Paid for Unused Holiday When Leaving a Job? UK, Ireland, Germany, France & Netherlands (2026)
Yes: in the UK, Ireland, Germany, France and the Netherlands you must be paid for statutory holiday you've earned but not taken when you leave. Here's how each country calculates it, with a worked UK example.
Yes. In the UK, Ireland, Germany, France and the Netherlands, an employer must pay you for statutory holiday you have earned but not taken when your job ends, whether you resign, are dismissed or your contract simply runs out. What changes from country to country is how the payment is worked out, what happens to holiday above the legal minimum, and whether holiday you took in advance can come back out of your final pay.
Below are the rules as of 2026, with a worked UK example you can copy.
Do you get paid for unused holiday when you leave? The five countries compared
| Country | Statutory minimum | Paid out when you leave? | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK (England, Wales, Scotland) | 5.6 weeks (28 days for a 5-day week) | Yes, pro rata for the part of the leave year worked, even after dismissal for gross misconduct | Working Time Regulations 1998, reg. 14 |
| Ireland | 4 working weeks | Yes, for any outstanding annual leave | Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, s. 23 |
| Germany | 24 working days (Werktage, counted on a 6-day week) | Yes, leave that can no longer be granted is paid out (Urlaubsabgeltung) | BUrlG § 7(4) |
| France | 30 jours ouvrables (25 jours ouvrés) | Yes, as the indemnité compensatrice de congés payés, whatever the reason the contract ends, including faute lourde | Code du travail L3141-28 |
| Netherlands | 4 × your weekly hours | Yes, untaken leave is paid out, plus holiday allowance (vakantiegeld) for the period worked | Burgerlijk Wetboek 7:641 |
In every one of these countries, statutory leave can only be swapped for money because the job is ending.
How is payment in lieu of holiday calculated in the UK?
Regulation 14 of the Working Time Regulations gives the formula for leave that hasn't been taken when employment ends part-way through the leave year:
(A × B) − C
- A is the annual statutory entitlement (5.6 weeks, capped at 28 days).
- B is the proportion of the leave year that had passed by the termination date.
- C is the leave already taken in that leave year.
The result is paid at a week's pay for each week of leave. GOV.UK explains that for regular-hours workers the first 4 weeks are paid at the "normal" rate, which includes commission, regular overtime and payments linked to length of service, and the remaining 1.6 weeks at the basic rate. Bonuses usually don't count. Workers on irregular hours have their holiday pay based on average pay over the previous 52 paid weeks.
A written "relevant agreement" (usually the contract or a collective agreement) can set a different payment, and holiday above the 5.6 weeks follows whatever the contract says. Since 1 January 2024, leave that was carried forward from an earlier year also has to be paid out when employment ends (reg. 14(6)).
Worked UK example
Greta works five days a week and earns £600 a week. Her contract gives the statutory 28 days, including bank holidays, with a leave year running 1 January to 31 December. She resigns and her last day is 30 June 2026, having taken 8 days so far.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Share of the year worked (B) | 181 days ÷ 365 | 0.496 |
| Holiday earned (A × B) | 28 × 0.496 | 13.88 days |
| Minus holiday taken (C) | 13.88 − 8 | 5.88 days owed |
| Day's pay | £600 ÷ 5 | £120 |
| Payment in lieu | 5.88 × £120 | £705.60 |
If Greta earned regular commission or overtime, the rate for the first 4 weeks' share would include it, so the figure could be higher. To get the earned figure for a different start date or part-time pattern, the annual leave calculator does the pro-rata step, and our guide to pro-rata holiday entitlement explains the arithmetic.
How is untaken leave paid out in Ireland, Germany, France and the Netherlands?
Ireland. The Workplace Relations Commission says an employee who is leaving "is entitled to receive payment for any outstanding annual leave", and that holiday pay is calculated at the employee's normal weekly rate. Leave missed because of certified illness can also be paid out if the person leaves within 15 months of the end of the leave year in which it was earned.
Germany. BUrlG § 7(4) says leave that can no longer be granted, in whole or in part, because the employment ends must be paid out (abgegolten). Holiday pay under § 11 BUrlG is based on average earnings over the last 13 weeks, leaving out overtime pay, and the payout for untaken days is valued the same way, with the 13 weeks counted back from the end of the employment. If you leave in the first half of the year, § 5 gives you one twelfth of the annual leave for each full month worked.
France. The indemnité compensatrice de congés payés is owed on a CDI whatever ends it: dismissal, including for faute lourde, resignation, rupture conventionnelle, retirement or the end of a trial period. It's calculated like normal holiday pay: the employer compares the règle du dixième (one tenth of total gross pay in the reference period) with maintien de salaire (what you would have earned by working) and pays the higher. On a CDD it's one tenth of total gross pay over the contract, including the end-of-contract bonus. It appears on the solde de tout compte and is taxed and subject to contributions like salary.
Netherlands. The government's guidance is short: if you move to a new job with holiday hours you can no longer take, those hours are paid out. Statutory days can't be cashed in at any other time. Your employer also pays holiday allowance, at least 8% of gross salary, for the period you were employed, with your last salary, and this applies when a fixed-term contract expires too. Ask for a written statement of the hours you have left: you need it to take statutory hours on to a new employer.
Can your employer refuse to pay for unused holiday?
Not for the statutory minimum. The UK payment is due "even if the worker is dismissed for gross misconduct" and France pays it even after faute lourde. Holiday above the minimum is different: in the UK and elsewhere, extra contractual days follow the terms of your contract, so read it before you hand in notice.
What an employer often can do is have you use the holiday instead of paying it. In the UK, regulation 15 lets an employer require you to take leave on particular days, with notice at least twice as long as the leave (10 days' notice for 5 days off), and GOV.UK confirms you may be able to use what's left of your statutory leave during your notice period. The German wording points the same way: payment is owed only for leave that can no longer be granted.
What happens if you took more holiday than you had earned?
This is where the countries differ most.
- UK: your employer "must not take money from their final pay unless it's been agreed beforehand in writing". Regulation 14(4) allows a relevant agreement to require you to repay, in money, extra work or otherwise. In Greta's example, if she had taken 16 days instead of 8, she would be 2.12 days over, and £254.40 could only come out of her final pay if her contract or another written agreement says so.
- Germany: if you leave in the first half of the year after completing the six-month waiting period and have already had more leave than your share, the holiday pay for those days "cannot be reclaimed" (§ 5(3) BUrlG).
- Ireland, France, Netherlands: the official pages we read set no specific rule for this, so check your contract and any collective agreement (convention collective, cao) for a clawback clause.
Excess holiday is easier to avoid than to recover: see our guide to holiday carry-over and accrual.
Working out final holiday pay without a spreadsheet hunt
The hardest part of a leaver's final pay is often just finding the numbers: entitlement, carry-over and days taken this year. Absenca keeps each person's balance per leave type up to date as requests are approved, so the figures for C and the carried-forward days are already there when someone hands in notice. The Free plan covers up to 10 people. For statutory minimums in other countries, see paid leave by country.
FAQ
Do I get paid for holiday I haven't taken if I resign?
Yes. In all five countries the payment for untaken statutory leave is due whether you resign, are dismissed or reach the end of a fixed-term contract.
Is holiday pay in lieu taxed?
Yes. It is paid as part of your final pay. The French official guidance confirms the indemnité compensatrice is treated as salary for income tax and social contributions.
Can my employer make me take my holiday during my notice period?
In the UK, yes, provided they give notice of at least twice the length of the leave, unless your contract says otherwise. In Germany the law pays out only leave that can no longer be granted, so taking it during notice usually comes first.
Do I get paid for bank holidays when I leave?
In the UK, bank holidays only count if your employer includes them in your annual leave, which is common with a 28-day entitlement. They are then part of A in the formula and are counted in the same way as other days.
This is general guidance as of 2026. Rules vary with contracts and collective agreements, and can change, so check the official source for your country before relying on a figure.