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The Working Days Calculator counts the total working days between two dates, with the option to subtract a specified number of public holidays for a net working day count. It also converts the result to equivalent work weeks and total work hours, giving you a comprehensive picture of the available working time in any period.
While the Business Days Calculator focuses on simple weekday counting, the Working Days Calculator takes the additional step of accounting for public holidays — giving you the true number of productive working days available in a period. A year might have 261 weekdays, but after subtracting 10 federal holidays (the US standard), you have 251 working days. For a 6-month project starting January 1, the difference between 130 business days and approximately 125 working days (after 5 holidays) can materially affect scheduling and resource planning.
Working day calculations are fundamental to many professional contexts. HR departments use working days to calculate leave entitlements — the UK's statutory minimum of 28 days paid leave, or the EU Working Time Directive's 20-day minimum, are both expressed in working days. Payroll runs on working days. Project managers estimate task effort in working days and build project schedules accordingly. Legal professionals count working days for court deadlines and contract terms.
The 'Working Days Per Week' advanced option accommodates non-standard work schedules. In many European and Middle Eastern companies, the standard working week is 4 or 4.5 days rather than 5. A 4-day work week at 10 hours per day still yields 40 hours per week, but the working days count is 80% of a standard 5-day schedule. The equivalent work weeks output adjusts for your specified schedule.
Total work hours is a quick conversion for capacity planning: multiply working days by 8 (standard 8-hour day). For 12-hour shifts or half-days, adjust manually from the working days count provided.
Working days = (total weekdays from start to end inclusive) - holidays_to_subtract. Weekdays are counted by iterating through every day and counting Monday-Friday. Net working days subtracts the manually entered holiday count. Equivalent work weeks = net_working_days / work_days_per_week. Work hours = net_working_days x 8.
Net working days gives you the true productive days available in your period after weekends and holidays. Equivalent work weeks translates that into a familiar unit for project planning. Work hours (8h/day) is the maximum capacity available assuming full 8-hour productive days — actual capacity will be lower accounting for meetings, admin, and other non-project time.
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2026 has 261 weekdays; after 11 US federal holidays, 250 net working days = 2,000 working hours
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H1 2026: 130 weekdays minus 5 holidays = 125 working days, 25 work weeks, 1,000 work hours
The terms are often used interchangeably, but working days typically also exclude public holidays, whereas business days sometimes just means Monday-Friday regardless of holidays. This calculator adds a holiday subtraction option to give the true working days figure.
In the US: 261 weekdays in a typical year, minus 10-11 federal holidays = approximately 250 working days. In the UK: approximately 252-253 weekdays minus 8 bank holidays = 244-245. Germany has 9-13 public holidays depending on the federal state.
Multiply your working days per week by your annual leave entitlement in weeks. Example: 5 days/week x 4 weeks = 20 days. In the UK, the statutory minimum is 5.6 weeks = 28 days for a standard 5-day worker. Pro-rata for part-time workers: (days per week / 5) x 28.
There are 11 official US federal holidays: New Year's Day, MLK Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day. When a holiday falls on Saturday, it is observed Friday; Sunday holiday observed Monday.
The EU Working Time Directive (2003/88/EC) mandates a maximum 48-hour working week, a minimum daily rest of 11 hours, and a minimum of 4 weeks (20 days) paid annual leave per year. The UK's Working Time Regulations (derived from this directive) specify 5.6 weeks (28 days) including bank holidays.
If a project estimate is 100 working days and it starts January 1, it ends approximately in late May (20 weeks = 5 months). Omitting weekends and holidays from this calculation would give an incorrect March end date. Always plan projects in working days rather than calendar days.
A 4-day work week (Monday-Thursday) means that over a 5-calendar-day week, you have 4 working days instead of 5. Over a year, a 4-day worker has approximately 208 working days vs 250 for a 5-day worker — about 20% less working time, assuming similar holiday entitlements.
Bank holidays are public holidays in the UK, Ireland, and some Commonwealth nations when banks and many businesses close. The term originates from the Bank Holidays Act 1871. There are 8 bank holidays in England and Wales, 9 in Scotland, and 10 in Northern Ireland annually.
This calculator includes both the start and end date in the count (inclusive range). If you want to exclude one of them (e.g., the day a contract is signed doesn't count), subtract 1 from the result or adjust your start/end date by one day.
At 250 working days x 8 hours/day = 2,000 working hours/year. This is the US standard reference (2,080 if using 260 weekdays without holiday deduction). Actual hours worked are less after accounting for vacation, sick leave, and other time off.
Roboculator Team
The Roboculator Team explains calculations, planning tools, and practical formulas in clear language for real-life situations.
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