UK Bank Holidays: When Is the Next Bank Holiday?
Check whether today is a bank holiday, count down to the next one, and see every UK bank holiday for 2026, 2027 and 2028 in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The next bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is Christmas Day, Friday 25 December 2026, followed by the Boxing Day substitute on Monday 28 December. In Scotland the next one is St Andrew's Day, Monday 30 November 2026. England and Wales have 8 bank holidays a year, Scotland 9 and Northern Ireland 10.
How many bank holidays are there in the UK?
The UK does not have one set of bank holidays. Each nation has its own:
- England and Wales: 8. New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, the early May, spring and summer bank holidays, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
- Scotland: 9. The same, minus Easter Monday, plus 2 January and St Andrew's Day. Scotland's summer bank holiday is at the start of August rather than the end. See Scotland bank holidays for every Scottish date and local holiday.
- Northern Ireland: 10. The England and Wales list plus St Patrick's Day and the Battle of the Boyne on 12 July. See Northern Ireland bank holidays.
The totals only change when the government adds a one-off bank holiday. That happened in 2026, when Scotland had a World Cup bank holiday on Monday 15 June, taking it to 10 for the year.
UK bank holidays 2026
Most of 2026 has passed. The remaining bank holidays are St Andrew's Day in Scotland on Monday 30 November, Christmas Day on Friday 25 December and the Boxing Day substitute on Monday 28 December. Dates already passed are greyed out.
| Date | Bank holiday | England and Wales | Scotland | N Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 January | New Year's Day | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fri 2 January | 2nd January | – | ✓ | – |
| Tue 17 March | St Patrick's Day | – | – | ✓ |
| Fri 3 April | Good Friday | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mon 6 April | Easter Monday | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| Mon 4 May | Early May bank holiday | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mon 25 May | Spring bank holiday | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mon 15 June | World Cup bank holiday | – | ✓ | – |
| Mon 13 July | Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen's Day) (substitute day) | – | – | ✓ |
| Mon 3 August | Summer bank holiday | – | ✓ | – |
| Mon 31 August | Summer bank holiday | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| Mon 30 November | St Andrew's Day | – | ✓ | – |
| Fri 25 December | Christmas Day | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mon 28 December | Boxing Day (substitute day) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
For every Christmas date, including Christmas Eve, New Year and what is open, see Christmas bank holidays 2026.
UK bank holidays 2027
2027 has 8 bank holidays in England and Wales, 9 in Scotland and 10 in Northern Ireland. Easter is early, on 28 March, and Christmas Day and Boxing Day fall on a weekend, which creates a three-day working week at Christmas.
| Date | Bank holiday | England and Wales | Scotland | N Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 January | New Year's Day | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mon 4 January | 2nd January (substitute day) | – | ✓ | – |
| Wed 17 March | St Patrick's Day | – | – | ✓ |
| Fri 26 March | Good Friday | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mon 29 March | Easter Monday | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| Mon 3 May | Early May bank holiday | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mon 31 May | Spring bank holiday | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mon 12 July | Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen's Day) | – | – | ✓ |
| Mon 2 August | Summer bank holiday | – | ✓ | – |
| Mon 30 August | Summer bank holiday | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| Tue 30 November | St Andrew's Day | – | ✓ | – |
| Mon 27 December | Christmas Day (substitute day) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tue 28 December | Boxing Day (substitute day) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
For long weekends, working days and calendar downloads, see UK bank holidays 2027. How to turn 3 days of leave into 10 days off at the end of the year is explained in the UK three-day week 2027.
UK bank holidays 2028
GOV.UK has already published 2028. The year starts with a substitute day, because New Year's Day is a Saturday, and Easter is late, with Good Friday on 14 April.
| Date | Bank holiday | England and Wales | Scotland | N Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 3 January | New Year's Day (substitute day) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tue 4 January | 2nd January (substitute day) | – | ✓ | – |
| Fri 17 March | St Patrick's Day | – | – | ✓ |
| Fri 14 April | Good Friday | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mon 17 April | Easter Monday | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| Mon 1 May | Early May bank holiday | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mon 29 May | Spring bank holiday | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Wed 12 July | Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen's Day) | – | – | ✓ |
| Mon 7 August | Summer bank holiday | – | ✓ | – |
| Mon 28 August | Summer bank holiday | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| Thu 30 November | St Andrew's Day | – | ✓ | – |
| Mon 25 December | Christmas Day | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tue 26 December | Boxing Day | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
How UK bank holiday dates are set
Most bank holidays follow a fixed rule, so you can work out the date years ahead. Only Good Friday and Easter Monday move around, because they follow Easter. See Easter 2027 dates and bank holidays.
Substitute days. When a bank holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the next weekday is given instead. If two fall on the same weekend, as Christmas Day and Boxing Day do in 2027, the Monday and Tuesday are both substitute days. That is why UK bank holidays always land on a weekday. To count working days between two dates, use the Working Days Calculator.
Local holidays in Scotland. Many Scottish councils set their own spring, September or autumn holidays. These vary from town to town and are not bank holidays, so whether you get them off depends on your employer.
Extra and moved bank holidays
The government can add or move a bank holiday by royal proclamation, usually for a national event. Recent examples:
| Date | Occasion | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 15 June 2026 | World Cup bank holiday | Scotland only |
| Mon 8 May 2023 | Coronation of King Charles III (extra day) | Whole UK |
| Mon 19 September 2022 | State funeral of Queen Elizabeth II (extra day) | Whole UK |
| Thu 2 and Fri 3 June 2022 | Platinum Jubilee: spring bank holiday moved, plus an extra day | Whole UK |
| Fri 8 May 2020 | VE Day 75th anniversary: early May bank holiday moved from Monday | Whole UK |
| Mon 4 and Tue 5 June 2012 | Diamond Jubilee: spring bank holiday moved, plus an extra day | Whole UK |
| Fri 29 April 2011 | Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton | Whole UK |
No extra bank holidays have been announced for 2027 or 2028. If one is, the countdown and tables on this page will be updated.
Bank holidays and your pay
Bank holidays are not a separate legal entitlement. Almost all workers get 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year, which is 28 days for a five-day week, and employers can include bank holidays within it. So someone on "28 days including bank holidays" has 20 days to book in England and Wales.
- No automatic day off. Your employer can ask you to work on a bank holiday if your contract allows it.
- No automatic extra pay. Time and a half, double time or a day in lieu only apply if your contract says so.
- Part-time staff should get bank holidays pro rata, so that people who do not work Mondays are not left short. The Part-Time Holiday Calculator works this out.
To see your full allowance, use the Holiday Entitlement Calculator, and to see what a day off is worth, the Holiday Pay Calculator. For how bank holidays fit into a 28-day allowance, read Does 28 days holiday include bank holidays?
Bank holiday or public holiday?
In everyday speech the two mean the same thing. Strictly, bank holidays are the days set by the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, while in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Christmas Day and Good Friday are traditional "common law" holidays. They are all treated the same way, and GOV.UK lists them together.
The name comes from the Bank Holidays Act 1871, introduced by the banker and MP Sir John Lubbock, which first made certain days holidays for banks. In Scotland, St Andrew's Day became a bank holiday under the St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007, although employers there are not required to give it as a day off.
Sources
- GOV.UK, UK bank holidays and bank holidays data for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
- Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971
- St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007
- GOV.UK, Holiday entitlement: bank and public holidays
UK bank holidays: frequently asked questions
Quick answers about bank holidays in the UK.
When is the next bank holiday in the UK?
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the next bank holiday is Christmas Day, Friday 25 December 2026, followed by the Boxing Day substitute on Monday 28 December. In Scotland the next one is St Andrew's Day, Monday 30 November 2026. The countdown on this page always shows the next date for your nation.
How many bank holidays are there in the UK?
England and Wales have 8 bank holidays a year, Scotland has 9 and Northern Ireland has 10. The number can change in a particular year if the government adds an extra one, as it did for Scotland's World Cup bank holiday on 15 June 2026, which gave Scotland 10 that year.
Is today a bank holiday?
Use the checker at the top of this page, which tells you whether today is a bank holiday in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, using the official GOV.UK dates. Bank holidays in the UK are always weekdays, because a holiday that falls on a weekend moves to the next weekday.
Why does Scotland have different bank holidays?
Scotland's bank holidays are set separately. It keeps 2 January and St Andrew's Day on 30 November, holds its summer bank holiday on the first Monday of August, and does not have Easter Monday. Many Scottish councils also set local holidays, which are not bank holidays.
Is Easter Monday a bank holiday in Scotland?
No. Easter Monday is a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland but not in Scotland. Good Friday is a bank holiday everywhere in the UK.
What is a substitute bank holiday?
When a bank holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the next weekday becomes a substitute day off. For example, Boxing Day 2026 is a Saturday, so the bank holiday is Monday 28 December 2026.
Do you get paid for bank holidays?
There is no legal right to paid time off on bank holidays in the UK, or to extra pay for working one. Your contract decides both. Most employers include bank holidays in the 5.6 weeks of paid holiday every worker is entitled to, which is 28 days for a five-day week.
When was the last extra bank holiday?
The most recent was Scotland's World Cup bank holiday on Monday 15 June 2026. Across the whole UK, the last extra bank holiday was the coronation of King Charles III on Monday 8 May 2023. No extra bank holidays have been announced for 2027 or 2028.