Holiday Pay for Nannies: Employer’s Guide to UK Rules

Under UK law, your nanny is your employee and is legally entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year. This entitlement is calculated "pro-rata" for part-time nannies (e.g., 16.8 days for a 3-day week). You must have a clear policy for bank holidays and holiday requests written into your nanny's employment contract.

Figuring out holiday pay is one of the most common sources of confusion for nanny employers. The rules can seem tricky, especially when part-time hours and bank holidays are involved.

But it’s simple when you know the basics. As a legal employer, you are required to provide paid holiday. This isn't just a perk; it's a fundamental right.

This guide will walk you through the correct calculations and rules so you can manage holiday pay fairly and legally.

What is the Statutory Minimum Holiday Pay?

The legal minimum paid holiday entitlement, often called "statutory annual leave," is 5.6 weeks per year.

• For a full-time nanny working 5 days a week, this is straightforward:5 days x 5.6 weeks = 28 days of paid holiday.
• This 28-day figure is the maximum statutory entitlement. Even if your nanny works 6 days a week, their legal minimum is still capped at 28 days.

You can, of course, offer more than this as a contractual benefit, but you can never offer less.

How to Calculate Holiday for a Part-Time Nanny

Most nannies work part-time, so you'll need to calculate their holiday "pro-rata," which just means "in proportion to" their working week.

The 5.6-week rule still applies. You just multiply the number of days your nanny works each week by 5.6.

Formula: (Days worked per week) x 5.6 = Total annual holiday days

Example:Your nanny works 3 days per week.3 x 5.6 = 16.8 days of paid holiday per year.

What do I do with the ".8" of a day?

You can't give a nanny 0.8 of a day off. By law, you must round this figure up to the nearest half or full day. So, 16.8 days becomes 17 days of paid leave.

Here’s a quick reference:

• 1 day/week: 1 x 5.6 = 5.6 days (rounds up to 6 days)
• 2 days/week: 2 x 5.6 = 11.2 days (rounds up to 11.5 days)
• 3 days/week: 3 x 5.6 = 16.8 days (rounds up to 17 days)
• 4 days/week: 4 x 5.6 = 22.4 days (rounds up to 22.5 days)

What About Bank Holidays?

This is the number one friction point. Here's the simple truth:

• There is no legal right for an employee to have bank holidays off.
• There is no legal right to be paid extra for working them.

It all comes down to your contract. You have two options:

1. Holiday is "Inclusive" of Bank Holidays:Your nanny's 5.6-week entitlement (e.g., 28 days) includes bank holidays. If a bank holiday falls on their normal working day, they must take it as part of their 28-day allowance. If you need them to work that bank holiday (common for nannies!), they must be given that day off "in lieu" at another time.
2. Holiday is "Plus" Bank Holidays:This is a more generous—and common—arrangement. Your nanny gets 5.6 weeks plus the 8 bank holidays. So, a full-time nanny would get 28 days + 8 bank holidays = 36 days off.

Whichever you choose, it must be written clearly in the employment contract.

A note on part-time nannies and bank holidays: If you give bank holidays on top of the 5.6 weeks, you must be fair to your part-time nanny. If they don't work Mondays (when most bank holidays fall), they are still entitled to a pro-rata amount of those bank holidays to avoid being treated unfairly compared to your full-time staff (even if that's just you!).

How to Manage Holiday Requests

Your contract should also set the rules for taking leave.

• Notice: The Acas standard is that the employee must give notice that is double the length of the leave they want (e.g., 2 weeks' notice for 1 week off).
• Your Choice vs. Theirs: A common arrangement is that you (the employer) choose half the holiday (e.g., to match your family holiday) and the nanny chooses the other half.
• Refusing Leave: You can decline a holiday request, but you must give a good business reason (e.g., it clashes with your own leave) and provide notice.

A Warning: "Rolled-Up" Holiday Pay

You may hear about "rolled-up" holiday pay. This is where an employer adds a little extra (e.g., 12.07%) to the nanny's hourly rate instead of giving them paid days off.

For most nannies, this is still illegal.

If your nanny works regular, fixed hours (e.g., "3 days a week, 9-5"), this practice is unlawful. The law states that holiday pay must be paid when they take the holiday to ensure they are taking proper rest.

When is it legal?

Following new rules for leave years starting on or after 1st April 2024, rolled-up holiday pay is now a legal option only for:

• Irregular-hours workers: A nanny whose paid hours are "wholly or mostly variable" (e.g., a zero-hours nanny).
• Part-year workers: A nanny who is only contracted to work part of the year (e.g., a term-time-only nanny).

Can a Nanny Carry Over Holiday?

This is a key question and should be agreed upon in your contract.

The general principle of UK law is "use it or lose it"—holiday is for rest.  cannot be carried over, unless your nanny was unable to take it due to a long-term illness or being on parental leave.

‍Most nanny employers include a clause allowing their nanny to carry over up to 5 days of unused holiday into the next leave year, to be used within the first 3 months. This is seen as fair and flexible.

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👋 What Happens When a Nanny Leaves?

When your nanny's employment ends, you must calculate their holiday entitlement up to their last day.

If they have taken more holiday than they have accrued, you can (if your contract allows) deduct this from their final pay.

If they have not taken all the holiday they've accrued, you must pay them for it. This is called "payment in lieu of holiday" and is added to their final payslip.

✅ How to Make Holiday Pay Simple

Calculating 16.8 days, tracking accruals, managing bank holiday pay, and making sure the final payslip is correct... it can be a lot.

This is exactly what Quinn was built to solve.

Our payroll service takes care of everything for you: From registrations and filings to payslips and payments. We automatically track your nanny's holiday entitlement (including pro-rata) and ensure every payslip is 100% accurate.

Fully digital, no paperwork, no stress.