NHS Annual Leave Calculator
Work out leave under England’s standard Agenda for Change terms, using a 37.5-hour full-time week and reckonable NHS service. Keep annual leave and public holidays separate, then see the total in hours for full-time, part-time or part-year work.
Updated 2026-10-15 · 2026/27 HMRC rates
| Annual leave (excluding public holidays) | 202.50 hours |
| Public holiday allowance | 60.00 hours |
| Total before leave taken | 262.50 hours |
| Remaining after leave taken | 262.50 hours |
Use hours for shifts of different lengths. Ordinary hours are capped at 37.5; overtime does not increase the allowance. The part-year estimate apportions both allowances by calendar days. Local public-holiday rules and rounding can differ. If you cross 5 or 10 years of service, calculate each period separately using its service tier.
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Key facts
- The standard full-time week used here is 37.5 hours.
- Select the service tier that applies to the period you are calculating.
- Check local public-holiday arrangements and rounding with your NHS employer.
Related
NHS annual leave under England’s standard terms
The standard Agenda for Change allowance is 27 days on appointment, 29 after five years of reckonable service and 33 after ten years, with eight general public holidays in the standard full-year table. NHS Employers publishes these entitlements in section 13 of the handbook. This calculator models England’s 37.5-hour full-time terms; other UK nations and local contracts can use different working hours or entitlements.
| Reckonable service | Annual leave at 37.5 hours | Public holidays (8 days) | Total hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| On appointment | 27 days / 202.5 hours | 60 hours | 262.5 hours |
| 5 years | 29 days / 217.5 hours | 60 hours | 277.5 hours |
| 10 years | 33 days / 247.5 hours | 60 hours | 307.5 hours |
Part-time NHS annual leave: a 30-hour example
Thirty contracted hours divided by 37.5 is 0.8 FTE. At the five-year tier, annual leave is 29 × 7.5 × 0.8 = 174 hours. Eight public holidays add 48 hours, for 222 hours before any leave already taken.
That total is an allowance in hours, not a number of shifts. A 12-hour absence uses 12 hours of allowance, while a 7.5-hour absence uses 7.5. Enter your normal contractual hours rather than including additional overtime.
Joining, leaving and service anniversaries
Switch on the part-year option to enter your leave-year start and the inclusive dates you are employed. The estimate clips the employment period to that leave year and multiplies the full-year hours by the resulting calendar-day fraction. It handles leap years without assuming every year has 365 days.
The selected service tier applies to the entire calculated period. If a five- or ten-year anniversary falls within it, run the calculator twice: once up to the day before the anniversary and once from the anniversary, using the appropriate tier each time. Add the allowances together before subtracting leave taken. Confirm local rounding and anniversary treatment with payroll.
Public holidays and reckonable service
Section 12 explains how previous NHS employment can count towards leave entitlement. Ask your employer to confirm your reckonable-service date rather than assuming your current job start date is the correct date.
Public-holiday arrangements are employer-specific. Change the default count if your employer uses a different full-year allowance. The part-year option apportions that allowance with the same calendar-day fraction; use your trust’s calculation if it allocates public holidays differently. This tool covers the standard Agenda for Change calculation, rather than medical, dental or locally negotiated contracts.
Frequently asked questions
Does NHS annual leave include bank holidays?
The calculator shows annual leave and the public-holiday allowance separately, then adds them. The standard full-year table adds eight public holidays to the service-based annual leave.
Can I calculate leave for 12-hour shifts?
Yes. Calculate the allowance in hours using your contracted weekly hours, then deduct the actual hours of each absence. Do not treat every shift as a 7.5-hour day.
Sources
Figures are taken from official government publications and were last reviewed on 2026-10-15.
- NHS Employers: Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook, sections 12–13 (reckonable service, annual leave and public holidays)
- NHS Employers: annual leave within the total reward offer
Reviewed by Kashif Nazir Khan on 2026-10-15 · software engineer and developer with an interest in accounting and taxation