The dates are on every calendar. What they do to leave is not.
Every 2026 and 2027 bank holiday for all three UK nations, taken from the official GOV.UK list — plus the question the calendar cannot answer: do bank holidays sit inside the 5.6-week minimum, or on top of it?
- GOV.UK-verified 2026 and 2027 dates
- All three UK holiday lists
- The within-or-on-top rule explained
What are the UK bank holidays for 2026 and 2027?
England and Wales have eight bank holidays in 2026 and eight in 2027. Scotland has ten in 2026 — including a one-off World Cup bank holiday on Monday 15 June — and nine in 2027. Northern Ireland has ten in both years. Where a holiday falls at a weekend, a substitute weekday is observed instead, so the lists below show the actual days off.
There is no automatic legal right to a paid day off on a bank holiday. Almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year, and the employment contract decides whether bank holidays sit inside that minimum or on top of it. That written decision, not the calendar, sets what your team can actually book.
This is practical general information, not legal advice. Use the current linked official guidance for the facts in front of you.
The 2026 dates, as officially observed.
The UK keeps three legal bank-holiday lists, not one. Use the list for the nation where each person works, not where head office sits. Days marked as substitute days fall at a weekend, so the day off moves to the listed weekday.
Scotland's World Cup bank holiday on 15 June is a one-off addition for 2026, a reminder that holidays can be proclaimed or moved for a single year.
- 01
England and Wales (8): New Year's Day, Thursday 1 January; Good Friday, 3 April; Easter Monday, 6 April; Early May bank holiday, Monday 4 May; Spring bank holiday, Monday 25 May; Summer bank holiday, Monday 31 August; Christmas Day, Friday 25 December; Boxing Day, Monday 28 December (substitute day).
- 02
Scotland (10): New Year's Day, Thursday 1 January; 2nd January, Friday 2 January; Good Friday, 3 April; Early May bank holiday, Monday 4 May; Spring bank holiday, Monday 25 May; World Cup bank holiday, Monday 15 June; Summer bank holiday, Monday 3 August; St Andrew's Day, Monday 30 November; Christmas Day, Friday 25 December; Boxing Day, Monday 28 December (substitute day).
- 03
Northern Ireland (10): New Year's Day, Thursday 1 January; St Patrick's Day, Tuesday 17 March; Good Friday, 3 April; Easter Monday, 6 April; Early May bank holiday, Monday 4 May; Spring bank holiday, Monday 25 May; Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen's Day), Monday 13 July (substitute day); Summer bank holiday, Monday 31 August; Christmas Day, Friday 25 December; Boxing Day, Monday 28 December (substitute day).
The 2027 dates GOV.UK has already confirmed.
GOV.UK already publishes complete 2027 lists for all three nations, reproduced below. Christmas Day and Boxing Day both fall at the weekend in 2027, so both move to substitute days — the Monday and Tuesday after. Some holidays are proclaimed annually by the Privy Council, so a late addition or move stays possible; treat GOV.UK as the live authority when the year approaches.
- England and Wales (8): New Year's Day, Friday 1 January; Good Friday, 26 March; Easter Monday, 29 March; Early May bank holiday, Monday 3 May; Spring bank holiday, Monday 31 May; Summer bank holiday, Monday 30 August; Christmas Day, Monday 27 December (substitute day); Boxing Day, Tuesday 28 December (substitute day).
- Scotland (9): New Year's Day, Friday 1 January; 2nd January, Monday 4 January (substitute day); Good Friday, 26 March; Early May bank holiday, Monday 3 May; Spring bank holiday, Monday 31 May; Summer bank holiday, Monday 2 August; St Andrew's Day, Tuesday 30 November; Christmas Day, Monday 27 December (substitute day); Boxing Day, Tuesday 28 December (substitute day).
- Northern Ireland (10): New Year's Day, Friday 1 January; St Patrick's Day, Wednesday 17 March; Good Friday, 26 March; Easter Monday, 29 March; Early May bank holiday, Monday 3 May; Spring bank holiday, Monday 31 May; Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen's Day), Monday 12 July; Summer bank holiday, Monday 30 August; Christmas Day, Monday 27 December (substitute day); Boxing Day, Tuesday 28 December (substitute day).
- Full-time picture
- 28 days incl. 8 bank holidays
- Pro-rata entitlement
- 16.8 days (3 × 5.6)
- Bank-holiday share
- 4.8 days (0.6 × 8)
- Why it matters
- Most fall on Mondays
Inside or on top: what a bank holiday does to the allowance.
The statutory minimum is 5.6 weeks of paid holiday (28 days for a five-day week) and an employer can lawfully count bank holidays inside it. '28 days including bank holidays' and '20 days plus the 8 bank holidays' are both compliant; they differ only in how many days are left to book freely.
Part-time workers must not be treated less favourably than full-time comparators. Most bank holidays fall on Mondays, so a rule of 'you get the ones that land on your days' quietly short-changes anyone who does not work Mondays. The standard fair approach is pro-rata: give a proportionate share of the full-time bank-holiday count and let people book the days that matter to them.
- Write down whether the allowance includes bank holidays before anyone asks.
- Pro-rate the bank-holiday count for part-time staff instead of following the Monday calendar.
- A worker cannot be paid in lieu of bank holidays, except within unused entitlement on leaving.
- Use the list for the nation where each person works — the three lists differ.
HollyHR shows the bank-holiday context. Your contract sets the policy.
HollyHR shows public-holiday context alongside leave requests, keeps working-pattern-aware durations and balances, and records who decided what. It does not decide whether bank holidays sit inside your allowance, calculate holiday pay or premium bank-holiday pay, or settle a disputed day — the contract, payroll and, where needed, qualified advice own those.
HollyHR can help with
- Public-holiday context in requests
- Pattern-aware durations and balances
- A recorded decision trail
Keep outside the claim
- Set within-or-on-top policy
- Holiday pay or premium pay
- Disputed-day legal answers
Check the rule where it is maintained.
These sources were reviewed on 22 July 2026. Paul Gould and Steve Folkes are the HollyHR founder-operators accountable for maintaining this guide. Follow the official page for the current rule, conditions and exceptions rather than relying on an old quotation.
- GOV.UK — UK bank holidaysThe maintained official calendar behind every date on this page.
- GOV.UK — holiday entitlementThe 5.6-week statutory minimum and whether bank holidays sit inside it.
- Acas — bank holidays and ChristmasContracts, working on bank holidays and the pay-in-lieu rule.
- Acas — part-time workersThe less-favourable-treatment rule behind pro-rata bank holidays.
- HollyHR — annual leave glossary entryWhere bank holidays sit in the annual-leave vocabulary.
Questions behind the checklist.
Short answers for scanning; the practical detail and source links stay above.
Do bank holidays come out of the 28 days?
Only if the contract says so. The statutory 5.6 weeks (28 days on a five-day pattern) can lawfully include bank holidays. '28 including bank holidays' and '20 plus bank holidays' are both compliant; they leave different amounts of free choice. Check the written terms, then test the numbers with our holiday entitlement calculator.
Is there a right to time off or extra pay on a bank holiday?
No automatic right to either. Whether someone works a bank holiday, and whether premium pay applies, is set by the contract. Extra bank-holiday pay is common in some sectors, but it is contractual rather than statutory.
How should bank holidays work for part-time staff?
Pro-rata. Part-time workers must not be treated less favourably, and most bank holidays fall on Mondays. Give a proportionate share of the full-time bank-holiday count — 0.6 of 8 is 4.8 days for a three-day week — rather than only the holidays that happen to land on working days.
Keep the rule, owner and people record in one calm place.
HollyHR is in early access for small UK teams. See the relevant product workflow, or tell us what you are trying to improve.