If you’re paid by the hour, for example as a lunchtime supervisor, casual cover or cleaner, your holiday pay may be “rolled up”: added to every payslip as a percentage, instead of paid when you take leave.
What changed in 2024
For years, rolled-up holiday pay wasn’t allowed: the courts said holiday should be paid when it’s taken. For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, the law changed. Employers may now roll up holiday pay for:
- irregular-hours workers (hours that vary from week to week), and
- part-year workers (with weeks each year they’re not required to work and not paid for).
The rules
- At least 12.07% of the pay for work done in the pay period.
- Paid at the same time as the pay for that work.
- Shown as a separate item on your payslip. A line saying “holiday pay included” isn’t enough.
- You keep the right to take time off. It’s just already been paid for.
What does 12.07% include?
The 12.07% applies to your pay for work done. For the main part of statutory leave, “normal pay” includes regular overtime, payments linked to tasks you’re required to do (such as commission), and some allowances, not just basic pay. If you regularly do extra hours, check they’re included.
Worked example
£14.00 an hour, 30 hours a week, 39 weeks:
- Pay for hours worked: £14.00 × 1,170 hours = £16,380.00
- Rolled-up holiday pay at 12.07%: £1,977.07 a year, or about £50.69 a week
If your employer used 10.77% instead, you’d get £1,764.13, which is £212.94 a year less. See why 10.77% is wrong.
Is rolled-up pay good or bad?
- Good: you get the money straight away, and it’s easy to check.
- Bad: you need to save it for the weeks you don’t work. And if the percentage is wrong, you might not notice.
Salaried term-time staff
If you’re on an annual salary in 12 equal instalments, your holiday is built into the salary, not rolled up. You won’t see a separate holiday line, and that’s normal. Use the holiday pay checker with “included in my salary” to check it.
Keep your payslips
Employers must now keep holiday records for 6 years (from April 2026), but it’s worth keeping your own payslips too. They’re your evidence if you need to challenge an underpayment.