The holiday portal shows days left: will I be paid all of them when I leave?

What the portal balance can and cannot tell you

When you leave a job in Great Britain, your employer must pay you for any statutory annual leave you have accrued but not yet taken. The amount depends on how much of the leave year has passed or how much leave you have actually built up by your last day. The figure shown in your holiday portal is not, by itself, proof of what you are owed. It may include leave that has not yet accrued, or it may omit leave you have already earned. It also does not distinguish between statutory leave and any extra contractual leave your employer offers beyond the legal minimum. Extra contractual leave can be subject to different arrangements, and if you have taken more leave than you are entitled to, your employer cannot deduct money from your final pay unless you agreed in writing beforehand. A portal number alone cannot tell you which category applies to you.

Ask for the calculation inputs

To understand what the portal figure means, request the specific inputs used in the calculation. Ask for the start and end dates of your leave year, your employment end date, the accrual method applied, the amount of leave you have already taken, and any carried-over balance from a previous year. Ask the employer to separate statutory leave from any additional contractual leave. If your working hours or pattern changed during the year, ask how the calculation accounts for that change. Do not assume that a full-year entitlement can simply be applied to a part-year period. The employer should explain, in writing, how each figure was derived.

Compare the statement with your own records

Keep your own records of holiday bookings, approvals, cancellations, payslips, and the final itemised statement you receive. Mark each date or amount you dispute. Remember that an approved future booking is not evidence that you have already taken that leave. Before asking for a correction, ask the employer to identify which entries in the statement are accrued, projected, taken, or cancelled. Your own records may show a different picture, and you should raise any discrepancy in writing.

Keep attendance and payment separate

During your notice period, you may be able to take any remaining statutory leave. Ask whether you can take leave during notice and how that affects your last working day. Do not assume that taking leave automatically shortens your employment. If payroll says you owe money for excess leave, ask for the written basis of the deduction and the calculation. Use the leaving-job guidance to organise notice, holiday pay, and other final payments as separate lines, so you can check each item independently.

A worked example of checking the balance

Hypothetical arithmetic: assume a regular equal-day work pattern, a verified full-year statutory entitlement of 28 days and a verified accrual of 14 days at the employment-end date. Ten days have already been taken, leaving four accrued days. If the portal shows eight, ask whether it includes projected entitlement, contractual extras or a mistaken entry. The 14-day accrual is an assumption to check, not an exact rule that every 30 June departure has earned half a year. Day balance and holiday-pay value remain separate calculations.

Next steps if the issue remains unresolved

If the employer's explanation does not match your records or the statutory rules, raise the dispute in writing and ask for a revised itemised statement. Keep copies of all correspondence. If the matter is still unresolved, you may need to seek advice from an employment law specialist or the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas). Before doing so, prepare a clear summary of the leave year dates, your employment end date, the accrual method used, the leave you took, and the specific amounts you dispute. Bring your booking approvals, payslips, and the final statement. Ask the adviser: "Based on these records, how should my accrued but untaken statutory leave be calculated for my final pay?"

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