What is the next bank holiday?
The next bank holiday in England is Monday 4 May 2026, the Early May Bank Holiday. It falls on the first Monday of May each year and is observed across all four UK nations — England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland all share this date in 2026.
After 4 May, the picture changes depending on where you live. England and Wales have the same bank holiday dates for most of the year, but Scotland and Northern Ireland both observe additional national days and, crucially, Scotland’s Summer Bank Holiday falls in August on a different Monday to the rest of the UK.
New to the UK? A bank holiday does not automatically mean your employer must give you the day off. Whether you get the day as paid leave depends entirely on your employment contract. Many contracts say “25 days plus bank holidays,” which does include the days — but some contracts fold bank holidays into a total leave allowance. Check your contract first. See our guide to UK work contracts for more detail.
All 2026 bank holiday dates by region
The UK has four separate jurisdictions when it comes to bank holidays. England and Wales always share the same dates. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own lists, set by the Scottish and Northern Irish governments respectively. The table below covers every bank holiday in 2026 for all four nations.
| Date | Holiday | Eng & Wales | Scotland | N. Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 Jan 2026 | New Year’s Day | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fri 2 Jan 2026 | 2nd January (substitute) | — | ✓ | — |
| Tue 17 Mar 2026 | St Patrick’s Day | — | — | ✓ |
| Fri 3 Apr 2026 | Good Friday | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Mon 6 Apr 2026 | Easter Monday | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Mon 4 May 2026 Next | Early May Bank Holiday | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mon 25 May 2026 | Spring Bank Holiday | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mon 3 Aug 2026 | Summer Bank Holiday (Scotland only) | — | ✓ | — |
| Mon 13 Jul 2026 | Battle of the Boyne (substitute Mon) | — | — | ✓ |
| Mon 31 Aug 2026 | Summer Bank Holiday | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Mon 30 Nov 2026 | St Andrew’s Day | — | ✓ | — |
| Fri 25 Dec 2026 | Christmas Day | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mon 28 Dec 2026 | Boxing Day (substitute Mon) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Past dates are shown greyed out. Source: GOV.UK Bank Holidays. Boxing Day falls on Saturday 26 December; the substitute Monday is 28 December.
How Scotland and Northern Ireland differ
Scotland operates under its own legal and administrative system, which is reflected in its bank holidays. The most significant difference for everyday life is the Summer Bank Holiday: Scotland observes it on the first Monday of August (3 August 2026), while England, Wales, and Northern Ireland observe it on the last Monday of August (31 August). If you’re commuting between Scotland and England — for example, working remotely for a Scottish employer while living in England — your bank holiday entitlement follows your employment contract, not your location.
Scotland also does not observe Easter Monday as a bank holiday. If you’re working for a Scottish company, Easter Monday is a normal working day unless your contract states otherwise. On the other hand, Scotland observes 2 January as a holiday (this year falling on Friday, so observed on the working day), a legacy of Hogmanay festivities that stretch into the new year.
Northern Ireland has the most bank holidays of any UK nation — ten in 2026. St Patrick’s Day on 17 March is a public holiday, and the Battle of the Boyne on 11 July (a Saturday in 2026) is observed on the substitute Monday, 13 July. Both dates are significant in Northern Ireland’s cultural and political calendar, and while the Battle of the Boyne observance is sometimes a point of sensitivity, it remains a statutory bank holiday.
Expat tip: If you are new to the UK and have recently started a job, ask your HR department or line manager whether your contract includes bank holidays or folds them into your total leave entitlement. The distinction can mean the difference between 28 days and 36 days of paid leave per year.
What exactly is a bank holiday?
The term “bank holiday” comes from the Bank Holidays Act 1871, introduced by politician Sir John Lubbock — so thoroughly associated with the legislation that bank holidays were informally called “St Lubbock’s Days” for years afterwards. The original four designated days were Easter Monday, Whit Monday, the first Monday in August, and Boxing Day. The act required banks to close on these days, and most businesses followed suit.
Today the term is used interchangeably with “public holiday” in everyday speech, though they are technically distinct: bank holidays are statutory closures originally tied to financial institutions, while public holidays are days on which the public broadly takes time off. In practice, all UK bank holidays are public holidays. Official GOV.UK sources use the term “bank holiday,” and so does employment law.
Bank holidays are set by Royal Proclamation or Act of Parliament. They are not automatically updated each year — the dates for substitute Mondays (when a bank holiday falls on a weekend) are confirmed annually. The GOV.UK bank holidays page is the authoritative source and is updated as dates are confirmed.
Do shops and services close on bank holidays?
There is no blanket rule. Many supermarkets, retail chains, restaurants, and leisure venues remain open on most bank holidays, often with reduced hours. Christmas Day is the notable exception: large shops are legally restricted from trading on Christmas Day in England and Wales under the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004, and many businesses choose to close fully. Boxing Day is not subject to the same restrictions.
Banks, post offices, GP surgeries, and most public services — including DVLA and HMRC phone lines — do close on bank holidays. If you have an urgent financial, medical, or administrative need, plan ahead. Pharmacies operate a rota system on bank holidays; NHS 111 online can direct you to your nearest open pharmacy. Hospitals and emergency services remain operational throughout.
Public transport runs on reduced timetables on bank holidays, particularly on the main rail network. Bus services vary significantly by operator. If you are travelling on a bank holiday, especially Christmas or Easter, check your operator’s bank holiday timetable in advance — services on the day before a bank holiday can also be affected.
Planning time off around bank holidays
For expats who are still building up their annual leave or navigating a new employer’s leave system, bank holidays offer an efficient way to extend short breaks. Booking two or three days’ annual leave around a bank holiday week can create a five or six-day break without using more than a third of a typical monthly leave allowance.
The most popular windows are Easter (the four-day weekend of Good Friday to Easter Monday, though note Scotland only observes Good Friday), the Early May bank holiday into the Spring Bank Holiday at the end of May (booking the two weeks between them can generate a nine-day break with just five days’ leave), and Christmas through to New Year (a long break using relatively few leave days when two substitute Mondays are in play).
How to check your bank holiday entitlement
If you are new to the UK workforce, the question of whether you are actually entitled to bank holidays as paid leave is one of the first things worth confirming. The answer is not automatic — it lives in your contract.
“25 days plus bank holidays” means bank holidays are additional paid days off on top of your annual leave. “28 days including bank holidays” means bank holidays count within your total — you effectively get 20 days to use yourself. The wording matters significantly.
If your employer operates across Scotland and England, or has a head office in a different nation from where you work, your contract should specify which bank holiday calendar you follow. If it does not, ask HR in writing before you assume.
The official GOV.UK bank holidays page is updated whenever substitute days are confirmed. It is the only authoritative source — third-party calendars sometimes carry outdated or incorrect dates, particularly for substitute Mondays.
If the wording is unclear, ask your HR team or line manager in writing. Also confirm whether enhanced pay applies if you are required to work a bank holiday — there is no statutory requirement for enhanced pay, but many contracts do include it.
The rhythm of the UK working year is shaped substantially by its bank holidays — not just as days off, but as shared social reference points. Understanding which days apply to you, and how they interact with your employment contract, is one of the smaller but genuinely useful pieces of knowledge for anyone settling into life in the UK.
The system has quirks worth knowing: the fact that Easter’s dates shift each year, that Scotland and England diverge in August, and that Northern Ireland has its own layer of observances rooted in distinct history. None of it is complicated once you know where to look, but it can catch people out in their first year — particularly the Scotland August Bank Holiday difference, which affects remote and hybrid workers with cross-border teams more than it might appear at first.
The GOV.UK bank holidays page is updated every year and remains the definitive source. Bookmark it, check your employment contract, and if in doubt about whether a day is a bank holiday where you are, look it up rather than assume.
This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute employment or legal advice. Bank holiday dates are sourced from GOV.UK and correct as of April 2026. Your entitlement to paid leave on bank holidays depends on your individual employment contract. Always verify current dates on GOV.UK.