UK Staff Holiday & Sickness Policy Generator
Choose your annual leave allowance, UK bank holiday rule, carryover limit, and sickness triggers to generate a plain-English staff handbook policy and part-time pro-rata table in seconds.
1. Choose a UK starting preset (or customise below)
Click any template to pre-fill UK statutory rules for your business or school.
2. Tailor your allowance, notice rules, and sickness triggers
Live Part-Time Pro-Rata Entitlement Table (England and Wales)
Calculated automatically from your 28-day full-time equivalent policy.
| Working pattern | Total annual entitlement | Bank holiday breakdown | UK statutory minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 days/week (100% FTE) | 28 days | Includes 8 days pro-rata bank holiday allowance | 28 days (5.6 wks) |
| 4 days/week (80% FTE) | 22.4 days | Includes 6.4 days pro-rata bank holiday allowance | 22.4 days (5.6 wks) |
| 3 days/week (60% FTE) | 16.8 days | Includes 4.8 days pro-rata bank holiday allowance | 16.8 days (5.6 wks) |
| 2 days/week (40% FTE) | 11.2 days | Includes 3.2 days pro-rata bank holiday allowance | 11.2 days (5.6 wks) |
| 1 day/week (20% FTE) | 5.6 days | Includes 1.6 days pro-rata bank holiday allowance | 5.6 days (5.6 wks) |
Ready-to-Use UK Staff Holiday & Sickness Policy
Copy into your staff handbook, download as a text file, or print/save as PDF.
The Organisation Staff Holiday and Sickness Absence Policy
UK Working Time Regulations 1998 and Employment Rights Act 1996 compliant policy (England and Wales) • Leave Year: 1 January to 31 December
1. Purpose, Scope, and Leave Year
This policy sets out how annual leave, public holidays, sickness absence, and statutory time off are managed at The Organisation. It applies to all employees and workers, whether full-time, part-time, fixed-term, or working irregular hours.
The annual leave year at The Organisation runs from 1 January to 31 December. All holiday requests, approvals, and remaining balances are tracked digitally so every team member can view their entitlement and upcoming time off in real time.
2. Annual Leave Entitlement and Part-Time Pro-Rata Rules
Full-time staff working 5 days per week are entitled to 28 days of paid annual leave per leave year, which includes the standard public and bank holidays in England and Wales (normally 8 days per year).
Your annual holiday entitlement is made available upfront at the start of each leave year. If you join or leave The Organisation partway through a leave year, your entitlement is calculated pro-rata based on the number of complete or partial months worked in that leave year.
- 5 days/week (100% FTE): 28 days per leave year (Includes 8 days pro-rata bank holiday allowance).
- 4 days/week (80% FTE): 22.4 days per leave year (Includes 6.4 days pro-rata bank holiday allowance).
- 3 days/week (60% FTE): 16.8 days per leave year (Includes 4.8 days pro-rata bank holiday allowance).
- 2 days/week (40% FTE): 11.2 days per leave year (Includes 3.2 days pro-rata bank holiday allowance).
3. Booking Procedure, Notice Periods, and Cover Rules
All annual leave requests must be submitted through The Organisation's online leave system before booking travel or accommodation. Requests are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis alongside minimum team staffing levels.
Holiday may be booked in full days or half days (morning or afternoon). You should submit holiday requests at least 14 calendar days in advance, or give notice of at least twice the length of the leave requested (whichever is greater), so cover can be arranged fairly. Single bookings of more than 10 consecutive working days require prior director or headteacher approval so team cover is maintained.
4. Carryover, Statutory Protections, and Leaving Employment
Annual leave is intended to provide regular rest throughout the year. Unused holiday cannot normally be carried forward into the next leave year or paid in lieu while your employment continues.
Statutory carryover protections always apply: if you are unable to take your statutory holiday because of maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, or bereaved partner's paternity leave, you may carry over up to 28 days into the following leave year. If long-term sickness prevents you from taking your 4 weeks of EU-derived Regulation 13 leave, that unused portion may be carried over for up to 18 months from the end of the leave year in which it accrued.
When your employment ends, The Organisation will calculate your pro-rata holiday entitlement up to your final day. Any accrued but untaken statutory or contractual holiday will be paid in your final salary payment. If you have taken more holiday than you have accrued at your leaving date, The Organisation may deduct the excess from your final pay in accordance with your contract of employment.
5. Sickness Absence, Fit Notes, and Return-to-Work Support
If you are unwell and unable to work, you must notify your line manager (or designated absence contact) by 1 hour before your normal start time on your first day of absence, explaining the nature of your illness and when you expect to return. If you fall ill during booked annual leave and report it promptly in accordance with this procedure, you may request to convert the affected days to sickness absence and rebook your annual leave later.
For sickness absence lasting 7 calendar days or fewer (including weekends and non-working days), you must complete a self-certification record on return to work. For any sickness absence lasting more than 7 calendar days, you must provide a Statement of Fitness for Work (fit note) from a qualified healthcare professional (doctor, nurse, pharmacist, physiotherapist, or occupational therapist).
Eligible employees receive Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) in accordance with current UK legislation (from April 2026, SSP is payable from day 1 of qualifying sickness absence at the statutory rate of the lower of 80% of normal weekly earnings or the flat weekly rate set by HM Government), alongside any contractual sick pay set out in your statement of main terms.
Following every period of sickness absence, your manager will hold a brief, supportive Return-to-Work (RTW) conversation to check on your wellbeing, confirm you are fit to resume your duties, and discuss any reasonable adjustments.
6. Compassionate, Family, Carer, and Emergency Leave
In addition to annual holiday and sickness absence, The Organisation supports employees through life events and statutory time-off entitlements:
- Statutory family leave: Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared Parental, Parental Bereavement (Jack's Law: up to 2 weeks for the loss of a child under 18 or stillbirth after 24 weeks), and Neonatal Care Leave are provided in full accordance with UK employment law.
- Compassionate and bereavement leave: up to 3 paid working days may be granted at your manager's discretion following the death or critical illness of an immediate family member or close dependant.
- Time off for dependants: all employees have a statutory right to reasonable unpaid time off to deal with an unexpected emergency involving a dependant (such as sudden illness or a breakdown in care arrangements) and to put longer-term care in place.
- Statutory Carer's Leave: under the Carer's Leave Act 2023, employees have a day-one right to take up to 1 week of unpaid carer's leave in any rolling 12-month period to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need.
- Medical and dental appointments: routine GP, dental, and optician appointments should be arranged outside working hours or at the start or end of the working day wherever possible. Pregnant employees are entitled to paid time off for antenatal care appointments.
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What a UK staff holiday and sickness policy needs to cover
Every UK employer must give staff a written statement of main terms on or before day one that explains how holiday entitlement, public holidays, and sickness absence work. Having a clear, standalone Staff Holiday and Sickness Absence Policy prevents disputes over part-time bank holidays, December booking clashes, and uncertified sick days.
- Leave year dates and full-time allowance: Whether your holiday year runs January to December, April to March (matching the UK tax year), or September to August (for UK schools), and whether bank holidays are included inside the 28-day statutory minimum or added on top.
- Fair part-time pro-rata rules: Clear numbers for 4-day, 3-day, and 2-day staff so part-time colleagues receive their exact pro-rata share of both annual leave and UK bank holidays.
- 12.07% accrual for irregular-hours and part-year workers: Following the April 2024 reforms to Regulation 15B of the Working Time Regulations 1998, casual, zero-hours, and part-year workers accrue leave at 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period.
- Sickness reporting, self-certification, and Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): Who to notify on day one, 7-calendar-day self-certification, GP or healthcare professional fit notes from day 8, Return-to-Work (RTW) conversations, and day-one SSP rules from April 2026.
- Statutory family, bereavement, and carer leave: Clear signposting for Compassionate Leave, Parental Bereavement Leave (Jack's Law), emergency time off for dependants, and unpaid Carer's Leave under the Carer's Leave Act 2023.
Frequently asked questions
What is the statutory minimum holiday entitlement in the UK?
Almost all workers in the UK are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year under the Working Time Regulations 1998. For a full-time employee working 5 days a week, 5.6 weeks equals 28 days. Employers can choose to include UK bank holidays inside those 28 days or offer bank holidays on top.
Do part-time staff get a pro-rata share of bank holidays?
Yes. Under the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000, part-time employees must receive a pro-rata share of the full-time holiday and bank holiday allowance, regardless of whether bank holidays fall on the days they normally work. For example, a 3-day-a-week worker gets 60% of the full-time entitlement.
How much notice must an employee give to book annual leave?
Unless your written holiday policy or employment contract sets a different rule, the default rule under the Working Time Regulations 1998 is that an employee must give notice of at least twice the length of the leave they want to take (for example, 10 calendar days of notice for a 5-day holiday). Many UK employers set a clear 14-day minimum notice rule in their policy.
Can employees carry unused holiday over into the next leave year?
For normal circumstances, whether staff can carry over unused contractual holiday depends on your company policy. However, statutory carryover protections always apply when an employee cannot take their leave due to maternity or family leave (up to 28 days) or long-term sickness absence (up to 4 weeks of Regulation 13 leave, carried over for up to 18 months).
How does the 12.07% holiday rule work for irregular-hours and part-year workers?
For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, irregular-hours workers (such as zero-hours and casual staff) and part-year workers accrue statutory holiday at 12.07% of the hours they actually work in each pay period under Regulation 15B of the Working Time Regulations 1998.
When does an employee need a GP or healthcare fit note for sickness absence?
Employees can self-certify sickness absence for the first 7 calendar days (including weekends and non-working days). If the absence lasts more than 7 calendar days, the employer can require a Statement of Fitness for Work (fit note) from a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, physiotherapist, or occupational therapist.
How do UK schools handle holiday policies for term-time vs all-year staff?
UK schools and academy trusts typically run a September-to-August leave year with two tracks in their policy: term-time-only teachers and teaching assistants take their paid leave during published school closure periods, while 52-week support, estates, and office staff receive a bookable annual leave allowance.
Sources and scope: checked 18 October 2026
This generator produces a baseline UK staff holiday and sickness absence policy template aligned with the Working Time Regulations 1998 (including Regulation 15B for irregular-hours and part-year workers), the Employment Rights Act 1996, and the Carer's Leave Act 2023. Review the output against your employment contracts before issuing it to staff.
General information only, not legal advice.
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