Work​Entitlements.co.uk

Bank holidays for part-time workers

Most bank holidays fall on a Monday. Without adjustment, someone working Monday–Wednesday gets nearly all of them; a Thursday–Friday colleague gets almost none. The fair (and Acas-recommended) fix: give every part-timer a pro-rata share of the year's bank holidays, whatever days they work.

Fair-share formula (England & Wales, 8 bank holidays)

2026/27

8 × your days per week ÷ 5

A 3-day worker gets 4.8 days of bank-holiday allowance. Working days that fall on a bank holiday come out of it; the remainder is extra leave.

Your pattern

England & Wales: 8 · Scotland: 9 · Northern Ireland: 10. One-off extras (e.g. coronations) add one.

The legal position, plainly

There is no statutory right to bank holidays off, paid or otherwise — for anyone. What the law does require is that part-time workers aren't treated less favourably than full-timers (Part-Time Workers Regulations 2000). If full-time staff get 20 days plus 8 bank holidays, a fair part-time package is 28 × fraction — the pro-rata approach this calculator shows.

Common questions

I don't work Mondays — do I lose the Monday bank holidays?
Under the fair-share method, no: you receive 8 × your fraction as an allowance. Bank holidays on your non-working days simply don't consume it, so the balance becomes bookable leave.
More of my working days are bank holidays than my share covers — what happens?
The excess comes out of your annual leave, or your employer may require you to work those days if the contract allows. The calculator's optional field shows the net position.
Scotland and Northern Ireland have different bank holidays — does the maths change?
Only the count: typically 9 in Scotland and 10 in Northern Ireland. Set the field accordingly; the pro-rata logic is identical.

Related calculators & guides

Sources for the figures on this page

Last checked 3 July 2026

How we keep these current: methodology & update policy.