Pro rata vacation days are the portion of the annual leave allowance you earn for the part of the year you work. Start in July and you do not get the full year's allowance on day one: you accrue it in proportion to your start date, whether your employer calculates by month or by day.
To apply this to your own numbers, try the pro rata calculator on the homepage; it handles mid-month starts and leap years.
The two common methods
- Monthly accrual. Annual allowance ÷ 12, earned for each full month worked. Simple, but it rounds: someone starting mid-month loses that partial month.
- Daily accrual. Annual allowance ÷ working days in the year, earned for each day on the payroll. More precise, and the standard in places where leave is tied to days worked.
Mid-year hire example
- Annual allowance: 20 days
- Start date: July 1, so 6 months remain in the year
- Monthly accrual: 20 × (6 ÷ 12) = 10 days
Start July 16 instead, and daily accrual matters. In a year with 260 working days, each day worked earns 20 ÷ 260 = 0.077 days of leave. From July 16 to December 31 is roughly 121 working days, so you accrue about 9.3 days. Monthly accrual would give 5.5 months worth: 20 × (5.5 ÷ 12) = 9.2 days. Close, but the daily method is the fair one when your start date is mid-month.
Part-time and compressed hours
Part-time leave is usually expressed in weeks or hours rather than days. A full-time employee with 20 days of leave gets 4 weeks. A 3 day a week employee gets 4 weeks of their own week, which is 12 days off work. Same four weeks of absence, different day count. Check whether your allowance is quoted in days or hours before comparing with a full-time colleague.
Calculate your accrual: enter the annual allowance and your start fraction. The calculator returns your pro rata days instantly, free and no signup.
Rounding and carry-over rules
Employers handle the leftover decimals differently: round up, round down, or carry the fraction into next year. If your contract is silent, ask HR before booking a holiday. Carrying negative leave (taking more than you accrued, then leaving the job) usually means the excess is deducted from your final pay, again pro rata to your final working day.
Related guides
Pro rata salary explained (with examples) How pro rata bonuses work How to calculate pro rata: formula and worked examplesFrequently asked questions
How many vacation days do I get if I start mid-year?
Annual allowance multiplied by the fraction of the year you will work. With 20 days a year and a July 1 start, you earn 10 days for the remaining 6 months.
Does daily or monthly accrual matter?
It matters most for mid-month starts. Daily accrual counts each working day, so a July 16 start earns slightly more than monthly accrual. The difference is usually under one day.
What happens to unearned leave if I resign?
Leave taken beyond what you accrued is deducted from your final pay, pro rata to your last working day. Earned but unused leave is typically paid out at the same rate.