NHS Leaver's Final Pay and Accrued Leave Checker

Working out your last month in the NHS? See how much annual leave and bank holiday time you have accrued, what is owed to you as pay or could be taken back, when your notice ends and what happens to your pension.

Want your leave entitlement while you are still here? Use the NHS Annual Leave Calculator.

Your job and leave

Where do you work?

Your actual annual gross pay (£)

What you are paid for your contracted hours, not the full-time equivalent. Used to value a day of leave.

Contracted hours a week

Normal shift length

Years of reckonable NHS service at your last day

Sets your leave tier: 27 days, 29 days after 5 years or 33 days after 10 years, plus 8 public holidays, for a full-timer. Reckonable service can include earlier NHS service.

Your annual leave year starts in

Most trusts use 1 April, but yours may differ. Check your leave policy.

Your last day of employment

Days already taken or booked

Annual leave plus bank holidays off, this leave year.

Days carried over in

From last leave year, if any.

For the take-home estimate

Where do you pay tax?

Student loan plan

Notice (optional)

Notice in your contract

Unit

Date you hand in your notice

Pension (optional)

Years of NHS Pension Scheme membership

Qualifying membership, from your annual benefit statement.

I have transferred a pension in to the NHS scheme

Your leave payout

Enter your pay, hours and last day

You will see how much leave you have accrued up to your last day, what is still owed to you as pay (or what could be taken back), and a checklist for your final payslip.

Your NHS pension when you leave

Add your years of membership above to see what usually happens to your pension. In general, two years' qualifying membership means a deferred pension is kept, and under two years may mean a refund of your contributions. See deferred benefits explained.

Whether a payment for untaken leave is pensionable is for NHS Pensions and your payroll to confirm, so we leave it out of the take-home estimate.

Your final pay: what to check

Ask your manager to submit your leaver form in good time, because payroll has a cut-off for each pay date and a late form can delay your final pay.
Ask payroll for the date of your final payslip and what it will include: pay up to your last day, any leave payout, and any deduction.
Check the hours of leave on the payslip against the balance above and ask for the calculation if they differ.
Keep your P45 when it arrives, because your next employer or HMRC may ask for it.
Check any overpayment deduction against our overpayment rights guide.

Before you go

See what your pension could be worth

The free NHS Pension Calculator estimates what you have built up. The NHS Pension Calculator Pro adds McCloud, lump sum and retirement scenarios for £44.99 for 6 months, a one-off payment. The free calculator stays free.

Assumptions

Entitlement follows Handbook Section 13: 27, 29 or 33 days plus 8 public holidays for a full-timer, in hours for part-timers and shift workers, accruing day by day.
You worked the whole leave year up to your last day, and the service tier at your last day applies to the full year. The Handbook does not say how a milestone part-way through the year is applied.
Leave taken is converted at your normal shift length. Bank holidays you took off count as taken. Local rules on carry over differ.
Value uses your basic hourly rate (annual pay divided by 52.14 weeks and your weekly hours). Regular supplements may also count, so ask payroll.
The net figure uses income tax, National Insurance and student loan on the extra pay, with no pension. Your final payslip is the final word.
Notice, final pay dates and recovery of overpayments follow your contract and your trust's policy.

Budget day, 28 October: what it means for your NHS Pension

We'll email you on the day with what was announced and what it means for NHS Pension members. You also get the free PDF now.

Free. Independent, not affiliated with the NHS. Every email has an unsubscribe link. See our privacy policy.

Short answer

When you leave the NHS you are paid for annual leave you have accrued but not taken, and the law protects at least the statutory minimum (5.6 weeks, capped at 28 days). Your Agenda for Change leave accrues day by day: for a full-timer with 6 years' service on a Band 5 salary of £32,073, leaving on 31 December means about 209.08 hours accrued, which is worth about £3,429 gross if none has been taken. If you have taken more than you accrued, your employer can only take money back from final pay if that was agreed beforehand in writing. Notice is set by your contract, not nationally. The checker is free.

⚠An estimate, not legal advice

Trusts apply their own leave year, carry over and notice rules. Your contract, your trust's policy and your payslip are the final word, and your union or Acas can advise on a dispute.

Do I get paid for unused leave when I leave the NHS?

Yes. gov.uk says employers must pay for untaken statutory leave, even if the worker is dismissed for gross misconduct, and that extra leave above the statutory minimum can be dealt with by separate agreement. Statutory leave is 5.6 weeks, capped at 28 days. A full-time Agenda for Change employee has more than that: 27, 29 or 33 days depending on service, plus 8 general public holidays (Handbook Section 13, Table 6). Our annual leave guide notes that unused leave is generally paid in lieu when you leave, calculated pro rata for the part of the leave year you worked.

How much leave will have accrued by your last day?

These figures come from the checker: a full-time Band 5 in England on £32,073 (£16.40 an hour), 6 years' service, a leave year starting 1 April, and no leave taken yet.

Last day	Share of leave year	Hours accrued	Days accrued	Gross value
30 June	25%	69.18	9.22	£1,135
30 September	50%	139.13	18.55	£2,282
31 December	75%	209.08	27.88	£3,429
28 February	92%	253.93	33.86	£4,165

The days include your public holiday entitlement, because Agenda for Change counts general public holidays alongside annual leave and part-timers take theirs as annual leave. Any bank holidays you took off count as leave taken.

What if you took more leave than you accrued?

If you leave part-way through the leave year after taking a lot of leave, you may have taken more than you accrued. gov.uk says an employer must not take money from your final pay for excess holiday unless this was agreed beforehand in writing, for example in your contract or handbook. As an example from the checker, the same Band 5 leaving on 30 June after taking 20 days would be about 80.82 hours over. If your trust points to a deduction clause, ask to see it.

Notice periods when leaving the NHS

The Agenda for Change Handbook does not set notice periods by band. Paragraph 19.2 lists "notice periods where they differ from statutory minimums" among the other terms and conditions that are determined locally, so the figure that applies to you is in your written statement of terms and your trust's policy. Check it against our explainer on notice periods and second jobs, and enter it in the checker to see the date it runs to.

Your final pay: a timeline to work through

✓ Hand in your notice in writing and ask for the date it was received and the leaving date to be confirmed in writing
✓ Agree with your manager how remaining leave will be used or paid, in writing
✓ Ask your manager to submit the leaver form in good time, because payroll has a cut-off for each pay date
✓ Ask payroll for the date and contents of your final payslip: pay up to your last day, leave payout and any deductions
✓ Check the leave hours on the payslip against the balance above and ask for the calculation if they differ
✓ Keep your P45 when it arrives and give it to your next employer
✓ Check your pension options with NHS Pensions before deciding what to do with your pension

What happens to your NHS Pension when you leave

With at least two years' qualifying membership your pension generally becomes a deferred pension, preserved and uprated by CPI until you draw it. With under two years' membership and no pension transferred in, a refund of your own contributions may be possible. Our guides to deferred benefits and leaving for a private sector job explain the options in detail.

Tax on your final payslip

A payment for untaken leave is paid as pay, so income tax and National Insurance apply. If you start a new job without a P45 you may be put on an emergency or BR code for a while; our tax codes guide explains how to fix it. If you are taking up bank work as well, the bank shift calculator shows how the tax works.

Sources

gov.uk: taking holiday before leaving a job, gov.uk: holiday entitlement and the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook (Section 13 and paragraph 19.2). Pension points follow our deferred benefits guide. See our editorial policy.

Why trust this checker

✓ Entitlement follows the NHS Terms and Conditions Handbook Section 13 and the same leave engine as our Annual Leave Calculator
✓ Statutory protections come from gov.uk, and we say plainly where the rule depends on your contract or trust
✓ Does not invent a national notice period, because the Handbook leaves notice to local terms
✓ Runs in your browser: your figures are not sent to a server
✓ Updated October 2026

Related guides & tools

NHS Annual Leave Calculator

Your entitlement, leave accrued to date and leave left.

NHS Annual Leave Entitlement Explained

Tiers, carry over and leaving your trust.

NHS Pension: Deferred Benefits Explained

What happens to your pension when you leave.

NHS Notice Periods and Second Jobs

Notice, declaring a second job and bank work.

NHS Overpayment Recovery Checker

If payroll asks for money back from your final pay.

How to Read Your NHS Payslip

Check your final payslip line by line.

Frequently asked questions

Do I get paid for unused annual leave when I leave the NHS? +

Yes. gov.uk says employers must pay for untaken statutory leave when someone leaves, even if they are dismissed for gross misconduct. Statutory leave is 5.6 weeks, capped at 28 days. Agenda for Change gives more than that for a full-timer (27, 29 or 33 days plus 8 public holidays), and our leave guide notes unused leave is generally paid in lieu, pro rata for the part of the leave year you worked. The extra above the statutory minimum depends on your contract and local policy, so ask payroll for the calculation.

How is accrued annual leave worked out when I leave? +

Your full-year entitlement is spread across the leave year and you accrue it day by day up to your last day. For a full-timer in England with 6 years' service, that is 29 days plus 8 public holidays, or 277.5 hours. Leaving on 31 December, about 209.08 hours have accrued. Part-timers and shift workers are worked out in hours, following the Handbook's rule that staff on shifts other than 7.5 hours have leave and public holidays calculated hourly. Then you subtract leave and bank holidays already taken, and add any carry over.

What if I have taken more leave than I have accrued? +

Your employer may try to deduct the excess from your final pay. gov.uk says it must not take money from your final pay for excess holiday unless that was agreed beforehand in writing, for example in your contract or handbook. For example, a Band 5 full-timer with 6 years' service who leaves on 30 June after taking 20 days has accrued about 69.18 hours, so about 80.82 hours of leave is over. Ask payroll for the clause they rely on and the calculation.

How long is the notice period when leaving the NHS? +

It is set by your contract and local policy. The Agenda for Change Handbook lists notice periods under local terms (paragraph 19.2: notice periods where they differ from statutory minimums) and does not set one by band, so check your written statement of terms. We could not find a national notice period by band in the Handbook, so we do not state one. Enter your own figure in the checker to see the date it runs to.

Can I use my leave to shorten my notice period? +

It is common to agree that remaining leave covers the end of notice, but it is for your employer to agree, ideally in writing, and your trust may prefer you to work your notice or be paid for the leave. If you are using leave to leave early, make sure it is agreed in writing and that your leave balance on the final payslip reflects it.

When will I get my final pay? +

Final pay normally arrives on a payroll date after payroll has processed your leaver notification, and each trust has its own cut-off for each pay date. Ask your manager to submit your leaver form in good time and ask payroll for the date of your final payslip and what it will include. If it is late or looks wrong, raise it with payroll in writing straight away and involve your union if needed.

Is a payout for unused leave taxed? +

Yes. A payment for untaken leave is paid as pay, so income tax and National Insurance apply. As a rough guide, a basic-rate taxpayer keeps about 72p in the pound. For example, £3,429.38 gross of leave pay on a £32,073 salary leaves about £2,469.15 after tax and National Insurance. Your final payslip decides the exact figure, and a code change in your new job can affect tax later.

Is accrued leave pay pensionable in the NHS Pension Scheme? +

We do not know, and it is for NHS Pensions and your payroll to confirm for your own case, so the checker leaves pension out of the take-home estimate. If it matters to you, ask payroll whether pension is being taken from the payment and ask NHS Pensions whether it counts as pensionable pay.

What happens to my NHS Pension if I leave? +

If you have at least two years' qualifying membership, your pension generally becomes a deferred pension: it is preserved and uprated by CPI until you draw it, and further accrual stops. With under two years' membership and no pension transferred in, you are generally not entitled to a deferred pension and can usually ask for a refund of your own contributions, less tax. Check with NHS Pensions before you decide, and see our deferred benefits guide.

What if payroll took the wrong amount, or recovers an overpayment, from my final pay? +

Ask for a written breakdown and check it against your payslips. Recovery of a genuine overpayment from a leaver can come out of final pay, and you should generally only be asked to repay the net amount you received. Our overpayment guide and recovery checker explain what to ask. Acas also notes that where a former employee refuses to repay, an employer might make a court claim, so engage early.