Days Off Calculator (weekends, holidays & leave in a period)

Understanding the days off calculator — concept and principle

This calculator counts how many days off you get in a period: weekend days, public holidays that fall on working days and the paid leave you take, and how many days you actually work. Use it to compare job offers, plan a year's leave or check a contract's working-day count.

Counting a year of days off: with the default inputs the result is 130 days off (35.6% of the year · 235 worked).

How it is calculated

Calendar days = last day − first day + 1 (both days included).
Each day's weekday is checked on the Gregorian calendar; days that fall on your weekend (Saturday–Sunday, Sunday only, or Friday–Saturday) are counted as weekend days.
Working days = calendar days − weekend days.
Days off = weekend days + public holidays on working days + paid leave.
Days you work = working days − holidays − leave.
Share off = days off ÷ calendar days × 100.

The principle

The weekday pattern repeats every 7 days, so any period contains about 2/7 weekend days for a two-day weekend: about 104 or 105 in a year. The exact count depends on where the period starts, which is why the calculator checks every day instead of estimating. Holidays only add days off when they fall on a working day; a holiday on a Saturday is already a weekend day unless your country moves it to a weekday. Paid leave is taken from working days, so it reduces the days you work one for one.

Worked example

Default inputs: Nov 10, 2026 to Nov 9, 2027, Saturday and Sunday weekend, 11 public holidays on working days, 15 days of paid leave.

Calendar days = 365.
Weekend days counted = 104; working days = 365 − 104 = 261.
Days off = 104 + 11 + 15 = 130.
Days you work = 261 − 11 − 15 = 235.
Share off = 130 ÷ 365 = 35.6%.

Each point is the calculator re-run with only “Paid leave days you take” changed; the gold point is the default example. Change the inputs above and this chart follows your numbers.

Paid leave days you take	Total days off
3.75	119
7.5	123
11.2	126
15	130
18.8	134
22.5	138
30	145

How to read the result

Around a third of the year off is typical for a full-time job with a two-day weekend, a national set of holidays and a few weeks of leave. When you compare jobs, use the days-you-work figure: a job with more leave but a six-day week may still mean more working days. For pay calculations, a daily rate is often annual salary divided by working days, so check which definition your employer uses.

Common mistakes

Counting holidays that fall on a weekend twice.
Excluding the last day of the period by accident.
Entering leave you earn rather than leave you will take.
Forgetting substitute holidays that move a weekend holiday to a weekday.

Keep in mind: Holiday lists and leave rules come from your country and contract; the calculator only uses the numbers you enter.

Frequently asked questions

How many weekend days are in a year?

104 in most years with a Saturday–Sunday weekend, and 105 or 106 in some years depending on the start day and leap years.

Should I count a holiday that falls on Sunday?

Only if your country gives a substitute day off on a weekday; otherwise it is already a weekend day.

How many working days are in a year?

Usually about 260–262 before holidays and leave.

Sources: ISO 8601-1:2019, Date and time — Representations for information interchange (Gregorian calendar dates) · 5 U.S.C. § 6103 (US federal holidays, as an example list)

Checked 9 Nov 2026. Weekday arithmetic on the Gregorian calendar (ISO 8601-1:2019 calendar dates; 1 January 1970 was a Thursday). Public holidays and leave are your own figures — for example, 11 US federal holidays are set by 5 U.S.C. § 6103.

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