NHS Annual Leave Entitlement: Days, Hours and Part-Time Rules
Leave in the NHS is counted in hours, not days. That trips up a lot of part-time and shift-working staff. Here is how it works.
Updated · 4 min read
Try it with your own numbersNHS Annual Leave CalculatorAnnual leave sounds simple until you work a mix of long days, nights and part-time hours. Then the number of days on your contract stops matching the number of shifts you can actually book off. The answer is that the NHS works out leave in hours. Once you see it that way, everything adds up.
How many days you get
Under Agenda for Change, full-time staff get:
| NHS service | Annual leave | Plus public holidays | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 5 years | 27 days | 8 days | 35 days |
| 5 to 10 years | 29 days | 8 days | 37 days |
| Over 10 years | 33 days | 8 days | 41 days |
Service with other NHS employers normally counts towards the 5 and 10 year steps. Some employers also count relevant service outside the NHS, so it is worth asking HR if you have worked in a related field.
Turning days into hours
A full-time day is counted as 7.5 hours. So a full-time member of staff with under five years' service gets 27 x 7.5 = 202.5 hours of annual leave and 8 x 7.5 = 60 hours for public holidays, 262.5 hours in total.
When you book a shift off, the hours of that shift come out of your balance. A 12.5-hour long day uses 12.5 hours, not one day. This is why someone who works long days seems to have fewer "days" off: they have the same hours, spread over fewer, longer shifts.
Part-time leave
Part-time staff get leave in proportion to their hours. Someone working 30 hours a week has 30 / 37.5, or 80%, of the full-time entitlement.
For example, a part-time member of staff with six years' service working 30 hours a week gets:
- Annual leave: 29 days x 7.5 hours x 0.8 = 174 hours
- Public holidays: 8 days x 7.5 hours x 0.8 = 48 hours
- Total: 222 hours
And someone with twelve years' service on 22.5 hours a week gets 148.5 hours of annual leave and 36 hours for public holidays, 184.5 hours altogether.
Public holidays when you work shifts
Because public holiday entitlement is also given in hours, it does not matter whether a bank holiday falls on one of your working days. If you work on the public holiday, you keep those hours to use another time. If it falls on a day you were not due to work, the hours still go into your total. Employers handle this in slightly different ways on their rota systems, but the principle is that everyone ends up with the same proportion.
Starting or leaving part way through the year
If you join or leave during the leave year, you get a share based on the months you are employed. Someone starting six months into the year gets half of the yearly figure. When you leave, your employer will either pay you for leave you have built up but not taken, or take back pay for leave you have taken but not yet earned.
Carrying leave over and buying more
Most trusts let you carry a small amount of leave into the next year with your manager's agreement, often up to one week. Some also run schemes to buy or sell leave. These are local policies, so check your trust's leave policy.
Worked example: long days and leave
A full-time nurse with three years' service has 262.5 hours of leave including public holidays. She works three 12.5-hour long days a week. Each shift she books off uses 12.5 hours, so she could book 21 shifts off in the year (262.5 / 12.5). That looks like fewer "days" than a colleague on 7.5-hour days, but it is exactly the same number of weeks off: seven weeks.
Common questions
Does sickness affect my annual leave? Leave continues to build up while you are off sick. If you are sick during booked annual leave, you can usually reclaim those hours if you follow your sickness reporting policy.
Do bank holidays count if I work nights? Yes. Public holiday hours are part of your entitlement whatever your shift pattern. If you work on the public holiday itself you are paid the higher enhancement and keep the hours to use later.
Does previous non-NHS service count? Not automatically. Some employers count relevant service from other sectors towards the 5 and 10 year steps at their discretion. It is worth asking, especially for registered staff with private sector experience.
What happens to leave when I go on maternity leave? You keep building leave throughout maternity leave. Most people use it to extend their leave or to return on reduced days for a while.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Counting leave in days instead of hours when you work long shifts.
- Not checking that your 5 or 10 year increase has been applied on time.
- Losing leave at the end of the year because carry-over was not agreed in advance.
Work out your own entitlement
The annual leave calculator converts your entitlement into hours for any number of weekly hours and years of service, and handles part years. If you have just changed your hours, it is a quick way to check the balance your rota team has set up. For the pay side of working on public holidays, see the unsocial hours guide.
This guide explains the general rules for staff in England using 2026/27 figures. It is not financial advice. Your employer, payslip or NHS Pensions statement has the final word on your own pay.