Calculator / Local Government
Local Government Holiday Entitlement UK 2026
NJC Green Book gives 22 days rising to 27 with service, plus 8 bank holidays. Many councils add 2-3 discretionary days for the Christmas shutdown, taking long-service totals above 35 days. Pay scales NJC-25 set the daily rate.
Updated 18 May 2026. As of May 2026.
22 to 27 NJC days plus 8 bank holidays
Base: 22 days on entry. 25 days after 5 years. 27 days after 10 years. Plus 8 bank holidays. Plus typically 2-3 discretionary days for Christmas shutdown. Total at long service: 35-38 days.
The NJC Green Book Framework
The National Joint Council for Local Government Services (NJC) is the negotiating body for pay and conditions in English, Welsh, and Northern Irish local authorities. The agreement it produces is published in two volumes: the "Green Book" (terms and conditions for the broad workforce) and the "Gold Book" (chief officers' pay and conditions). The Green Book covers roughly 1.4 million workers across council services: refuse collection, social services, libraries, leisure centres, planning, environmental health, schools support staff, and council admin.
The full text of the Green Book is published by the Local Government Association NJC page. Updates are issued every year or two after pay negotiations between the employer side (LGA) and the union side (Unison, GMB, Unite). The leave entitlement section has been stable for decades; changes are rare and require collective agreement.
A handful of councils (Scotland uses a separate agreement, COSLA; some unitary councils have opted out of the Green Book for specific roles) operate outside the NJC framework. For most council workers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the Green Book is the starting point, with local additions (the "single status" pay scales, local productivity bonuses, council-specific Christmas leave) layered on top.
Service-Based Tiers
| Service | NJC Annual Leave | Bank Holidays | Total (no extras) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 5 years | 22 days | 8 days | 30 days |
| 5 years and over | 25 days | 8 days | 33 days |
| 10 years and over | 27 days | 8 days | 35 days |
Most councils add 2-3 days of discretionary leave for the Christmas/New Year shutdown (when council buildings close). Long-service workers at 10+ years on a generous council can reach 38 days plus bank holidays.
Part-Time and Pro-Rata Calculations
Part-time council staff get the same pro-rata leave as full-timers, calculated on hours rather than days. A worker contracted for 18.75 hours per week (half-time) gets half the leave: 11 days at entry rising to 13.5 days after 10 years. Plus pro-rata bank holidays: 4 days' equivalent if the worker is on a 2.5-day week.
For workers on irregular hours (some council casual rosters, casual library staff, leisure centre cover), the 12.07% method applies for periods after 1 April 2024 per the WTR 2023 Amendment Regulations. The NJC Green Book base entitlement of 22 days (or higher for long service) translates to 8.8% accrual (22 / 250 contracted days), which is below the 12.07% statutory floor. So irregular-hours council workers default to 12.07% as the minimum.
Council schools' support staff (caretakers, teaching assistants, school admin, dinner supervisors) are typically on term-time contracts. The salary calculation accounts for the term-time pattern: the contracted salary covers the term weeks plus the holiday weeks pro-rata. Unison guidance on term-time-only workers covers the post-Harpur Trust v Brazel rules for school-based staff.
Christmas Shutdown
Most local authorities operate a partial shutdown over the Christmas and New Year period, closing the main council offices for 3-5 working days between Boxing Day and 2 January. Worker-facing services (refuse collection, social care, emergency response) continue with skeleton staffing; back-office services typically close.
The shutdown is managed in one of two ways. The first is to require staff to use annual leave for the shutdown days. The second is to grant discretionary additional leave for the shutdown days, on top of the Green Book entitlement. The choice depends on the council and is set out in the staff handbook.
For councils that grant discretionary shutdown leave, a typical year sees 3 extra days (the 3 working days between Christmas Day on a Thursday and New Year's Day on a Thursday, for example). Over 2026 the Christmas Day to New Year window contains Monday 28 December, Tuesday 29, Wednesday 30, and Thursday 31 December. Most councils would grant 2-3 days of discretionary leave for this window.
Specific Council Variations
Within the NJC framework, individual councils set local terms for some elements. The base annual leave figure (22 days) is national; the 5-year and 10-year uplifts are national. But Christmas shutdown days, long-service uplifts beyond the 10-year mark, and any leave purchase or sale schemes are local.
A handful of councils offer leave purchase schemes (buy up to 5 extra days per year by salary sacrifice) and leave sale schemes (sell up to 5 days of leave for cash). These are local-only additions, not in the Green Book base. The local authority sets the rules, including any caps and pro-rata rules for part-timers. GOV.UK holiday pay rights sets out the underlying statutory framework that any local scheme must respect.
Scotland operates outside the NJC Green Book under COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities). The Scottish equivalent agreement sets similar terms (22 days base rising to 30 with long service, plus 11 bank holidays per the Scottish calendar). Scottish council workers should refer to the COSLA Single Status agreement rather than the NJC Green Book.
Worked Examples
Environmental health officer, 3 years' service, full-time
22 NJC days + 8 BH + 3 discretionary = 33 days total
Full-time 37 hours per week. Holiday balance at start of year: 33 days. Salary on NJC scale 25 (about £36,000), daily rate £138. Holiday pay-out value if leaving mid-year: pro-rated calendar fraction.
Library assistant, 12 years' service, 25 hours per week
27 NJC days × (25/37) = 18.2 days + 5.4 BH + 2 discretionary
Pro-rated entitlement: 25.6 total days. Salary scale NJC 7 (about £25,000 FTE). Part-time daily rate calculated on actual contracted hours, not 8-hour notional days.
Refuse loader, 4 years' service, full-time
22 NJC days + 8 BH = 30 days total
Most refuse contracts have no Christmas shutdown because refuse collection runs through the holiday period. Bank holidays worked attract premium pay (typically time-and-a-half or double-time) and TOIL.
Council casual leisure centre worker on zero-hours
12.07% of hours worked accrued as leave
Below the 22-day Green Book floor for fixed-hours workers, but the 12.07% formula is the relevant comparison for irregular-hours workers under WTR 2023 Amendment. Paid rolled-up at 12.07% on each payslip.
Not legal advice. NJC Green Book terms interact with individual council variations and local productivity agreements. For a specific entitlement query, contact your council's HR team, Unison, GMB, or Unite branch officer, or ACAS on 0300 123 1100.