What is 12.07% holiday pay?
12.07% is the statutory rate at which irregular-hours and part-year workers build up holiday: 12.07% of the hours they work in each pay period, for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024. It comes from 5.6 weeks of leave divided by the 46.4 weeks left in the year. The same rate applies to rolled-up holiday pay.
Last checked 26 October 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.
Where the number comes from
Almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year, capped at 28 days (GOV.UK). A year has 52 weeks; take away 5.6 weeks of holiday and 46.4 working weeks remain. 5.6 divided by 46.4 is 0.1207, so for every hour worked a worker earns 0.1207 hours of holiday. If a contract gives more than the statutory minimum, the percentage is different (GOV.UK).
Who it applies to
Regulation 15B of the Working Time Regulations makes 12.07% accrual compulsory for irregular-hours workers and part-year workers in leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024 (reg 15B). Definitions are in regulation 15F: paid hours that are wholly or mostly variable under the contract, or a contract that requires work for only part of the year with unpaid weeks off. Workers on regular hours keep the 5.6 weeks entitlement and, in their first year, build it up at one twelfth a month (GOV.UK).
How accrual works, step by step
- At the end of each pay period, take the hours the worker actually worked in it.
- Multiply by 12.07% to get the hours of holiday accrued (reg 15B).
- Round: under 30 minutes rounds down, 30 minutes or more rounds up to the next hour (Acas).
- Add it to the running total. The most a worker can build up on the statutory minimum is 28 days in a leave year.
| Hours worked in the pay period | 12.07% of hours | Holiday accrued after rounding |
|---|---|---|
| 30 (GOV.UK example) | 3.621 hours | 4 hours |
| 70 (Acas example) | 8.449 hours | 8 hours |
Accrual or rolled-up pay
The agency then has two lawful ways to pay that holiday to these workers:
- Accrue and pay when taken. The worker books time off from the hours they have built up and is paid at their normal rate, using the average of the last 52 paid weeks for variable pay (GOV.UK).
- Rolled-up holiday pay. Add at least 12.07% of pay to each pay period, shown separately on the payslip (reg 16A). See rolled-up holiday pay for agency workers.
Common mistakes
- Using 12.07% for regular-hours staff. It is for irregular-hours and part-year workers. Regular-hours workers get 5.6 weeks a year.
- Leaving out sick and family leave. Holiday also builds up during sickness and statutory leave, under its own rules (regulation 15C).
- Paying only on basic pay. The four weeks of EU-derived leave must reflect normal pay, including regular overtime and commission (GOV.UK).
- No records. From April 2026 employers must keep holiday pay records for 6 years (business.gov.uk).
Questions people ask
Why is it 12.07% and not 12.5%?
Because holiday is earned on the weeks a worker actually works. 5.6 weeks of leave out of 52 leaves 46.4 working weeks, and 5.6 divided by 46.4 is 12.07%. Since 2024 that rate has been written into regulation 15B of the Working Time Regulations, so employers no longer need to work it out themselves.
Does 12.07% apply to all agency workers?
Only to agency workers who are irregular-hours or part-year workers under the definitions in regulation 15F. Many temps are, because their hours vary week to week. An agency worker on fixed regular hours is entitled to 5.6 weeks a year in the usual way, and rolled-up holiday pay cannot be used for them.
Is there a cap on holiday accrued at 12.07%?
Yes. A worker cannot accrue more than 28 days of statutory annual leave under regulation 15B in any leave year. In practice that cap matters for people who work a lot of hours. If your contract gives more than the statutory minimum, the accrual percentage and cap are set by the contract instead.
When did the 12.07% rule start?
The regulations were changed from 1 January 2024, and the accrual method applies to leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024. For a leave year running January to December, that meant the new rules applied from 1 January 2025. Leave years that began before 1 April 2024 followed the older rules.
Sources
- Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 15B (12.07% accrual)
- Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 15F (definitions)
- Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 16A (rolled-up holiday pay)
- GOV.UK: Holiday entitlement (5.6 weeks, 28 day cap)
- GOV.UK: Holiday entitlement, calculate leave entitlement (12.07% and rounding example)
- GOV.UK: Holiday entitlement, holiday pay (52 week average, rolled-up pay limits)
- GOV.UK: Holiday pay and entitlement reforms from 1 January 2024
- Acas: Irregular hours and part-year workers, building up holiday
- Business.gov.uk: New employment rights, changes by date (April 2026 SSP, holiday pay records, Fair Work Agency)
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