Since the holiday reforms that took effect in 2024, workers whose hours change from week to week no longer get a fixed number of days. Their holiday builds up as they work. This guide explains who that applies to and how the numbers work.
Who counts as an irregular-hours or part-year worker
The rules apply to leave years that begin on or after 1 April 2024.
- An irregular-hours worker is someone whose paid hours in each pay period are, under their contract, wholly or mostly variable. Zero-hours and many casual contracts fall here.
- A part-year worker is required to work only part of the year, with periods of at least a week when they are not contracted to work and are not paid. Term-time-only staff are a common example.
Everyone else keeps the usual fixed entitlement. The statutory minimum for almost all workers is 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year.
How the 12.07% rule works
At the end of each pay period, the worker accrues holiday equal to 12.07% of the hours they actually worked in that period. Amounts of 30 minutes or more round up to the next hour; less than 30 minutes rounds down.
Why 12.07%? It is 5.6 weeks of holiday divided by the 46.4 weeks left in the year to work in (5.6 ÷ 46.4 = 12.07%).
Example. A picker works 32 hours in one week. 32 × 12.07% = 3.86 hours, which rounds up to 4 hours of holiday. The next week they work 6 hours: 6 × 12.07% = 0.72 hours, which rounds up to 1 hour.
Rolled-up holiday pay
For irregular-hours and part-year workers only, and again for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, you may pay holiday as it is earned instead of when it is taken ("rolled-up" holiday pay). It is calculated at 12.07% of the worker's pay for the period, paid at the same time as their pay for the work done, and shown as a separate item on each payslip.
Common mistakes
- Applying the 12.07% rule to staff who have regular hours. They keep a fixed entitlement.
- Accruing on contracted hours instead of the hours actually worked.
- Forgetting the rounding rule, so balances drift by a few minutes a week.
- Paying rolled-up holiday pay without showing it separately on the payslip.
How Yumee Workforce helps
Holiday balances in Yumee Workforce can accrue at 12.07% of the hours each person worked, taken straight from their clock records, so the balance is only ever as good as the hours: no spreadsheet, no guessing. Staff see their balance and request holiday on the tablet or in the Yumee Work app, and you approve it in the panel. More about time off and absence.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the current government guidance for your situation.