Holiday: almost every worker gets 5.6 weeks' paid leave a year — 28 days for a five-day week, and statutory entitlement is capped at 28 days no matter how many days a week they work. The basis is the Working Time Regulations 1998: 4 weeks (reg 13) + 1.6 weeks (reg 13A). Bank holidays need not be given on top.
Variable pay: holiday pay for workers without fixed hours is the average of the previous 52 paid weeks (counting back up to 104). For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, irregular-hours and part-year workers accrue at 12.07% of hours worked, and may be paid rolled-up holiday pay.
Sick pay: SSP is £123.25 a week for 2026-27 (or 80% of average weekly earnings if lower), up to 28 weeks — now paid from day one. Family leave: SMP/SPP/ShPP/SAP/SPBP are £194.32 a week for 2026-27 (or 90% of AWE if lower).
Reclaim: employers recover 92% of the family payments through the Employer Payment Summary — or 109% with Small Employers' Relief (Class 1 NI ≤ £45,000 last year). SSP is not reclaimable.
Holiday entitlement: 5.6 weeks, and the 28-day cap
The headline number is fixed and generous by international standards: GOV.UK states that "almost all people classed as workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year," which for a standard five-day week is 28 days. Crucially, statutory paid holiday is capped at 28 days — GOV.UK's own example: "staff working 6 days a week are only entitled to 28 days' paid holiday," not 33.6. Part-time workers get 5.6 weeks pro rata, which comes to fewer than 28 days (a three-day week works out at 16.8 days).
The statutory basis sits in the Working Time Regulations 1998, and it is deliberately two-layered. Regulation 13 gives "four weeks' annual leave in each leave year." Regulation 13A adds the extra "1.6 weeks" for any leave year beginning on or after 1 April 2009 — and the same regulation makes the point that "the aggregate entitlement … is subject to a maximum of 28 days." Four plus 1.6 is where the 5.6 weeks comes from; the 28-day ceiling is where the cap comes from. A contract can offer more, never less.
Bank holidays are not a separate entitlement. GOV.UK is explicit that "bank or public holidays do not have to be given as paid leave," and an employer may choose to "include bank holidays as part of a worker's statutory annual leave." In practice a UK holiday policy either counts the eight bank holidays inside the 5.6 weeks or stacks them on top — both are lawful, but which one you run changes the number of discretionary days left, so state it in the contract.
Holiday pay and the 52-week reference period — plus the 2024 reform
For a worker on fixed hours and fixed pay, holiday pay is simply a normal week's pay. The difficulty is variable pay, and GOV.UK's rule is a rolling average: "calculate the worker's average pay from the previous 52 weeks (only counting weeks in which they were paid)." If some of those weeks had no pay, you keep counting back — "a maximum of 104 weeks" — until you have 52 paid weeks to average. That 52-week reference period is the default engine for holiday pay where earnings move.
The 2024 reform for irregular-hours and part-year workers. For leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, GOV.UK sets a distinct, simpler regime for these two categories. Leave "accrues" at 12.07% of the hours worked in a pay period, rounded up to the nearest hour where the fraction is 0.5 or more. GOV.UK's worked example makes it concrete: a worker who "worked 30 hours and are paid weekly … have earned 4 hours leave (30 × 12.07 ÷ 100 = 3.621)." Alongside the accrual method, employers of irregular-hours and part-year workers may pay rolled-up holiday pay — a 12.07% uplift added to each payslip's normal pay — an option that GOV.UK says is not available for regular-hours workers ("an employer cannot include an amount for holiday pay in the hourly rate").
The pivot is the leave-year start date. GOV.UK notes that where a leave year "began on or before 31 March 2024," the older rules run until that leave year renews — so during 2024-25 you may have two workers on two different regimes purely because their leave years start on different dates. Check the start date before you pick a method.
- Holiday entitlement — 5.6 weeks / 28-day cap (structural, not a tax-year rate). WTR 1998 reg 13 (4 wks) + reg 13A (1.6 wks).
- Irregular-hours / part-year accrual — 12.07% of hours worked, for leave years from 1 April 2024.
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) — £123.25/week (or 80% of average weekly earnings if lower), up to 28 weeks, from day one. 2026-27.
- Lower Earnings Limit — £129/week. 2026-27.
- SMP / SPP / ShPP / SAP / SPBP — £194.32/week (or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower). SMP first 6 weeks at 90% of AWE, uncapped. 2026-27; SMP from 5 April 2026, others from 6 April 2026.
- Employer recovery — 92% of the family payments; 109% under Small Employers' Relief (Class 1 NI ≤ £45,000 last complete tax year). SSP not reclaimable.
Statutory rates change on the 6-April cycle. Figures above were fetched from GOV.UK on 10 July 2026 — confirm the current year before you pay.
Statutory Sick Pay: the rate, and the 2026 day-one change
For 2026-27, GOV.UK sets Statutory Sick Pay at "£123.25 a week … or 80% of your normal weekly earnings — whichever is lower," paid by the employer "for up to 28 weeks." That "80% whichever is lower" wording is itself the headline of the reform: rather than a flat rate that low earners could be shut out of, SSP for 2026-27 is expressed as the lower of the cash rate or a percentage of earnings.
Two long-standing barriers have gone for 2026-27. Per GOV.UK's 2026-27 rates guidance, SSP is now paid from the first day of illness — the historic three "waiting days" have been removed — and the qualifying lower-earnings condition has been dropped for SSP, so lower earners now receive 80% of their average weekly earnings instead of nothing. (The Lower Earnings Limit itself, £129 a week for 2026-27, still governs qualification for the parental payments below.) The core eligibility gates that remain, per GOV.UK, are modest: the person must "be classed as an employee," "have done some work for your employer," and "have been ill for at least one full working day."
SSP is not reclaimable. Unlike the family payments, there is no HMRC recovery route for SSP — the cost sits with the employer. (An earlier Percentage Threshold Scheme that once let some employers recover SSP was abolished years ago and has not returned.) Budget for SSP as a straight cost, not a pass-through.
The statutory parental payments: SMP, SPP, ShPP, SAP and SPBP
Five payments share one weekly cash rate and one "90% of AWE" mechanic. For 2026-27, GOV.UK sets Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Shared Parental Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay and Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay at £194.32 a week, or 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings if that is lower. The rate applies from 5 April 2026 for SMP and from 6 April 2026 for the others.
Maternity pay has a two-stage shape. GOV.UK: SMP "is paid for up to 39 weeks" — the first 6 weeks at 90% of average weekly earnings (no cap, so a higher earner genuinely gets 90% of their pay), then the next 33 weeks at "£194.32 or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower)." It is "paid in the same way as your wages," with tax and National Insurance deducted. Paternity, adoption, shared parental and bereavement pay follow the same £194.32-or-90% cash mechanic over their own durations. Qualification for these payments still runs off the Lower Earnings Limit (£129/week for 2026-27) — the SSP relaxation above does not carry across to them.
Reclaiming the family payments: the EPS and Small Employers' Relief
Here is the offset that makes the parental payments affordable. GOV.UK: "you can usually reclaim 92% of employees' Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP), Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP)" — and the same 92% applies to shared parental and parental bereavement pay. You claim by including the amounts "in an Employer Payment Summary (EPS) to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)," which nets the recovery against the PAYE you owe.
Small Employers' Relief lifts the recovery above 100%. A business that "paid £45,000 or less in Class 1 National Insurance (ignoring any reductions like Employment Allowance) in the last complete tax year" qualifies, and GOV.UK states plainly: "you can reclaim 109% if your business qualifies for Small Employers' Relief." That extra 9 percentage points is a compensation uplift for the NIC a small employer pays on the statutory sums — so a qualifying small employer is slightly better than made whole. Note the number has moved: the compensation uplift historically quoted as 103% is out of date — the figure GOV.UK gives now is 109%, so treat any 103% reference as stale.
Two cautions worth pinning up. First, the 92%/109% recovery covers only the family payments — SSP cannot be reclaimed, so don't build it into a recovery forecast. Second, every cash figure on this page is a 2026-27 rate that will change on 6 April 2027; the £45,000 Small Employers' Relief threshold and the recovery percentages can also change at a fiscal event. Re-check GOV.UK and HMRC at the start of each tax year rather than carrying last year's numbers forward.
Quick answers
How much paid holiday are UK workers entitled to?
Almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid statutory holiday a year — for someone on a five-day week that is 28 days, and statutory entitlement is capped at 28 days however many days a week the person works (so a six-day-a-week worker still gets 28, not 33.6). The 5.6 weeks comes from the Working Time Regulations 1998: four weeks under regulation 13 plus 1.6 weeks additional leave under regulation 13A, with the aggregate subject to the 28-day maximum. Bank and public holidays do not have to be given as paid leave on top — an employer can count them within the 5.6 weeks — and part-time workers get 5.6 weeks pro rata, which comes to fewer than 28 days. Contracts can be more generous, but not less.
How is holiday pay calculated for workers without fixed hours?
For a worker whose pay varies, GOV.UK says to calculate average pay from the previous 52 weeks, counting only the weeks in which they were paid; if some of those weeks had no pay you count back further, up to a maximum of 104 weeks, to reach 52 paid weeks. Separately, for leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024 there is a distinct regime for irregular-hours and part-year workers: their leave accrues at 12.07% of the hours worked in each pay period (GOV.UK's worked example: 30 hours worked weekly earns 30 × 12.07 ÷ 100 = 3.621, rounded to 4 hours), and employers may instead pay rolled-up holiday pay — an uplift of 12.07% added to each payslip — which is not permitted for regular-hours workers. Which method applies turns on when the worker's leave year began, so check that date before choosing an approach.
How much is Statutory Sick Pay for 2026-27 and who qualifies?
For the 2026-27 tax year the Statutory Sick Pay rate is £123.25 a week, or 80% of the employee's average weekly earnings if that is lower, paid by the employer for up to 28 weeks. Per GOV.UK's 2026-27 rates guidance, SSP is now paid from the first day of illness — the historic three waiting days have been removed — and the lower-earnings condition has gone, so lower earners receive 80% of their average weekly earnings rather than being excluded. To qualify a person must be classed as an employee, have done some work, and be off sick for at least one full working day. SSP cannot be reclaimed from HMRC. Because statutory rates change on the 6-April tax-year cycle, always confirm the figure for the year you are paying.
What are the UK statutory maternity and family-leave pay rates for 2026-27?
For 2026-27 the standard weekly rate for Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Shared Parental Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay and Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay is £194.32, or 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings if that is lower. Statutory Maternity Pay runs for up to 39 weeks: the first 6 weeks are paid at 90% of average weekly earnings with no cap, and the remaining 33 weeks at the lower of £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings. The £194.32 rate applies from 5 April 2026 for SMP and from 6 April 2026 for the other payments (per GOV.UK). These rates reset each April, so verify before running a pay period.
Can UK employers reclaim statutory maternity and family-leave payments?
Yes — most employers can reclaim 92% of Statutory Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared Parental and Parental Bereavement Pay from HMRC, claimed through the Employer Payment Summary (EPS) sent with the payroll. A small employer that paid £45,000 or less in Class 1 National Insurance in the last complete tax year qualifies for Small Employers' Relief and can reclaim 109% instead — that is, the full statutory pay plus a 9% compensation uplift (note this is the current figure per GOV.UK; the long-standing 103% compensation rate is out of date). Statutory Sick Pay is not reclaimable. As reliefs and thresholds can change, confirm the current position with HMRC before you claim.
Every UK statutory rate carried on the pay run, versioned to the tax year it belongs to
Ledra Pay's United Kingdom country pack holds the 5.6-week entitlement, the 52-week and 12.07% holiday-pay engines, SSP and the parental payments as versioned, date-effective rates — so a pay run in 2026-27 uses 2026-27 numbers, the EPS reclaim (92% or 109% with Small Employers' Relief) is computed rather than hand-keyed, and each statutory calculation leaves an auditable receipt. When April moves the figures, the pack moves with them.
See UK coverage →Government sources
- GOV.UK — Holiday entitlement (5.6 weeks' paid holiday; 28-day cap incl. the six-day-week example; bank holidays need not be paid leave; part-time pro rata; irregular-hours and part-year workers accrue by hours worked).
- GOV.UK — Calculate holiday entitlement (the calculator for full leave years, starters/leavers, and accrued leave for variable-hours workers).
- GOV.UK — Holiday entitlement: calculate leave entitlement (12.07% accrual for irregular-hours and part-year workers for leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024; worked example 30 × 12.07 ÷ 100 = 3.621, rounded to 4 hours; older rules run until a pre-1 April 2024 leave year renews).
- GOV.UK — Holiday pay (52-week reference period counting only paid weeks, back to a maximum of 104 weeks; rolled-up holiday pay not permitted for regular-hours workers).
- GOV.UK — Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) and What you'll get and Eligibility (£123.25 a week or 80% of normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower; up to 28 weeks; employee who has done some work and been ill for at least one full working day).
- GOV.UK — Statutory Sick Pay: employer guide (£123.25 or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower; paid for up to 28 weeks).
- GOV.UK — Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 (SSP £123.25 or 80% of AWE, from the first day of illness; Lower Earnings Limit £129/week; SMP/SPP/ShPP/SAP/SPBP £194.32 or 90% of AWE, SMP from 5 April 2026 and others from 6 April 2026; recovery 92%, or 109% for Class 1 NI ≤ £45,000).
- GOV.UK — Maternity pay and leave: pay (SMP £194.32/week; first 6 weeks at 90% of average weekly earnings, next 33 weeks at the lower of £194.32 or 90% of AWE; up to 39 weeks; tax and NI deducted).
- GOV.UK — Reclaim statutory payments and Reclaiming (reclaim 92% of SMP/SPP/SAP/ShPP/SPBP via the Employer Payment Summary; 109% under Small Employers' Relief for employers paying £45,000 or less in Class 1 National Insurance in the last complete tax year; SSP not reclaimable).
- legislation.gov.uk — Working Time Regulations 1998, reg 13 (four weeks' annual leave in each leave year) and reg 13A (1.6 weeks additional leave for leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2009; aggregate subject to a maximum of 28 days).
Related
National Minimum and Living Wage rates, pay-reference periods, and the deductions rules that sit under every payslip.
The itemised-payslip duty, what must appear on it, and the payroll records an employer has to keep.
Operating PAYE and National Insurance through RTI, and the workplace-pension duties that attach to every hire.