UK employees receive 25 days' paid annual leave plus the 8 England and Wales bank holidays, giving 33 days in a full holiday year, which is above the statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks. Annual leave accrues in advance and is pro-rated for employees joining or leaving part way through the holiday year, which runs from 1 January to 31 December.
Leave should be requested in advance through the HR portal and approved by the employee's manager, who will make reasonable efforts to accommodate requested dates while maintaining business coverage. Up to 5 unused days may be carried into the next holiday year and must be taken by 31 March. Carry over is normally limited to sickness, maternity or other approved absence. Bank holidays falling during a period of approved leave are not counted against the entitlement.
Public holidays are additional to annual leave. Where a role requires work on a public holiday, the employee is offered time off in lieu or an alternative day, as agreed with their manager.