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Buy or sell annual leave calculator UK

Calculate the value of buying or selling annual leave

Estimate the contractual gross value, illustrative payroll instalments and revised annual entitlement. No tax or take-home-pay guesswork.

What is the employee doing?

If your scheme spreads the adjustment across multiple pay periods.

Your figures stay in this browser. With analytics consent, Workmax records only broad ranges and choices, never the salary or amounts entered.

Your estimate will appear here

Enter the scheme details to see the gross contractual value, an illustrative instalment schedule and the revised entitlement.

Employer planning tool

What this annual leave calculator tells you

The result is a transparent contractual valuation: the value per day, total gross adjustment, an illustrative instalment amount and the revised annual entitlement. It deliberately stops before estimating the employee's net pay.

Buying annual leave

Buying normally increases the contractual entitlement and creates a corresponding pay adjustment. The employer must decide whether this is salary sacrifice or another agreed deduction arrangement.

Selling annual leave

Selling reduces enhanced contractual entitlement and creates a payment. It should not reduce leave below the statutory minimum, and payroll treatment must be confirmed.

Why there is no net-pay estimate

PAYE, National Insurance, pension contributions, student loans, statutory payments and National Minimum Wage can all affect the eventual payslip. A seemingly precise take-home estimate could therefore be misleading without the employee's complete payroll record and the employer's agreed scheme structure.

Buying and selling annual leave

Holiday Buy and Sell Calculator — FAQ

Clear answers about valuation methods, statutory entitlement and the limits of this gross-value estimate.

How do you calculate the cost of buying annual leave?

A common contractual method divides annual salary by 52 and then by contracted working days per week. Employers can define another fair, documented method in their scheme rules.

Can an employee sell statutory holiday?

Statutory annual leave generally cannot be replaced by payment while employment continues. A scheme should permit sales only from additional contractual leave above the statutory minimum.

Is buying holiday always salary sacrifice?

No. Employers can structure schemes differently. A genuine salary sacrifice changes the employee's contractual cash entitlement and must not reduce cash earnings below National Minimum Wage.

Does the calculator estimate take-home pay?

No. It shows contractual or gross value only because tax, National Insurance, pensions, student loans and scheme structure depend on the employer and employee.