Accrued leave calculator

How accrued leave works

Accrued leave is the amount of holiday an employee has accumulated (earned) during the current leave year up to a specific date—most commonly their last day of employment.

In the UK, employees start accruing leave from their first day of work. If they leave part-way through their company's holiday year, they are entitled to a pro-rata portion of their annual holiday entitlement. This calculator helps employers and employees work out the exact balance of leave remaining so it can be squared up in the final pay packet.

The UK Statutory Formula (Regulation 14)

Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, the statutory formula to calculate holiday entitlement for an employee leaving mid-year is:

(A × B) − C

• A is the total annual holiday entitlement (statutory minimum or contractually enhanced).
• B is the proportion of the leave year that has elapsed before the date of termination (i.e. days elapsed divided by days in a full year).
• C is the amount of holiday already taken between the start of the leave year and the leaving date.

Squaring up the final balance

Once you calculate the final balance, there are two possible outcomes:

Positive balance (Owed to Employee): If the result is positive, the employee has accrued more holiday than they have taken. The employer must make a payment in lieu of the unused leave in their final paycheck.

Negative balance (Owed to Employer): If the result is negative, the employee has taken more holiday than they have accrued. The employer can only deduct the equivalent pay from the final paycheck if there is a clear, pre-existing written agreement (such as an explicit clause in the contract of employment) allowing it.