Annual leave and holiday pay when you leave a job

How much annual leave do you earn in Ireland?

The law gives three ways to count your leave. You get the method that gives you the most Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, s.19(1):

Method	Rule
(a) Full year	4 working weeks in a leave year in which you work at least 1,365 hours
(b) By month	One-third of a working week for each month in which you work at least 117 hours
(c) By hours	8% of the hours you work in the leave year, up to 4 working weeks

Some points that change the count:

• A working week means the number of days you usually work in a week s.19(6). For someone who works 5 days, 4 weeks is 20 days. For 4 days, it is 16 days.
• Leave days count as hours worked, as if you had worked your normal hours s.19(5).
• Certified sick days count as days worked for leave purposes s.19(1A). If you are ill during your leave and have a medical certificate, that day is not counted as leave s.19(2).
• Your contract can give you more leave than the law. If it does, the higher figure applies. Our calculator asks for it but does not work it out.

Which leave year counts when you leave?

The leave year runs from 1 April to 31 March. When your employment ends, your employer must pay you for leave not taken s.23(1). In general, that covers:

• the current leave year, from 1 April (or your start date, if later) to your last day;
• last year’s leave as well, if you agreed to carry it over and you leave within the first 6 months of the new leave year s.20(1)(c)(ii);
• older leave, if you could not take it because of illness and gave your employer a medical certificate. That leave can be carried over for up to 15 months after the end of its leave year s.20(1)(c)(iii).

How is holiday pay calculated?

Holiday pay uses your normal weekly rate, without overtime S.I. No. 475/1997, reg. 3:

• fixed pay or salary: your pay for normal weekly hours in your last week, with regular bonuses or allowances that do not depend on the work you do;
• pay that varies with the work you do: your average weekly pay over the 13 weeks before your employment ends.

Our calculator then divides the weekly rate by the number of days you usually work, to get a daily rate. If you are paid monthly, it divides your monthly pay by 4.33 to get a weekly figure. That factor comes from the rules for redundancy: the holiday pay regulations do not give one, so treat the result as an estimate.

Worked example: full time

Aoife works 39 hours a week, over 5 days, for €850 gross a week. Her last day is Friday 23 October 2026. She has taken 5 days of leave since 1 April 2026.

Step	Figure
Period: 1 April to 23 October 2026	206 days
Hours: 206 ÷ 7 × 39	1,147.71 hours
(a) 1,365 hours reached?	No
(b) 7 months with at least 117 hours: 7 ÷ 3 × 5 days	11.67 days
(c) 8% of 1,147.71 hours = 91.82 hours, ÷ 7.8 hours a day (39 ÷ 5)	11.77 days
Best method	(c), 11.77 days
Less leave taken	5 days
Leave not taken	6.77 days
Daily rate: €850 ÷ 5	€170.00
Holiday pay due: 6.77 × €170	€1,150.90

Months are counted when they reach 117 hours, including the first and last months if they do. October counts here: from 1 to 23 October, at 39 hours a week, she worked about 128 hours, more than 117. The law does not say how to count part months or how to round days, so the calculator keeps 2 decimals and says so.

Checking the payslip. If Aoife’s final payslip shows €800.00 of holiday pay, €350.90 is missing.

Worked example: part time

Brian works 20 hours a week, Monday to Thursday, for €400 gross a week. His last day is Friday 31 July 2026. He took 2 days of leave since 1 April.

• Period: 1 April to 31 July 2026 = 122 days, or 348.57 hours.
• No month reaches 117 hours, so method (b) gives nothing.
• Method (c): 8% of 348.57 = 27.89 hours, ÷ 5 hours a day (20 ÷ 4) = 5.58 days.
• Leave not taken: 5.58 − 2 = 3.58 days × €100 (€400 ÷ 4) = €358.00.

Is holiday pay part of your wages?

Yes. Holiday pay counts as wages under the Payment of Wages Act 1991 s.1(1). If it is not paid, or paid only in part, it can be raised as unpaid wages, as well as under the Working Time Act. To check it with the rest of your final payslip, see your P45 and final pay.

If your job was made redundant, statutory redundancy is a separate, tax-free payment with its own rules. See statutory redundancy in Ireland.

Public holidays when you leave

A public holiday just after your last day may give you an extra day’s pay. Past public holidays that were neither paid nor given as time off can also be due. See public holiday pay when you leave a job.

What to do if your holiday pay is wrong or missing

1. Check the inputs. Days taken, hours, carry-over and weekly pay. Most differences come from one of these. Ask your employer for its leave record if you do not have one.
2. Write to your employer. Set out the leave earned, the leave taken, the days not taken, the daily rate and the amount. Ask for payment by a set date.
3. Complain to the WRC if needed. A complaint must usually be made within 6 months of the breach, or up to 12 months if the WRC accepts there was a reasonable cause for the delay Workplace Relations Act 2015, s.41(6) and (8).

The law does not say exactly when the 6 months start for leave unpaid at the end of a job. The safer reading is your last day. For Aoife, who left on 23 October 2026, that gives 22 April 2027. Our tool suggests filing by 12 April 2027, and up to 22 October 2027 only with a reasonable cause. Writing to your employer does not stop this clock. See making a WRC complaint online.

Notice may also be due. See notice period in Ireland.

Your next steps

1. Check, free. Use the leave calculator to work out your untaken leave, any public holiday pay and your time limits.
2. Claim in writing. If holiday pay is missing, you can prepare a final pay claim letter to your employer yourself (€9, or €19 with a dated follow-up letter and reminders).
3. The next step. If your employer does not pay, you make a complaint to the WRC online yourself. A free preparation sheet, available from the calculator’s results without any purchase, lists what the online form asks for.

Free help is also available from Citizens Information, the WRC’s information service, a trade union or a solicitor.