How many days' paid holiday am I entitled to?

5.6 weeks per leave year, capped at 28 days for someone working five days a week. This is the statutory minimum. Bank holidays can be counted towards this minimum if the contract says so. Many employers offer more on top.

How should holiday pay be calculated?

For workers with regular hours, holiday pay should match what they would have earned at work — including regular overtime, commission, and contractually-required allowances. The Court of Appeal in Bear Scotland and the CJEU in Lock v British Gas confirmed that excluding regular overtime or commission from holiday pay underpays the worker. For irregular-hours and part-year workers the rules changed substantially from January 2024.

Can my employer "roll up" holiday pay into my hourly rate?

Generally no — the long-standing position was that rolled-up holiday pay is unlawful (Robinson-Steele). But from January 2024, rolled-up holiday pay is *permitted* for irregular-hours and part-year workers only, at 12.07% of the worker's hours, provided it's clearly identified on the payslip.

What about the 48-hour working week?

The Regulations limit average weekly working time to 48 hours over a 17-week reference period. Workers can opt out individually in writing — but cannot be forced to. Special rules apply to night workers, young workers, and certain sectors.

What rest breaks am I entitled to?

A 20-minute rest break after six hours of work, 11 hours' rest between working days, and 24 hours' rest per week (or 48 hours per fortnight). Workers who are denied these breaks can claim a remedy in the tribunal, though awards are typically modest.

Working Time & Holiday Pay

The Working Time Regulations 1998 set the minimum standards for working hours, rest, and paid annual leave in Great Britain. They implement the EU Working Time Directive but have evolved significantly since Brexit. Most tribunal cases under the Regulations are about one thing — holiday pay — and specifically how to calculate it when pay varies, when overtime is regular, or when work isn't done in conventional patterns.

Cases on file

767

Claimant win rate

62%

Cases reaching a determination

Median damages awarded

£9,658

Where compensation was awarded

How claims actually progress

Many unfair dismissal claims never reach a hearing on the merits — they're struck out, out of time, or fall outside the tribunal's jurisdiction. This is independent of why the dismissal happened.

Reached the merits

617

80% of all

Tribunal decided whether the dismissal was fair.

Struck out

6% of all

Claim ended early — usually for non-attendance, non-compliance, or no reasonable prospect.

Out of time

7% of all

Claim filed after the 3-month limit and not extended.

No jurisdiction (status / service / coverage)

6% of all

Claimant lacked two years’ service, the right employment status, or the tribunal had no power to hear it.

Withdrawn or settled

1% of all

Claim resolved without a hearing.

Holiday pay — where most cases land

For the typical case, the dispute is "how is my holiday pay calculated?" The position broke open with two key decisions:

Lock v British Gas (CJEU 2014) — commission must be reflected in holiday pay
Bear Scotland v Fulton (EAT 2014) — non-guaranteed overtime that is "normally worked" must also be reflected

The follow-on case law has progressively widened the scope: travel time, regular allowances, and any payment "intrinsically linked" to the performance of the work tend to be included.

The Agnew rule on series of underpayments

In 2023 the Supreme Court in Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland v Agnew held that a "series" of holiday-pay underpayments isn't broken by a gap of more than three months — overturning a long-standing EAT decision (Bear Scotland) that had limited recovery. Combined with the two-year backstop in Great Britain, claims can now reach back substantially further than was previously thought.

January 2024 changes

The Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023 changed several things for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024:

Irregular-hours and part-year workers accrue holiday at 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period (rather than the previous 5.6-week formula)
Rolled-up holiday pay is permitted for those workers at 12.07%
The previous distinction between "EU 4 weeks" and "UK additional 1.6 weeks" partly retained but simplified

These rules don't apply retrospectively. Pre-April-2024 entitlement is still calculated under the old framework.

The 48-hour week

A weekly limit, averaged over 17 weeks. Workers can opt out (s.31 WTR), but opt-outs must be in writing and can be revoked on seven days' notice (more if agreed). Forcing or pressuring an opt-out is itself a detriment under section 45A ERA.

Detriment and dismissal protections

A worker who is dismissed or subjected to detriment for asserting a working time right has a separate claim — automatically unfair dismissal under section 101A ERA 1996, no minimum service required. This dovetails with whistleblowing cases where the underlying disclosure concerns working time breaches.

Cases on Working time

Showing the 20 most recent of 767 cases

Case

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Frequently asked

How many days' paid holiday am I entitled to?: 5.6 weeks per leave year, capped at 28 days for someone working five days a week. This is the statutory minimum. Bank holidays can be counted towards this minimum if the contract says so. Many employers offer more on top.
How should holiday pay be calculated?: For workers with regular hours, holiday pay should match what they would have earned at work — including regular overtime, commission, and contractually-required allowances. The Court of Appeal in Bear Scotland and the CJEU in Lock v British Gas confirmed that excluding regular overtime or commission from holiday pay underpays the worker. For irregular-hours and part-year workers the rules changed substantially from January 2024.
Can my employer "roll up" holiday pay into my hourly rate?: Generally no — the long-standing position was that rolled-up holiday pay is unlawful (Robinson-Steele). But from January 2024, rolled-up holiday pay is *permitted* for irregular-hours and part-year workers only, at 12.07% of the worker's hours, provided it's clearly identified on the payslip.
What about the 48-hour working week?: The Regulations limit average weekly working time to 48 hours over a 17-week reference period. Workers can opt out individually in writing — but cannot be forced to. Special rules apply to night workers, young workers, and certain sectors.
What rest breaks am I entitled to?: A 20-minute rest break after six hours of work, 11 hours' rest between working days, and 24 hours' rest per week (or 48 hours per fortnight). Workers who are denied these breaks can claim a remedy in the tribunal, though awards are typically modest.