How many working hours are in a year in the UK?

The short answer: a full-time UK job of 37.5 hours a week has 1,950 paid hours a year (37.5 × 52). Take off the 5.6 weeks of statutory holiday everyone is entitled to, which includes bank holidays, and you actually work about 1,740 hours. On 40 hours a week the figures are 2,080 and 1,856.

Paid hours and worked hours are different numbers

Most confusion comes from mixing two figures:

• Paid hours are your weekly hours × 52. If you are on a salary, your holiday is paid, so this is the number your salary covers.
• Worked hours take off your holiday. Full-time workers get at least 5.6 weeks (28 days), and employers can count bank holidays as part of that.

Which one you need depends on the question. Working out an hourly rate from a salary? Use paid hours. Planning how many hours a team can deliver? Use worked hours, and take off sickness and training too.

Hours in a year by weekly hours

How to work it out for yourself

1. Multiply your weekly hours by 52. That is your paid hours.
2. Work out your holiday in hours. If your contract gives 25 days plus 8 bank holidays and you work 7.5 hours a day, that is 33 × 7.5 = 247.5 hours.
3. Take the holiday from the paid hours. On 37.5 hours: 1,950 − 247.5 = 1,702.5 worked hours.

More holiday means fewer worked hours for the same pay. Our holiday entitlement calculator works out your leave in days or hours, including for part-time and irregular hours.

Working days in a year

2026 and 2027 each have 261 weekdays. After bank holidays:

The last column assumes the statutory 28 days: 20 days of leave plus 8 bank holidays in England and Wales. If you have to work bank holidays, you get the time off another day instead, so the total days worked is about the same.

Your hourly rate from a salary

Divide your salary by your paid hours, not your worked hours. On £32,000 and 37.5 hours a week:

• £32,000 ÷ 1,950 = £16.41 an hour. This is the figure to compare with job adverts and the minimum wage.
• £32,000 ÷ 1,740 = £18.39 for each hour at your desk. Higher, because your holiday pay is spread across fewer hours.

Payroll uses the first method. If you are checking you are paid at least the minimum wage, see minimum wage as a yearly salary.

How many hours do people actually work?

Contracted hours vary a lot. The most common full-time week is 37.5 hours, but 35 and 40 are both normal. According to the ONS, the average employee, full and part-time together, was paid for 32.7 hours a week in April 2026. The ONS counts anyone paid for 30 hours a week or fewer as part-time, and there is no legal line between part-time and full-time.

The law caps your average week at 48 hours, usually measured over 17 weeks, unless you sign an opt-out. Young workers under 18 cannot work more than 8 hours a day or 40 a week, and cannot opt out.

Unpaid breaks and overtime

Your contracted hours usually exclude unpaid lunch breaks. A 9 to 5:30 day with an hour's unpaid lunch is 7.5 hours, so 37.5 a week. If your breaks are paid, they count. Overtime adds to the hours you are paid for, and if it is regular it should also be included when your holiday pay is worked out. See whether overtime counts in holiday pay.

Part-time and irregular hours

The same method works for any hours: weekly hours × 52 for paid hours, then take off your pro rata holiday. A 22.5-hour week is 1,170 paid hours and about 1,044 worked. If your hours change every week, holiday builds up at 12.07% of the hours you work, so every 100 hours earns about 12 hours of paid leave. See holiday on zero-hours contracts and how to work out FTE.

Your contract sets your hours, breaks and holiday. These figures assume a five-day week and statutory holiday only.