Public holidays in the United Kingdom

What is a bank holiday?

In the UK, public holidays are known as bank holidays. The name dates from the nineteenth century, when banks closed on these days and, with them, much of the country's business. Today most bank holidays are set out in the Banking and Financial Dealings Act, with Good Friday and Christmas Day long established by custom. Extra one-off bank holidays can be added by royal proclamation, as happened for jubilees, a royal wedding, a state funeral and a coronation.

A bank holiday doesn't automatically mean a day off. There is no statutory right to paid leave on bank holidays: whether you have the day off, and whether it counts towards your annual leave, depends on your employment contract. In practice many offices, banks and schools close, while shops, pubs and public transport often stay open, sometimes with reduced hours.

England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Bank holidays are not the same across the UK. England and Wales usually have eight: New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, the early May and spring bank holidays, the summer bank holiday at the end of August, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Scotland usually has nine. It adds 2 January and St Andrew's Day on 30 November, has its summer bank holiday at the start of August instead of the end, and does not have Easter Monday. Northern Ireland usually has ten: the eight of England and Wales plus St Patrick's Day on 17 March and the Battle of the Boyne on 12 July. On this site you can see which holidays apply where.

Substitute days

When a bank holiday with a fixed date falls on a Saturday or Sunday, a substitute day is usually given on the next weekday, normally the following Monday. If Christmas Day and Boxing Day both fall on the weekend, the substitute days move to the Monday and Tuesday after. The tables on this site show the substitute date alongside the actual date.

Fixed and moving dates

Some holidays have the same date every year, such as New Year's Day and Christmas Day; only the day of the week changes. Others are tied to a weekday in a particular month, or move with Easter. Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the 21st of March, so it can fall anywhere between late March and late April. In 2026 it falls on 5 April.

Because of that rule, Good Friday and Easter Monday also move every year. In the overview for each year you can see exactly when every holiday falls.

Other well-known days

Besides the official holidays, this site also lists days that many people mark but that are not days off, such as Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day and Halloween. In 2026 there are 17 of them. For each day you can read where it comes from, how the date is set and which traditions go with it.