England & Wales Bank Holidays & Public Holidays 2026: All 8 Official Dates

England and Wales have 8 public holidays (bank holidays) in 2026. The two nations share an identical calendar — every date and every substitute day is the same across England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland observe different dates; see the nation links above for those calendars.

England & Wales public holiday dates 2026

Each public holiday explained

New Year's Day — 1 January (Thursday)

New Year's Day is a bank holiday across all four UK nations. In 2026 it falls on a Thursday, which means it does not require a substitute. It is the only bank holiday in January in England and Wales — unlike Scotland, which also observes 2nd January as a separate public holiday.

Good Friday — 3 April (Friday)

Good Friday is technically a common law holiday rather than a statutory bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, but it appears on the official gov.uk list and is universally observed. It is the first of the two Easter bank holidays and falls on the Friday before Easter Sunday. Good Friday is observed across all four UK nations. In 2026 Easter Sunday falls on 5 April, making Good Friday 3 April.

Easter Monday — 6 April (Monday)

Easter Monday is the second Easter bank holiday and falls the day after Easter Sunday. It is observed in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, but not in Scotland. In 2026 it falls on 6 April, completing a four-day Easter weekend from Friday to Monday. This is one of only two four-day bank holiday weekends in 2026 in England and Wales — the other is Christmas.

Early May bank holiday — 4 May (Monday)

The Early May bank holiday always falls on the first Monday of May. In 2026 that is 4 May. It was introduced in 1978 and replaced the old Whit Monday bank holiday. In most years it falls close to May Day (1 May), the traditional international workers' holiday, though it is not officially connected to it. It is observed across all four UK nations.

Spring bank holiday — 25 May (Monday)

The Spring bank holiday falls on the last Monday of May — 25 May in 2026. It is sometimes called the Whitsun holiday, a name that dates from its origin as a replacement for the traditional Whit Monday observance. Together with the Early May bank holiday it gives England and Wales two three-day weekends in the same month, which makes May the most bank holiday-dense month of the year outside the Christmas period. In most years the government observes this date without change, though in 2022 it was moved to create a long weekend for the Platinum Jubilee.

Summer bank holiday — 31 August (Monday)

The Summer bank holiday always falls on the last Monday of August in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland — 31 August in 2026. This is one of the most significant differences between England and Scotland: Scotland's Summer bank holiday falls on the first Monday of August (3 August 2026), four weeks earlier. If you work for a company with offices in both nations, your contract will specify which date you observe.

Christmas Day — 25 December (Friday)

Christmas Day is a bank holiday across all four UK nations. Like Good Friday, it is technically a common law holiday, though it appears on all official listings. In 2026 it falls on a Friday, which means no substitute is needed — the Christmas and Boxing Day bank holidays land on Friday 25 and Monday 28 December, creating a natural four-day weekend.

Boxing Day (substitute) — 28 December (Monday)

Boxing Day is 26 December. In 2026 it falls on a Saturday, so the bank holiday is observed on Monday 28 December instead. This substitute day carries the same employment rights as the original date. Your employer must treat 28 December as the Boxing Day bank holiday for leave purposes — it cannot substitute a different day. The result is a four-day Christmas and Boxing Day weekend: Friday 25, Saturday 26 (non-working Boxing Day), Sunday 27, Monday 28 (bank holiday).

Long weekends in England & Wales 2026

Every bank holiday in England and Wales falls on a Monday (or Friday for Good Friday and Christmas), which means each one creates a three-day weekend — or in the case of Easter and Christmas, a four-day weekend. Here are all six bank holiday periods for 2026:

St George's Day and St David's Day

England and Wales are unusual among UK nations in that neither observes its national day as a bank holiday. St George's Day (23 April) is England's national day, and St David's Day (1 March) is Wales's national day — but both are ordinary working days.

By contrast, Scotland has had St Andrew's Day (30 November) as a statutory bank holiday since 2007, and Northern Ireland observes St Patrick's Day (17 March) as a bank holiday. There is periodic political debate about extending the same recognition to St George's and St David's Day, but as of 2026 no legislation has been enacted in either case. For expats from countries where national days are public holidays by default, this can come as a surprise.

Bank holidays and your rights at work

There is no automatic legal right to take bank holidays off in England and Wales. Your entitlement depends on your employment contract. Employers must provide a minimum of 5.6 weeks of annual leave per year for full-time workers, but they can structure this in two ways: including bank holidays within that 5.6 weeks, or granting bank holidays on top as additional days. Both approaches are legal — your contract must make clear which applies.

If your contract says "25 days plus bank holidays," bank holidays are extra. If it says "33 days," that figure almost certainly includes bank holidays — you should confirm this with your employer or HR team. There is no legal requirement to pay extra (such as double time) for working on a bank holiday. Any enhanced pay is a contractual benefit, not a statutory right. For more on UK employment rights, see our Working in the UK section, which covers work contracts, employment status, and pay in full.

Eight bank holidays a year places England and Wales among the countries with the fewest statutory public holidays in Europe and the G20. That is a factual starting point worth knowing, not a complaint — the UK system is what it is, and the two May bank holidays, in particular, are well-timed. Having two consecutive three-day weekends in the same month is something many European countries with more total holidays do not have.

For expats, the main practical tasks are straightforward: verify how your contract treats bank holidays before your first one arrives, know which substitute dates apply when Christmas or Boxing Day falls on a weekend, and be aware that if you are moving between nations — or working remotely for an employer based in a different nation — your bank holiday calendar may not match your neighbour's. The dates on this page are the official England and Wales list. Everything else is contract law.

If you are still planning your move, the UK Relocation Guide covers the wider picture of settling in, and the Visas & Immigration section has every UK visa route explained. For things to do over a bank holiday weekend, the Lifestyle and Living sections of the Expat Directory are a useful starting point.

Frequently asked questions