UK law gives you 5.6 weeks paid holiday per year.

If your employer hasn't paid it correctly — or at all — you can claim the difference as an employment tribunal claim.

Can zero-hours workers claim holiday pay?

Yes. Zero-hours workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday per year, calculated pro-rata based on hours worked. If on 20 hours/week average, you get roughly 5.6 weeks at that hourly rate. Check your payslips to see if holiday was calculated correctly.

How do I claim holiday pay if I work on commission?

For commission-based workers, following recent case law (Bear Scotland, Brazel), holiday pay must include regular commission. Calculate your average commission over the 52 weeks prior to the holiday and include it in the holiday pay. If the employer paid flat-rate holiday ignoring commission, you can claim the difference as unlawful deduction.

What is the time limit — can I claim for holiday going back years?

You can claim for unlawful deductions within 3 months of the last deduction in a series. However, the tribunal can only award for deductions going back 2 years (introduced from August 2015). If you were underpaid for 5 years, you can claim 2 years' shortfall. You must show the deductions form a series to extend the time limit.

What if I was denied the right to take holiday altogether?

If your employer refused to allow you to take holiday, you can claim for the unpaid time off as unlawful deduction from wages. You are also entitled to damages for non-pecuniary loss (injury to feelings) for being denied rest, stress, and health impacts. This claim is stronger than a simple underpayment.

I've carried over holiday for years — am I owed payment?

Statutory holiday (5.6 weeks) that is carried over is owed at the end of employment. However, contracts often cap carried-over holiday or state it is lost. A maximum 4 weeks can be carried over between years without triggering workplace violations, but only if not for excessive carry-over. If carried-over holiday was denied entirely, you may have a claim for unlawful deduction.

What counts as a 'series of deductions' for the time limit?

A series is a sequence of unlawful deductions arising from the same or similar cause. For example: underpaid holiday every month for 3 years is a series. The time limit clock resets with each deduction, so you have 3 months from the last payment to claim the whole series. This extends the 2-year cap.

Is rolled-up holiday pay (lump sum instead of taking time off) lawful?

For most workers, rolled-up holiday pay is unlawful. The law requires you to take rest and be paid for time not worked. However, casual workers with genuinely sporadic work patterns may have rolled-up holiday if the contract is genuinely casual. For regular part-time or full-time workers, rolled-up pay is a breach of the Working Time Regulations and you can claim unpaid holiday.

Entitled to 5.6 weeks paid holiday per year. If you have been underpaid or denied holiday pay, you can bring a tribunal claim for unlawful deduction from wages.

UK law gives you 5.6 weeks paid holiday per year.

Holiday pay is a statutory right under the Working Time Regulations 1998 and includes commission, overtime, and other regular payments — not just basic pay. Learn how to calculate what you are owed and how to claim.

Statutory entitlement per year

Commission, shifts, regular allowances

Maximum tribunal can award

Statutory holiday entitlement

5.6 weeks per year = 28 days per year (if a working week is 5 days). This includes bank holidays if your employer chooses to count them towards the 5.6 weeks.

5.6 weeks calculated pro-rata on your actual hours. For example, if you work 20 hours per week (full-time is 35), you get 5.6 weeks × (20 ÷ 35) ≈ 3.2 weeks holiday.

Entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday per year, calculated on average hours worked. If you work 15 hours on average, you receive 5.6 × 15 = 84 hours paid holiday per year.

After a 12-week qualifying period with the same hirer, agency workers gain holiday entitlement. Calculate pro-rata on actual hours.

Accrual during absence

Holiday continues to accrue during sick leave, maternity, and other protected leave. You cannot lose holiday because you were unwell.

What counts as "normal pay" for holiday?

Following landmark case law (Bear Scotland Ltd v Fulton 2015, Brazel v St Helena Public Transport Authority 2015), holiday pay must include:

"Regular" means you receive it most weeks/months, not one-off or discretionary payments. Calculate the average over 52 weeks and add it to basic pay for holiday calculations.

Holiday and termination of employment

When you leave your job (whether dismissed, resignation, or redundancy), you are owed payment for accrued but untaken statutory holiday.

Calculate what you are owed

(Annual entitlement ÷ 12 × months worked in the year) − holiday already taken = days/hours owed

Entitled to 28 days per year. Left in June after 4 months. Took 6 days in that time.

(28 ÷ 12 × 4) − 6 = 9.3 − 6 =

at your normal pay rate.

Include normal pay in the calculation

The payment for accrued holiday must be at your "normal pay" — including overtime, commission, and other regular payments (see section above).

The employer must pay accrued holiday in your final payslip (or within a reasonable time after). If they do not, you can claim the unpaid holiday as an unlawful deduction from wages.

Unlawful deduction from wages — the claim

Unlawful deduction from wages under the Employment Rights Act 1996, section 13. This is the right vehicle for holiday pay claims.

Time limit: 3 months from the last deduction

You must bring a claim within 3 months of the last deduction in a series. If you were underpaid holiday each month for a year, the 3-month clock starts from the last month's underpayment. This allows you to claim the whole series.

Tribunal's award power: Limited to 2 years

The tribunal can only award for deductions going back a maximum of 2 years (from August 2015). If you were underpaid for 5 years, you can claim for 2 years only.

Link your deductions as a series

To maximize what you claim, show that the underpayments are part of a series (e.g. systematic underpayment of holiday every month, not isolated incidents). Tribunals will link monthly underpayments into one series spanning the 3-month limit and 2-year lookback.

Employees and workers. If you are employed or engaged as a worker (including zero-hours, gig economy, casual — the definition is broad), you can claim.

Holiday and long-term sick leave

Holiday continues to accrue during sick leave.

You do not lose statutory holiday entitlement because you are unwell. At the end of employment, accrued holiday (whether taken during illness or not) must be paid.

If you are on long-term sick leave and your employment ends, calculate accrued holiday on the full period you worked, plus the sick leave period. The employer cannot deny holiday because you were sick.

Evidence to gather for a holiday pay claim

Frequently asked questions

Owed unpaid holiday pay?

Start My Claim helps you calculate what you are owed, gather evidence of underpayment, and file an unlawful deduction claim. Build your case step by step — free to start.

Start your free case →

Your claim, estimated

What could you actually be owed?

No sign-up, no card, no email. Your numbers just appear below as you type — then you decide whether to build the full case.

Start My Claim is not a law firm. Content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

© 2026 Vindivo Limited

Employment Rights Act 1996

GOV.UK Employment Tribunals