UK household-employer guide
Holiday entitlement for domestic staff
Almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid statutory holiday each leave year. For a domestic employee, the calculation depends on the actual working pattern, not whether the role is nanny, housekeeper, live-in or live-out.
How much holiday does a nanny or housekeeper get?
For a regular-hours worker employed for the full leave year, the statutory minimum is 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave. Someone working five days a week normally gets 28 days; a regular three-day-a-week worker gets 16.8 days. Statutory leave is capped at 28 days even if the person normally works six days a week. This is general employer information rather than an individual calculation; use the GOV.UK holiday calculator for the actual contract and leave year.
Part-time status does not reduce the entitlement in weeks. It changes the number of working days or hours represented by those 5.6 weeks. Live-in status also does not create a separate statutory holiday formula: the calculation follows the worker's legal status and working pattern.
Regular weekly hours: start with 5.6 times the working week.
These examples assume regular working days throughout a full leave year and show only the statutory minimum. A contract can give more.
| Normal working week | Statutory calculation | Minimum annual leave | Practical note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 days | 5 × 5.6 | 28 days | The common full-time example. |
| 4 days | 4 × 5.6 | 22.4 days | Use a consistent rule for part-days where needed. |
| 3 days | 3 × 5.6 | 16.8 days | Bank-holiday treatment still needs to work fairly with the actual working days. |
| 2 days | 2 × 5.6 | 11.2 days | The entitlement is still 5.6 working weeks. |
| 6 days | 6 × 5.6 would exceed the cap | 28 days | Statutory entitlement is capped at 28 days. |
If the employee starts or leaves part-way through the leave year, or their working pattern does not fit these regular-day examples, use the official GOV.UK calculator rather than forcing the role into this table. This page is general information, not a payroll calculation for a specific household.
Irregular and part-year work
Term-time or variable hours need a different calculation.
Do not assume that a term-time nanny or variable-hours domestic worker simply gets a reduced fraction of 28 days.
For leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, statutory holiday for an irregular-hours worker or a qualifying part-year worker accrues at 12.07% of actual hours worked in each pay period, up to the statutory maximum. The statutory definitions are specific, so a school-term arrangement should be checked against the contract rather than labelled part-year automatically. This is general guidance; use GOV.UK's calculator and current definitions for the exact working pattern.
For irregular-hours and part-year workers, the rules also affect holiday pay and carry-over. Rolled-up holiday pay can be used only in the circumstances permitted for those worker types; it is not a general substitute for giving regular-hours staff paid time off.
Do bank holidays come on top of the 5.6 weeks?
The contract should make the answer explicit.
Bank-holiday arrangements can be affected by contractual terms and the worker's pattern. The points above are general statutory guidance, not a conclusion about an individual employment contract.
Holiday entitlement and holiday pay are related, but they are not the same calculation.
A household needs to record both the time off and the pay due for that time.
For a fixed-salary worker, a week of holiday will commonly be paid as an ordinary week. Current rules require at least four weeks of statutory leave to reflect the worker's normal rate of pay and allow the remaining 1.6 weeks to use the basic rate. This is general guidance; overtime and other regular payments can affect the calculation.
Employers can use the permitted rolled-up holiday-pay method for these worker types, or calculate pay using the applicable reference-period method. Use the current GOV.UK guidance rather than copying a rate from a regular-hours example.
Payment in lieu of statutory leave is generally reserved for the end of employment. If a worker has taken more leave than accrued, any deduction from final wages needs prior written agreement. This is general information; check the contract and current Acas/GOV.UK rules.
2026 employer update
Holiday records now need to be kept for at least six years.
From 6 April 2026, employers must keep detailed records of annual leave and holiday pay for at least six years from the date the record was made. Acas lists holiday taken, carried-over leave, holiday pay and payments in lieu among the records to retain. This is general compliance information; households should check the current official requirements and their payroll process.
- holiday taken;
- holiday carried over;
- holiday pay and what it included;
- payment in lieu where employment ends.
When can unused holiday carry over?
There is no single carry-over rule for every reason and working pattern.
Carry-over depends on why the leave was not taken and whether the worker is regular-hours, irregular-hours or part-year. The summary above is general information; check the current Acas and GOV.UK rules for the exact case.
From our work
Why we ask for days and hours before a household treats “28 days” as the answer.
Filipino Domestic Services' current staffing process asks a household to define the duties, normal days and hours, location and working arrangement before candidate introductions are assessed. The employer guide uses the same principle: the introduction comes first, but the household carries the direct-employment administration that follows.
That information matters immediately for annual leave. A five-day fixed-hours nanny, a three-day housekeeper and a domestic employee whose hours genuinely vary are all entitled to statutory paid holiday, but the practical calculation is not identical. A live-in label does not solve the calculation, and neither does describing someone as “term-time” without checking the contract and working pattern.
For that reason, we would not turn a household's staffing enquiry into a one-line promise of “28 days plus bank holidays”. The safer sequence is to define the working week, identify the leave year and bank-holiday rule, use the official calculator where needed, and then record the agreed entitlement in the employment documentation.
Filipino Domestic Services is an introduction agency, not a payroll or legal adviser. The household should use current official guidance or a qualified adviser for its individual calculation.
Questions household employers ask about annual leave.
How much annual leave does a full-time nanny get?
For a regular five-day-a-week worker employed for the full leave year, the statutory minimum is normally 28 paid days, equivalent to 5.6 weeks. A contract can provide more. This is general information; use GOV.UK's calculator for a part-year, changing-hours or partial-year situation.
How much holiday does a part-time housekeeper get?
A regular part-time worker still gets at least 5.6 working weeks. For example, three regular days a week gives a statutory minimum of 16.8 days for a full leave year. If hours are irregular or the employee is a qualifying part-year worker, use the specific statutory accrual rules instead.
Are bank holidays extra for a nanny?
Not automatically. An employer can include bank holidays within the statutory 5.6 weeks. The employment terms should explain whether bank holidays are included and how they are handled for the employee's actual working days.
Does a live-in nanny get less holiday because accommodation is provided?
No separate reduced statutory holiday formula applies simply because the worker lives in. Annual-leave entitlement follows legal status and working pattern. Accommodation, working hours and off-duty time should be documented separately.
How do I calculate holiday for a term-time nanny?
First check whether the contract makes the person an irregular-hours or statutory part-year worker. For leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, those workers normally accrue statutory leave at 12.07% of actual hours worked in each pay period. Use the GOV.UK calculator for the individual working pattern.
Can I pay unused holiday instead of giving time off?
For statutory holiday, payment in lieu is generally allowed when employment ends rather than as a substitute for the worker taking annual leave. Different arrangements can apply to contractual leave above the statutory minimum. Check the current contract and official guidance for the individual case.
Sources and legal boundary.
This guide summarises current statutory holiday rules for household employers. It is educational content, not personalised legal or payroll advice. Employment status, contractual enhancements and unusual working patterns can change the correct treatment.
Keep holiday entitlement inside the wider household-employer framework.
Annual leave sits alongside the contract, pay, payroll, working hours and other direct-employment responsibilities. Use the full employer guide to keep the holiday calculation within the wider household-employment framework.