UK Bank Holidays 2026

Official bank holidays in the United Kingdom for 2026

• 1 January (Wednesday): New Year’s Day (UK)
• 2 January (Friday): 2^nd January (Scotland)
• 17 March (Tuesday): St Patrick’s Day (Northern Ireland)
• 3 April (Friday): Good Friday (UK)
• 6 April (Monday): Easter Monday (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
• 4 May (Monday): Early May bank holiday (UK)
• 25 May (Monday): Spring bank holiday (UK)
• 13 July (Monday): Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day) (substitute day, Northern Ireland)
• 3 August (Monday): Summer bank holiday (Scotland)
• 31 August (Monday): Summer bank holiday (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
• 30 November (Monday): St Andrew’s Day (Scotland)
• 25 December (Friday): Christmas Day (UK)
• 28 December (Monday): Boxing Day (substitute day, UK)

Useful links:

• UK bank holidays (GOV.UK, official government page): https://www.gov.uk/bank-holidays
• Add bank holidays to your calendar (ICS format for iCal/Outlook, via GOV.UK):
  • England and Wales: https://www.gov.uk/bank-holidays/england-and-wales.ics
  • Scotland: https://www.gov.uk/bank-holidays/scotland.ics
  • Northern Ireland: https://www.gov.uk/bank-holidays/northern-ireland.ics
• Download our “UK Bank Holidays – 2026” calendar in PDF format here: https://www.bizuking.com/bizuking-uk-bank-holidays-2026-pdf

Did you know…?

• In the United Kingdom, there is no automatic right to time off on bank holidays. However, banks close, and most of the working population is granted time off or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contracts.
• Each nation in the UK defines its own bank holidays:
  • England and Wales share the same bank holidays (8 per year).
  • Scotland defines 9 bank holidays per year.
  • Northern Ireland defines 10 bank holidays per year.
• Some bank holidays don’t have a specific day of the week (New Year’s Day, St Patrick’s Day, St Andrew’s Day, Christmas Day or Boxing Day). If any of these days fall on a weekend, it will be moved to the next Monday (substitute day).
• Good Friday and Easter Monday are set yearly according to the Western Christian tradition.
• For practical reasons, the remaining bank holidays are scheduled for Mondays. For example, the Early May bank holiday falls on the first Monday of May.