If you work in a school as a teaching assistant, administrator, technician or caretaker on a term-time-only contract, you have probably wondered exactly how the term time holiday pay support staff rules work in practice. You work fewer weeks than a full-time, all-year-round employee — but you are still legally entitled to paid holiday. The way schools calculate that entitlement, and how it appears in your pay, is one of the most misunderstood areas of education payroll. This guide explains the rules, works through the maths with examples, and shows you how to check your own payslip.
Why term-time contracts need a special calculation
Most school support staff are employed on term-time-only contracts, typically covering the 39 weeks of the school year (190 pupil days plus inset and training days) rather than the full 52. You do not work during school holidays — and, crucially, you are generally expected to take your annual leave during those holiday periods too.
The legal position is straightforward: under the Working Time Regulations, every worker is entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday per year. That right applies whether you work 52 weeks or 39. The complication is working out what 5.6 weeks means for someone whose “week” only exists during term time, and how the pay for it should be calculated.
Historically, many schools and councils used a shortcut: take the full-time salary, multiply by the fraction of weeks worked, and treat holiday as included. A teaching assistant working 39 weeks out of 52 on a £24,000 FTE salary would be paid £24,000 × (39 ÷ 52) = £18,000, with the 5.6 weeks’ statutory entitlement notionally covered within the figure.
In Harpur Trust v Brazel (2022), the Supreme Court ruled that this kind of pro-rating of holiday entitlement for part-year workers was unlawful. Mrs Brazel, a term-time music teacher, was entitled to 5.6 weeks’ holiday calculated by reference to her actual working pattern — not reduced to reflect the weeks she did not work. The judgment meant part-year workers could end up with proportionately more holiday than full-year part-timers working the same total hours.
For school support staff, the practical effect was significant: many employers had to recalculate holiday pay for term-time workers, and some faced back-pay claims.
The current rules: where term-time staff stand now
From 1 January 2024, the law changed again. For irregular-hours and part-year workers, holiday entitlement now accrues at 12.07% of hours worked, and rolled-up holiday pay (an extra amount added to hourly pay in lieu of taking leave) became lawful again for these workers.
However — and this is the key point for most school support staff — many term-time employees work regular, predictable hours during term time (for example, 30 hours a week for 39 weeks). Workers with regular hours are generally treated under the standard rules: 5.6 weeks’ entitlement, with holiday pay based on normal weekly earnings. The 12.07% accrual method is designed for genuinely irregular patterns.
In practice, what this means for a term-time teaching assistant working fixed hours each term-time week:
- Entitlement: 5.6 weeks at your normal term-time weekly hours. If you work 30 hours a week, that is 168 hours of paid holiday per year.
- When it is taken: during school holiday periods, when you would not be working anyway.
- How it is paid: most schools annualise your pay — spreading your term-time earnings plus holiday pay evenly across 12 months — so your payslip looks the same every month.
If your hours vary from week to week (for example, you do regular hours plus variable cover supervision or clubs), the irregular-hours rules may apply to the variable element. This is an area where local practice differs, so your contract and your employer’s policy matter.
How schools calculate term-time pay in practice
Most maintained schools and academies use a formula along these lines:
Annual salary = FTE salary × (hours worked ÷ full-time hours) × (weeks worked ÷ 52.14)
The 52.14 figure (52 weeks plus one-seventh, accounting for the extra day in the year) is increasingly used instead of 52. Some employers still use 52 — the difference is small but real, as the comparison below shows.
Worked example: term-time teaching assistant
Sarah is a teaching assistant working 32.5 hours per week, 39 weeks per year (term time plus inset days). The full-time equivalent salary for her grade is £24,500, based on 37 hours per week.
Step 1 — hours fraction: 32.5 ÷ 37 = 0.8784
Step 2 — weeks fraction: 39 ÷ 52.14 = 0.7480
Step 3 — annual salary: £24,500 × 0.8784 × 0.7480 = £16,098
Sarah’s gross annual pay is £16,098, normally spread over 12 monthly payments of £1,341.50. Her holiday entitlement — 5.6 weeks at 32.5 hours, or 182 hours — is taken during school holidays and paid as part of that annualised salary.
To check figures like these against your own contract, the free pro rata salary calculator on our homepage applies the same fraction-based logic schools use.
52 vs 52.14: does it matter?
| Weeks divisor | Sarah’s annual salary | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| 52 | £16,152 | +£54 |
| 52.14 | £16,098 | baseline |
The 52.14 divisor is technically more accurate (365 ÷ 7 = 52.14) and is now the more common choice. Over a career, the small annual difference adds up — but far more important is that your employer applies its stated formula consistently.
Holiday pay: what should appear on your payslip?
Because most term-time staff are paid an annualised salary, you will not usually see a separate “holiday pay” line on your payslip. Instead, your holiday entitlement is reflected in the annual salary calculation itself. This is normal and lawful for regular-hours term-time staff — the pay is spread so that holiday weeks are paid at your normal rate.
What you should be able to find out from your employer:
- Your holiday entitlement in hours or days. Ask for the figure, not just “it’s included.”
- Which weeks count as holiday. Usually the school holiday periods, but the allocation should be documented.
- How bank holidays are treated. If a bank holiday falls in term time, you are entitled to it (or time off in lieu) like any other worker.
- What happens to untaken leave. Because leave is tied to school holidays, carrying leave forward is rarely relevant — but the policy should say so.
If you are on an hourly-paid or casual contract with irregular hours — for example, exam invigilation or supply cover booked week to week — the position is different. Under the post-2024 rules, your employer may use rolled-up holiday pay: an additional 12.07% on top of your hourly rate, shown as a separate line on your payslip. That uplift is your holiday pay, so check it is actually there.
Part-time term-time staff: the double fraction
Many support staff are both part-time and term-time — for example, working three days a week during term time. The calculation simply applies both fractions:
Annual salary = FTE salary × (contracted hours ÷ full-time hours) × (weeks worked ÷ 52.14)
Worked example: part-time, term-time administrator
James works as a school administrator 22 hours per week (three days), 39 weeks per year. Full-time is 37 hours; the FTE salary is £26,000.
Step 1 — hours fraction: 22 ÷ 37 = 0.5946
Step 2 — weeks fraction: 39 ÷ 52.14 = 0.7480
Step 3 — annual salary: £26,000 × 0.5946 × 0.7480 = £11,564
His holiday entitlement: 5.6 weeks × 22 hours = 123.2 hours per year, taken during school holidays.
The table below shows how the two fractions combine at a glance (FTE salary £26,000, 37-hour full-time week):
| Weekly hours | Weeks worked | Annual salary |
|---|---|---|
| 37 (full-time) | 52.14 (all year) | £26,000 |
| 37 (full-time) | 39 (term time) | £19,448 |
| 22 (part-time) | 52.14 (all year) | £15,460 |
| 22 (part-time) | 39 (term time) | £11,564 |
| 15 (part-time) | 39 (term time) | £7,886 |
Overtime, extra hours and holiday accrual
A common question: if you work extra hours — covering for an absent colleague, running an after-school club, working a Saturday open day — does that generate extra holiday? The answer depends on your contract type:
- Regular-hours term-time staff: occasional overtime is usually paid at the normal hourly rate (or an overtime rate) but does not change your 5.6-week entitlement, which is based on your contracted pattern.
- Irregular-hours workers: under the accrual method, holiday builds up at 12.07% of actual hours worked, so every extra hour genuinely adds a little more holiday.
Keep a record of additional hours you work, whatever your contract type. If there is ever a dispute about holiday pay, contemporaneous records are far more persuasive than memory.
What to do if you think your holiday pay is wrong
- Get the formula in writing. Ask HR or your line manager for the exact calculation used for your pay — the FTE salary, the hours fraction, the weeks divisor and how holiday is accounted for.
- Check the entitlement figure. You should be able to state your annual holiday in hours. If nobody can tell you, that is itself a warning sign.
- Compare with the statutory minimum. Whatever method your employer uses, the outcome must deliver at least 5.6 weeks at your normal rate of pay.
- Raise it formally if needed. Start with an informal query, then a written grievance if the maths does not add up. Your union rep can help — this is familiar territory for education unions.
- Mind the time limits. Employment tribunal claims have strict deadlines (usually three months less one day from the issue), so do not let a query drift indefinitely.
Other school and term-time pay: term-time salary calculator · teachers · teaching assistants · term-time pro rata calculator · term-time only pay · term-time vs full-year salary · school salaries · teachers' pension · lecturers · HLTAs · nursery nurses · lunchtime supervisors · exam invigilators · school caretakers
Frequently asked questions
Do term-time staff get paid during school holidays?
In effect, yes — if you are on an annualised salary, your pay is spread across 12 months, so money arrives during the holidays too. Technically, the holiday-period payments represent your paid annual leave entitlement, with the remaining non-working weeks unpaid. Your P60 will show the full annual figure.
How many days’ holiday does a term-time teaching assistant get?
At the statutory minimum, 5.6 weeks at your normal weekly hours. For a TA working 32.5 hours over 5 days, that is 28 days. Many schools offer more generous contractual entitlements — check your contract, as local government and academy terms vary.
What changed after the Harpur Trust case?
The Supreme Court ruled that holiday entitlement for part-year workers could not simply be pro-rated by weeks not worked. The law was then amended from January 2024 so that irregular-hours and part-year workers accrue holiday at 12.07% of hours worked. Regular-hours term-time staff remain under the standard 5.6-week rules.
I do supply/cover work with varying hours — which rules apply to me?
If your hours are genuinely irregular, your employer should use the accrual method (12.07% of hours worked) and may pay rolled-up holiday pay as a separate, identifiable uplift on your hourly rate. Check your payslip shows it as a distinct line.
A final checklist for your contract
Term-time pay feels opaque until you see the formula — then it is just arithmetic. Ask your employer for the FTE salary, your hours fraction, the weeks divisor they use, and your holiday entitlement stated in hours. Run the numbers yourself, keep your offer letter and contract, and query anything that does not reconcile. And if you want an independent sense-check of the salary figure, the free pro rata salary calculator will apply the same fractions in seconds.