Holiday Entitlement Dispute Letter: Free Template and What to Include

If you need to dispute an incorrect calculation of your annual leave entitlement, a written letter is the recommended first step — it creates a clear record and shows you're pursuing the matter formally. Below is what a strong holiday entitlement dispute should include.

What this letter needs to cover

• State the correct entitlement under the Working Time Regulations 1998 as 5.6 weeks
• Calculate the correct number of days based on the working pattern
• Request immediate correction of records and payment of any underpayment
• Bank holidays are not an extra statutory entitlement - they can count towards the 5.6 weeks

Common ways holiday entitlement gets miscalculated

Errors often creep in around part-year working, changes in hours partway through the year, or how bank holidays are treated — an employer can count them as part of the statutory entitlement. Full-time workers are entitled to a statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks' paid leave per year — for part-time or irregular hours workers, this needs to be calculated proportionately, which is where mistakes commonly happen.

What to include before you send it

• Your contracted or actual working pattern and how you've calculated your correct entitlement
• The entitlement your employer has applied, and where you believe the discrepancy lies
• Any relevant documentation — your contract terms, or a record of hours if these vary
• A request for the calculation to be corrected and any shortfall to be credited

Getting the calculation right for irregular hours

Since changes to holiday entitlement calculation rules, irregular hours and part-year workers now generally accrue holiday based on a percentage of hours worked in each pay period (12.07%), rather than the previous, more complex averaging methods — checking which method should apply to your specific working pattern is worth doing carefully.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does entitlement include bank holidays as extra, or are they part of the 5.6 weeks?
The statutory 5.6 weeks can include bank holidays — there's no automatic additional entitlement on top, unless your contract specifically provides for it.

What if I've been underpaid holiday for a long time?
There are time limits on backdated claims, and gaps of more than a certain period between underpayments can affect how far back you can claim, so it's worth raising this as soon as you identify the issue.

[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[Your Postcode]
[Your Phone Number]
[Your Email Address]
[Name of Recipient, e.g. HR Manager]
[Job Title]
[Company Name]
[Company Address]
[Company Postcode]
[Date]

Dear [Name of Recipient],

Subject: Dispute about my holiday entitlement

I am writing to formally dispute my annual holiday entitlement, which I believe has been worked out wrongly.

I believe I am entitled to [Number, e.g. 28 days] of annual leave this leave year. [Name/Department, e.g. HR] has told me my entitlement is [Number, e.g. 25 days].

My reasons are:
• [e.g. Under the Working Time Regulations 1998 [in Northern Ireland: Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016], I am entitled to at least 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year. I work [number] days a week, so that is [number] days. Bank holidays can count towards this.]
• [e.g. My contract says I get [number] days plus bank holidays.]
• [e.g. My hours increased on [date], which should increase my pro-rata entitlement.]

Please correct my holiday record, pay me for any holiday I was wrongly refused or underpaid, and send me a breakdown of how my entitlement has been worked out.

Yours sincerely,

[Your Signature]
[Your Printed Name]