Term-time only holiday calculator (UK)
For school, nursery and other part-year staff: what paid holiday accrues under the 12.07% method - the rules that replaced the Brazel approach for new leave years.
The role
Part-year workers accrue statutory holiday at 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period, for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024. Many education employers convert the accrual to a salary uplift paid across the year - the itemisation rules for rolled-up holiday pay apply.
Term-time only staff accrue holiday at 12.07% of the hours they actually work. Someone on 30 hours a week for 39 school weeks accrues about 141 hours - roughly 4.7 weeks of their working pattern - a year. This is the post-2024 position: the old Harpur Trust v Brazel approach (a full unreduced 5.6 weeks) no longer applies to new leave years.
How is term-time only holiday calculated now?
For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, part-year workers - anyone with contractual weeks they neither work nor get paid, which is exactly a term-time contract - accrue at 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period (Acas). The percentage is the statutory ratio: 5.6 weeks' leave ÷ 46.4 working weeks.
| Pattern | Annual hours | Holiday accrued |
|---|---|---|
| 39 wks × 30h | 1,170 | 141.2 hrs (≈4.7 wks) |
| 39 wks × 20h | 780 | 94.1 hrs |
| 44 wks × 37.5h | 1,650 | 199.2 hrs (≈5.3 wks) |
What changed after Harpur Trust v Brazel?
The Supreme Court's 2022 Brazel judgment gave part-year workers on permanent contracts the full 5.6 weeks regardless of weeks worked - a music teacher on 32 weeks got the same leave as year-round staff. The 2024 Working Time reforms reversed that for new leave years: accrual is now proportional to hours worked. Contracts and payroll set up on the Brazel basis are worth revisiting.
When is the holiday taken - and how is it paid?
Most education employers roll the entitlement into school holidays: either the accrued hours are paid when taken, or the pay is rolled up as a separate 12.07% payslip line - lawful for part-year workers if itemised (the 12.07% calculator covers those rules). For staff with fixed weekly patterns year-round, use the pro-rata holiday calculator instead; variable casual hours are the 12.07% period calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How much holiday do term-time only staff get?
For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, part-year workers accrue statutory holiday at 12.07% of hours actually worked. A 39-week, 30-hour pattern accrues about 141 hours a year - roughly 4.7 weeks of that pattern.
Does Harpur Trust v Brazel still apply?
Not for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024. The 2024 reforms replaced the unreduced 5.6-week entitlement from Brazel with proportional 12.07% accrual for part-year workers.
When do term-time staff take their holiday?
Usually during school holidays. Employers either pay accrued hours when leave is taken or roll the pay up as a separate itemised 12.07% payslip line, which is lawful for part-year workers.
Who counts as a part-year worker?
Someone whose contract includes periods of at least a week each year in which they are not required to work and are not paid - term-time only contracts are the classic example.
This calculator applies the statutory rules as published and shows its working, but it cannot know your contracts, your policies or anything unusual about the case. Treat the figure as a starting point, and take advice on anything contested or expensive.
Patterns, not spreadsheets
CoDash stores each person's real working pattern and does the accrual maths for part-timers and part-year staff automatically.