, National Insurance, pension deductions, previous underpayments, unpaid leave, overtime, commission or a different holiday reference period. If the gross holiday pay looks right but the net pay looks different, the difference may be in payroll deductions rather than holiday pay itself.
Useful tools
Estimate only. Holiday rules can depend on contract wording, working pattern, normal pay, reference periods and employer payroll rules. This guide is general information, not employment or legal advice.