Complete List of UK Bank Holidays for 2025 and 2026

Full List of UK Bank Holidays 2025 and 2026

You will have slightly different bank holidays in the UK depending on where you live. We’ve broken down UK bank holidays based on region so you can have a quick overview of the upcoming days off.

England & Wales

2025 Bank Holidays in England & Wales

2026 Bank Holidays in England & Wales

*Boxing Day is observed on Monday, December 28th, because the 26th falls on a Saturday so the bank holiday is moved to the following Monday.

Scotland

2025 Bank Holidays in Scotland

2026 Bank Holidays in Scotland

Bank Holidays in Northern Ireland

2025 Bank Holidays in Northern Ireland

2026 Bank Holidays in Northern Ireland

How do you maximise your annual leave?

2025

England & Wales

You can request 27 days of holiday and have 35 working days off. Here’s how you can do it:

• 14-17 April and 22-25 April: taking eight days of leave around the Easter weekend gives you two whole weeks
• 6-19 May: taking four days of leave after the Early May Bank Holiday gives you a whole week
• 27-30 May: taking four days of leave after the Monday Spring Bank Holiday gives you a whole week
• 26-29 August: taking four days of leave after the Summer Bank Holiday gives you a whole week
• 22-24 December and 29-31 December: taking six days of leave before and after Christmas gives you eight days out of the office; if you take seven days and book off 2 January, you end up with two weeks of leave

Scotland

You can request 31 days of holiday and have 40 working days off. Here’s how you can do it:

• 14-17 April and 22-25 April: taking eight days of leave around the Easter weekend gives you two whole weeks
• 6-19 May: taking four days of leave after the Early May Bank Holiday gives you a whole week
• 27-30 May: taking four days of leave after the Monday Spring Bank Holiday gives you a whole week
• 5-8 August: taking four days of leave after the Summer Bank Holiday gives you a whole week
• 2-5 December: taking four days leave after the St Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday gives you a whole week
• 22-24 December and 29-31 December: taking six days of leave before and after Christmas gives you eight days out of the office; if you take seven days and book off 2 January, you end up with two weeks of leave

Northern Ireland

You can request 35 days of holiday and have 45 working days off. Here’s how you can do it:

• 14-17 April and 22-25 April: taking eight days of leave around the Easter weekend gives you two whole weeks
• 6-19 May: taking four days of leave after the Early May Bank Holiday gives you a whole week
• 27-30 May: taking four days of leave after the Monday Spring Bank Holiday gives you a whole week
• 15-16 July: taking four days of leave after the Battle of the Boyne Holiday gives you a whole week
• 26-29 August: taking four days of leave after the Summer Bank Holiday gives you a whole week
• 22-24 December and 29-31 December: taking six days of leave before and after Christmas gives you eight days out of the office; if you take seven days and book off 2 January, you end up with two weeks of leave

2026

England & Wales

You can request 28 days of holiday and enjoy 58 consecutive working days off. Here’s how you can do it:

• 1-4 January: taking 1 day off on 2nd January will give you 4 days off.
• 30 March-2 April and 7-10 April: taking 4 days off between Easter holidays can give you a total of 16 days.
• 5-9 May: taking 4 days off after the Early May Bank Holiday will give you a total of 9 consecutive days off.
• 26-29 May: taking 4 days off will give you a total of 9 consecutive days off.
• 1-4 Sept: taking 4 days off after the Spring Bank Holiday will give you a total of 9 days off.
• 21-24 and 29-31 December: taking 4 days off before Christmas and 3 days off after Boxing Day (substitute day) will give you 13 days off. *An additional 3 days if you count 1st January 2027 which is on a Friday and the weekend.

Scotland

You can request 27 days of holiday and enjoy 62 consecutive working days off. Here’s how you can do it:

• 30-31 March and 1-2 April: taking off 4 days before Good Friday will give you 9 consecutive days off.
• 5-8 May: taking 4 days off after the Early May Bank Holiday will give you 9 days off.
• 26-29 May: taking 4 days off after the Spring Bank Holiday will give you 9 days off.
• 4 -7 August: taking 4 days off after the Summer Bank Holiday will give you 9 days off.
• 1-4 December: taking 4 days off St. Andrew’s Day will give you 9 days off work.
• 21-24 and 29-31 December: taking off 7 days in total (4 days before Christmas and Boxing Day) will give you 13 days off work to end the year. *An additional 3 days if you count 1st January 2027 which is on a Friday and the weekend.

Northern Ireland

You can request 36 days of holiday and enjoy 77 consecutive working days off. Here’s how you can do it:

• 2 January: taking 1 day off after New Year’s Day will give you a total of 4 days off work.
• 16 and 18-20 March: taking a total of 4 days off before and after St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th will give you 9 consecutive days off work.
• 30-31 March and 1-2 and 7-10 April: taking a total of 8 days off before and after Good Friday and Easter Monday in April will give you a total of 14 days off.
• 5-8 May: taking 4 days off after Early May Bank Holiday will give you a total of 9 days off.
• 26-29 May: taking 4 days off after Spring Bank Holiday will give you a total of 9 days off.
• 14-17 July: taking 4 days off after Battle of the Boyne (Organemen’s Day) will give you a total of 9 days off.
• 1-4 September: taking 4 days off after the Summer Bank Holiday will give you a total of 9 days off.
• 21-14 and 29-31 December: taking a total of 7 days off before and after Christmas and Boxing Day will give you 13 consecutive days off. *An additional 3 days if you count 1st January 2027 which is on a Friday and the weekend.

Employee Rights: Bank Holidays

There is no statutory right to take leave on a bank holiday. Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, employers can decide whether bank holidays are included in the annual leave allowance or offered as unpaid time off.

Employees cannot refuse to work if an employer has made it clear in their terms of employment that the employee is required to work on a bank holiday. However, employers should be aware that refusing religious employees time off for any of the bank holidays that have a religious significance could be seen as indirect religious discrimination. The Equality Act 2010 protects workers against direct and indirect discrimination.

Part-Time Workers and Bank Holidays

Part-time employees have the same rights to annual leave as full-time employees under the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000. However, these rights are based on a pro-rata basis, meaning that the amount of holiday you are entitled to is proportional to your work hours.

To adhere to government regulations, companies should offer part-time employees a prorated allowance of paid bank holidays regardless of whether they are scheduled to work on that holiday.

Annual Leave Management with Factorial

Managing annual leave is a complicated business for HR teams and managers. It becomes even more complex when you start dealing with bank holidays, part-time employees and other types of leave, such as parental or carer’s leave.

Our Holiday and Absence Management Software allows you to centralise and automate the process and keep track of employee time off from one centralised team calendar, giving you complete visibility over upcoming time off.

Book a free demo to speak to an expert about how this tool can streamline how you manage leave requests

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FAQs

When is the next bank holiday in 2025?

Wednesday, 1st January 2025 (New Year’s Day) is the first bank holiday in 2025.

How many bank holidays will there be in 2025?

The number of bank holidays varies depending on where you live in the UK.

For England and Wales, there will be eight bank holidays in 2025. For Scotland, there will be nine. For Northern Ireland, there will be ten.

How many bank holidays in 2026?

In 2026, there will be eight bank holidays in England and Wales, nine in Scotland, and ten in Northern Ireland.

What are the bank holidays for Easter in 2025?

In 2025, the UK has two bank holidays during Easter: Friday, April 18th (Good Friday) and Monday, April 21st (Easter Monday).

How can I maximise my leave for 2025?

You can maximise your leave with the 2025 bank holidays by taking annual leave in the weeks when there is a bank holiday. For example, if there is a bank holiday on a Monday, you can take four days’ leave rather than five and have the whole week off.

Is May 1st always a bank holiday?

The early May bank holiday is always on a Monday near the 1 May. The actual date of the Monday bank holiday is only sometimes 1 May.

Which UK country has the most bank holidays?

Northern Ireland has the most bank holidays: ten, compared to nine in Scotland and eight in England.

Is it double pay on bank holidays?

There is no statutory right to extra pay for working on a bank holiday; extra payments are dependent on an individual’s contract. However, workers in essential services such as the police, fire, ambulance, or healthcare usually receive additional pay for working on bank holidays.

When are the UK school holidays?

The local council sets UK school holidays for state schools. Private schools can set their holidays. To learn about UK school holidays, search for the specific area you are interested in.

What if a public holiday falls on a weekend?

If a bank holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it is moved to the next working day. This can be a Friday, but it is usually a Monday.