Annual leave and bank holidays for council staff

Council staff covered by the NJC “Green Book” get a minimum of 23 days’ paid annual leave a year, rising by three days after five years of continuous service. Public holidays come on top, plus two extra-statutory days. For a full-time employee in England or Wales that adds up to at least 33 days a year, though your council’s own scheme may give more.

What the Green Book sets

The national agreement on pay and conditions for local government services is the Green Book. It covers about 1.4 million local authority employees, and the same terms are used to set pay and conditions for some staff outside local authorities, such as school support staff. Part 2, paragraph 7 deals with leave.

From 1 April 2023 the minimum paid annual leave is 23 days, with a further three days after five years of continuous service. The figures are written for a five-day working pattern. If you work a different pattern, your employer should calculate an equivalent entitlement. Leave can be expressed in hours over the leave year where that is easier, which is how many councils do it for part-time and shift staff.

Anyone who joins or leaves part-way through a leave year gets leave in proportion to the service they completed in that year.

Public holidays and extra-statutory days

Public holidays are separate from annual leave. The agreement says you are entitled, whatever your length of service, to a holiday with a normal day’s pay for each statutory, general and public holiday as it occurs. The NJC’s term-time guidance says there are normally eight public holidays in a leave year.

The two extra-statutory days are also separate. The employer decides when they fall, after consulting the recognised trade unions, with a view to agreement. Many councils use them to close offices between Christmas and New Year. Others add them to annual leave by local agreement, so you take them when you like. Your contract or leave policy will say which applies to you.

Putting it together for a five-day week:

Length of service	Annual leave	Public holidays	Extra-statutory days	Total
Under 5 years	23	8	2	33
5 years or more	26	8	2	36

Eight is the normal count, but it varies with the year and where you work. Northern Ireland councils publish their own figures, so check the one you are applying to.

The statutory minimum on holiday entitlement is 5.6 weeks, which is 28 days for a full-time worker on a five-day week. Council terms sit above that.

How previous service counts

Continuous service for leave includes continuous earlier service with any public authority covered by the Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government etc) (Modification) Order 1999. So moving between councils, or to many other local government bodies, does not restart your clock towards the 26-day level, provided there is no break.

If you leave local government for a break linked to maternity or caring for children or other dependants and then come back, the Green Book lets earlier service count for leave. The eight-year time limit that applies to the sickness and maternity schemes does not apply to leave, as long as no permanent full-time job came in between.

Part-time and term-time staff

Part-time staff get the same entitlement pro rata. If you work three days a week, your 23 days become 13.8 days of leave, which most councils express in hours. Our guide to part-time holiday entitlement covers the arithmetic.

Term-time-only staff, such as school support staff, usually take their leave during school closures. Under the NJC’s advisory model, the leave and public holidays are built into the paid weeks and the result is paid in twelve equal monthly instalments. How term-time-only pay is calculated has the formula.

What to check

• The leave figure and the leave year dates in your contract or offer letter. Many councils run the year from 1 April, but not all do.
• Whether the extra-statutory days are fixed closure days or days you choose.
• Whether your service from another council or school has been counted, if you are close to five years.
• How leave is shown for your pattern, in days or hours.
• Any local scheme that gives more, such as buying extra leave or extra days for long service.

Your pay depends on the same national agreement, so the NJC pay award 2026/27 page and the NJC pay spine show what your salary should be. For a dispute over leave, start with your HR team or union rep, and ACAS can advise on employment rights.