Free Staff Holiday Tracker 2026
Download our free Excel spreadsheet to track employee holiday entitlement, usage, and remaining days throughout 2026. Pre-filled with all UK bank holidays.
No sign-up required. Works in Excel, Google Sheets, and LibreOffice.
Everything you need to track team holidays
Three worksheets covering employee entitlements, a visual calendar, and step-by-step instructions.
Employees Sheet
Name, department, entitlement, days used, and remaining days. The "Remaining" column calculates automatically.
Calendar 2026 Sheet
Month-by-month grid with all 12 months, day-of-week labels, and bank holidays pre-marked as "BH".
Instructions Sheet
Step-by-step guide on how to customise the tracker for your team, plus tips on entitlement and carry-over rules.
All 2026 UK bank holidays
Pre-filled with all 8 England & Wales bank holidays. No manual entry needed.
Auto-calculates remaining days
Enter days used and remaining entitlement updates automatically via formulas.
Part-time support
Pro-rata entitlement for part-time staff. 4 days/week = 22.4 days statutory.
Visual calendar view
Month-by-month grid for every month of 2026. See who is off at a glance.
Multiple employees
Track your whole team in one spreadsheet. Add as many employees as you need.
Works everywhere
Compatible with Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and LibreOffice Calc.
2026 England & Wales Bank Holidays
All 8 bank holidays are already marked in the calendar sheet. See our full bank holidays page for Scotland and Northern Ireland dates.
| Holiday | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | 1 January | Thursday |
| Good Friday | 3 April | Friday |
| Easter Monday | 6 April | Monday |
| Early May Bank Holiday | 4 May | Monday |
| Spring Bank Holiday | 25 May | Monday |
| Summer Bank Holiday | 31 August | Monday |
| Christmas Day | 25 December | Friday |
| Boxing Day (substitute) | 28 December | Monday |
Why use a holiday tracker?
Legal compliance
UK employers are legally required to ensure employees receive their statutory holiday entitlement of 5.6 weeks per year (28 days for full-time workers). A tracker helps you demonstrate compliance and avoid costly tribunal claims.
Prevent understaffing
When multiple team members book the same week off, operations suffer. A central holiday tracker gives visibility across the team so managers can spot clashes before approving requests.
Fair entitlement management
Employees deserve to know exactly how many days they have left. A tracker makes this transparent, reduces disputes, and helps staff plan their time off throughout the year rather than rushing to use days up in December.
Payroll accuracy
Accurate leave records feed into payroll processing. Tracking holidays properly ensures employees are paid correctly and that holiday pay calculations (especially for leavers) are right.
When to upgrade from spreadsheets
Spreadsheets are a great starting point. But as your team grows, these signs mean it is time for dedicated HR software.
Manual errors creeping in
Spreadsheets rely on people updating them correctly. One wrong formula and entitlements are off.
Team growing past 10-15 people
Tracking overlapping leave across departments becomes unmanageable in a spreadsheet.
Approval workflow needed
Employees email leave requests, managers forget to respond, nobody updates the tracker.
Compliance concerns
Need audit trails, Bradford Factor tracking, or GDPR-compliant absence records.
Reporting requirements
Management wants absence trend reports, department comparisons, or payroll export data.
Team calendar visibility
Teams need to see who is off before requesting leave to avoid understaffing.
Download the free holiday tracker
Start tracking your team's holidays in minutes. No account needed.
Frequently asked questions
Is the holiday tracker really free?
Yes, completely free with no strings attached. Download it, use it, share it with colleagues. No email sign-up required. We created it as a helpful resource for UK businesses.
Does it work with Google Sheets?
Yes. Download the Excel file and upload it to Google Drive. Google Sheets will convert it automatically, preserving all formulas and formatting.
How many employees can I track?
The spreadsheet comes with 5 example employees, but you can add as many rows as you need. There is no limit. Simply copy an existing employee row and update the details.
Are the bank holidays accurate for 2026?
Yes. All 8 England & Wales bank holidays for 2026 are pre-filled: New Year's Day (1 Jan), Good Friday (3 Apr), Easter Monday (6 Apr), Early May Bank Holiday (4 May), Spring Bank Holiday (25 May), Summer Bank Holiday (31 Aug), Christmas Day (25 Dec), and Boxing Day substitute (28 Dec).
Does it handle part-time employees?
Yes. Pro-rata entitlement is supported. For example, an employee working 4 days per week is entitled to 22.4 days (28 x 4/5). Simply enter the correct entitlement figure for each employee.
When should I upgrade to HR software instead?
Spreadsheets work well for teams under 10-15 people. Once you have more employees, overlapping leave requests, approval workflows, or need to track sickness and other absence types, dedicated HR software like Grove HR saves significant time and reduces errors.