Holiday Pay Calculator Ireland

What is holiday pay in Ireland?

Holiday pay in Ireland means the pay you receive while you are on paid annual leave. Holiday pay entitlement Ireland is governed by section 19 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. It is not a bonus and it is not extra money on top of your wages: it is your normal pay, paid for weeks when you are not at work. Every employee under a contract of employment earns it from the day they start work Holiday pay explained in one line: your normal pay, paid while you take your statutory leave., whether they are full-time, part-time, casual, agency or apprentice staff. There is no waiting period and no job where the statutory entitlement is zero.

Annual leave vs holiday pay

Annual leave is the time off; holiday pay is the money for that time off. The two are often confused, but the distinction matters: your entitlement is first worked out as time (weeks and days of leave), and only then turned into money using your normal weekly rate. Public holidays are a third, separate thing Ireland holiday pay law is national: the same Act applies in Dublin and Donegal alike.: the ten public holidays in Ireland sit outside your four weeks of annual leave and are not deducted from it. If a public holiday falls during your annual leave, that day counts as a public holiday, not as annual leave.

How does holiday pay work in Ireland?

Your employer works out your annual leave using the three methods in section 19 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, and you get whichever method gives you the most, up to a maximum of four working weeks. Your employer decides when the leave is taken Is holiday pay paid in advance? Yes: the Act requires payment before the leave, not after you return., after consulting you and taking your family responsibilities and need for rest into account, and must give you at least one month's notice of the dates. Holiday pay must be paid in advance of the leave, not after you return. The holiday pay requirements are the same for every employee: a contract of employment and hours worked.

How to calculate holiday pay in Ireland: the three methods

How to calculate holiday pay in Ireland is a question with three answers, and the law says you get the best one. Here they are, exactly as section 19 of the Act states them: The question how to calculate holiday pay Ireland workers ask most is answered by the three methods below. How do I calculate holiday pay based on hours worked? Use method C: 8% of your total hours, divided by your normal weekly hours. How do I work out my holiday pay? Start with your hours and your working week, then run all three methods. How do you work out holiday pay if your hours change every week? Use method C on your total hours, because it follows the hours actually worked. How to work out holiday pay Ireland wide is the same process in every county, because the Act applies nationally.

Method A – the 1,365-hour rule: 4 working weeks in a leave year in which you worked at least 1,365 hours. This method does not apply in a leave year in which you changed employment.

Method B – the 117-hour month rule: one third of a working week for each month in the leave year in which you worked at least 117 hours. Twelve such months give four weeks.

Method C – the 8% rule: 8% of the hours you worked in the leave year, subject to a maximum of four working weeks. To turn the hours into weeks, divide by your normal weekly hours.

Holiday pay calculation: winning weeks × normal weekly pay

How do I calculate my holiday pay from here? How much is holiday pay in Ireland worth in total? Your winning weeks times your normal weekly pay. Work out all three methods, take the greatest number of weeks, and multiply by your normal weekly pay. That is exactly what the calculator at the top of this page does. If you want to know how to work out holiday pay by hand, the worked examples below follow the same steps, so you can check the calculator's answer line by line.

Two details are easy to miss. First, the cap: no method can give you more than four working weeks of statutory leave, even if the maths goes higher. Second, after eight months in a leave year you are entitled to an unbroken period of two weeks of annual leave, which may include public holidays. And if you fall ill during annual leave and produce a medical certificate, those sick days do not count as annual leave at all.

Worked examples: how much holiday pay am I entitled to?

Example 1 – full-time worker

You worked 1,800 hours in the leave year, had 12 months with at least 117 hours, work five days a week at eight hours a day, and earn €650 a week. Method A: 1,800 is more than 1,365, so 4 weeks, which is 20 days. Method B: 12 ÷ 3 = 4 weeks, also 20 days. Method C: 8% × 1,800 = 144 hours, and your normal week is 40 hours, so 144 ÷ 40 = 3.6 weeks, or 18 days. The best method is four weeks, 20 days, and the holiday pay value is 4 × €650 = €2,600.

Example 2 – part-time worker

How to calculate holiday pay for part time workers is where the three methods really matter. You worked 800 hours, had 10 months with at least 117 hours, work three days a week at six hours a day, and earn €300 a week. Method A does not apply, because 800 is below 1,365. Method B: 10 ÷ 3 = 3.33 weeks, times three days = 10 days. Method C: 8% × 800 = 64 hours, and your normal week is 18 hours, so 64 ÷ 18 = 3.56 weeks, or 10.67 days. The best method is 3.56 weeks, 10.67 days, and the holiday pay value is 3.56 × €300 = €1,066.67. Note that a working week for you is three days, so four weeks would only ever be 12 days, not 20.

Example 3 – short employment

You worked for eight weeks and did 200 hours, on a five-day week at eight hours a day, earning €400 a week. Method C gives 8% × 200 = 16 hours of leave, which is 0.4 weeks or 2 days. Method B, with two months at 117 hours, gives 2 ÷ 3 = 0.67 weeks, or 3.33 days. Method A does not apply. Your entitlement is 3.33 days, worth 0.67 × €400 = €266.67. Even a short job earns leave from day one.

Example 4 – public holiday pay for a part-time worker

You work three days a week and earn €300 a week, and you worked 45 hours in the five weeks before a public holiday. You qualify, because 45 is more than 40. If the holiday falls on a day you normally work, a day's pay is €300 ÷ 3 = €100. If it falls on a day you do not normally work, you get one fifth of your weekly wage: €300 ÷ 5 = €60. Your employer chooses whether the benefit is a paid day off, a paid day off within a month, an extra day of annual leave, or the extra pay.

Public holidays in Ireland: bank holiday pay

Bank holiday pay in Ireland is really public holiday pay Bank holiday pay entitlement Ireland is separate from annual leave and sits on top of it. Pay on bank holiday Ireland workers receive is one of the four options below, chosen by the employer. How much is bank holiday pay worth? One day's pay, or one fifth of your weekly wage if the holiday falls on a day you do not normally work.: there are ten public holidays each year, and the entitlement is separate from annual leave. The ten are New Year's Day (1 January), St Brigid's Day (the first Monday in February), St Patrick's Day (17 March), Easter Monday, the first Monday in May, the first Monday in June, the first Monday in August, the last Monday in October, Christmas Day (25 December) and St Stephen's Day (26 December). Christmas Eve is not a public holiday, and neither is Good Friday Is Christmas Eve holiday pay automatic? No: Christmas Eve is not a public holiday, so there is no automatic public holiday benefit for 24 December., although many workplaces close on those days by custom or contract.

When are you entitled to bank holiday pay?

Full-time employees are entitled to public holiday benefit from the start. Part-time employees qualify if they worked at least 40 hours in total during the five weeks ending on the day before the public holiday. Bank holiday pay for part time workers, bank holiday pay for part time employees and bank holiday pay ireland part time workers are among the most searched questions on this topic, and the 40-hour test is the answer to all of them. Part time staff bank holiday pay follows the same 40-hour test. Does your employer have to pay you for bank holidays? Yes, if you qualify: the benefit is one of the four options in this section. The public holiday pay calculator mode at the top of this page checks the 40-hour test for you. Public holiday pay rates are your normal daily rate, or one fifth of your weekly wage on a non-working day. If you are below 40 hours, there is no statutory benefit for that particular holiday, although your contract may still give you one.

What do you actually get?

For each public holiday, your employer chooses one of four options: a paid day off on the holiday itself, a paid day off within a month of the holiday, an additional day of annual leave, or an additional day's pay. If the public holiday falls on a day on which you normally work, you are entitled to a paid day off for that day. If it falls on a day you do not normally work, you are entitled to one fifth of your normal weekly wage for the day, or to one of the other options above, as your employer decides. If you are asked to work on the public holiday, you get your normal pay for the hours worked plus one of the three remaining options. If your employer does not nominate an option at least 21 days before the holiday, you are entitled to a paid day off on the day itself. And if your employment ends during the week ending on the day before a public holiday, having worked during the four weeks before that week, you are still entitled to pay for that public holiday.

Is there double pay on bank holidays in Ireland?

No. There is no statutory right to bank holiday double pay or double pay on bank holidays in Ireland. The law guarantees one of the four benefits above, not a premium rate. If your contract or collective agreement promises double time for public holidays Double pay on bank holidays Ireland does not provide by law: the statutory guarantee is one of the four benefits, not a premium rate., that is a contractual right and it stands, but it does not come from the Organisation of Working Time Act. The same applies to new employees: bank holiday pay for new employees follows the same rules, with full-time staff qualifying immediately and part-time staff under the 40-hour test.

Holiday pay for part-time workers

Are part time workers entitled to holiday pay? Yes, on exactly the same basis as full-time workers How does holiday pay work for part time staff? The same three methods, pro rata to your working week. Part time holiday pay Ireland workers receive is pro rata to their working week, never zero. This holiday pay for part time workers calculator shows all three methods side by side for exactly that reason., calculated pro rata. Do part time workers get holiday pay from their first day? Yes: holiday pay entitlement for casual workers, agency workers, apprentices, contract workers, shift workers, substitute teachers and special needs assistants all starts when work starts. Holiday pay entitlement casual workers receive is calculated the same way as for everyone else. Do apprentices get holiday pay? Yes, from day one, like every other employee. Do contract workers get holiday pay? Yes, if they are employees under a contract of employment, including agency staff. Do SNA get holiday pay? Yes: special needs assistants (SNAs) employed by a school accrue like any other employee. Holiday pay for substitute teachers follows the same rules: hours actually worked count, and the 8% method usually applies. Substitute SNA holiday pay is calculated the same way, from the hours actually worked. Holiday pay for shift workers is calculated from the hours actually worked, with the 8% method the usual route for variable rosters. How to calculate holiday pay for part time employees: run all three methods on their actual hours and working week, and take the best. There is no minimum service period for annual leave.

How to calculate part time holiday pay in practice: run all three methods and take the best. For regular part-timers, method B often wins, because months with 117 hours are easy to reach even on a short week. For casual and variable-hours workers, method C (the 8% rule) is usually the one employers use, because it follows the hours actually worked. A holiday pay part time calculator that only uses the 8% method will underpay anyone for whom method B gives more, which is why this calculator shows all three side by side. A holiday pay part time calculator that only uses the 8% method will underpay anyone for whom method B gives more, which is why this page is also a holiday pay for part time workers calculator in full, not an 8%-only tool.

Part-time staff bank holiday pay follows the 40-hour test described above. One more part-time detail: if a public holiday falls on a day you do not normally work, the one-fifth rule applies, so a three-day worker earning €300 a week gets €60 for that holiday, not a full day's pay of €100. That difference is the single most common source of confusion in part-time bank holiday pay.

Overtime and holiday pay

Overtime and holiday pay interact in two different ways, and they are often mixed up. First, hours: all hours worked count towards the hours used in the methods, and that includes overtime hours, because method C uses 8% of the hours you worked in the leave year. Overtime hours therefore build up your leave entitlement. Second, pay: holiday pay is paid at your normal weekly rate. If your pay varies from week to week, for example because of commission, bonuses or variable hours, your holiday pay is the average of your pay over the 13 weeks before you take the leave. Whether regular overtime counts inside that 13-week average depends on your contract and on whether the overtime is a regular, guaranteed part of your pay, so if overtime is a large part of your income, ask payroll how your average is calculated. An overtime and holiday pay calculator can only be exact once that question is answered, which is why this calculator takes your normal weekly pay as an input rather than guessing it.

Holiday pay per hour and holiday pay per month are just two ways of expressing the same entitlement: divide your weekly pay by your normal weekly hours for an hourly figure, or multiply it by 4.33 for a rough monthly figure. The statutory calculation itself always works in weeks, which is why the calculator asks for weekly pay.

Maternity leave, sick leave and holiday pay

Do you get holiday pay on maternity leave? Yes. Are you entitled to holiday pay while on maternity leave? Yes, as explained in this section. Do you still get holiday pay when on maternity leave? Yes: accrual continues through the whole leave. Time spent on maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave, parent's leave, adoptive leave and force majeure leave counts as working time for annual leave purposes, so your entitlement keeps accruing while you are away. Holiday pay and maternity leave, holiday pay on maternity leave, holiday pay while on maternity leave and holiday pay whilst on maternity leave are all the same question, and the answer is the same: your leave is not affected. You are also entitled to public holiday benefit for any public holidays that fall during maternity leave, parental leave, paternity leave, adoptive leave or parent's leave.

Sick holiday pay follows the same principle. Certified sick leave counts as working time, so annual leave accrues during it. If you fall ill during annual leave itself and produce a medical certificate, those days are recorded as sick leave, not annual leave, and you do not lose them. Maternity pay and holiday pay are separate payments: maternity benefit comes from the State and any employer top-up from your contract, while holiday pay is your normal weekly rate for the leave itself.

Leaving a job, carrying over and your payslip

Holiday pay when you leave a job

When you leave a job, your employer must pay you for all accrued but untaken annual leave in your final pay. This is the only situation in which payment in lieu of statutory annual leave is allowed: while you are still employed, your employer cannot legally pay you extra instead of letting you take the minimum statutory leave. The same applies to public holiday benefit you earned but did not receive. If you believe leave has been underpaid, the route is a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). If you need to make a holiday pay claim, the route is a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

Can holiday pay be carried over?

Annual leave should be taken in the leave year it was earned, or with your employer's consent within the first six months of the next leave year. If illness stopped you taking it, you can carry it over for up to 15 months after the end of the leave year, and if you leave within those 15 months you are entitled to payment for it instead. Leave above the statutory minimum can be carried over if your employer agrees. In practice many employers are more flexible than the statutory minimum, but the six-month and 15-month limits are the legal backstops.

Holiday pay on your payslip

Holiday pay is paid in advance of the leave, and it should be identifiable on your payslip. Holiday pay on payslip entries should be identifiable as leave pay, not buried inside ordinary wages. PAYE holiday pay treatment is simple: it is taxed like normal pay. It is taxed through PAYE like normal pay: there is no special tax treatment for holiday pay. One thing to watch for is rolled up holiday pay in Ireland. Ireland has no rolled-up system: an employer cannot simply add a percentage to your hourly rate instead of giving you the leave itself. Rolled up holiday pay Ireland has no equivalent of: there is no Irish rolled-up system, so an employer cannot replace leave with a percentage top-up. The leave must be given as time off; only on termination can it be paid out instead. If your payslip shows a holiday pay percentage added to your hourly rate with no leave record, ask your employer for the leave record, because the entitlement is to time off, not just money.

The minimum holiday pay in Ireland is therefore four working weeks: that is the floor, not a target. Your contract may give you more days, a higher rate, or both, and many do. If your normal rate of pay is the minimum wage, your holiday pay is at that rate Minimum wage holiday pay is not a separate rate: if your normal rate is the minimum wage, your holiday pay is at that rate. There is no job with no holiday pay under the Act: every employee accrues from day one.; the minimum wage does not set a separate, lower holiday pay rate.

Rules and figures

The law behind all of this is the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, section 19 for annual leave and sections 21 to 22 for public holidays. The law regarding holiday pay in Ireland is the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997: section 19 for annual leave and sections 21 to 22 for public holidays. Contracts and collective agreements can improve on these minimums but cannot go below them.