Website of the UK government

Bank holiday dates

The expected dates of bank and public holidays in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland for the next three years are listed below.

When the usual date of a bank or public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, a 'substitute day' is given, normally the following Monday. For example in 2009, Boxing Day is actually on Saturday, 26 December, so there is a substitute bank holiday on Monday, 28 December.

There are currently eight permanent bank holidays in England and Wales:

In Northern Ireland, there are ten permanent bank holidays - the same eight as in England and Wales, plus St Patrick's Day and the Anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690:

There are nine statutory bank holidays across the whole of Scotland. There are also other public or local holidays which can be determined by local authorities, based on local tradition. Since 2007, St Andrew's Day has been an alternative, voluntary public holiday, which can replace an existing local holiday.

Businesses and schools are not necessarily closed on Scottish bank holidays, and the Scottish banks follow the English and Welsh bank holidays for business reasons. For more information about Scottish holidays, see the 'Bank holidays in Scotland' link below.

• Bank holidays in Scotland Opens new window

Special bank holidays

There are laws that allow the dates of bank holidays to be changed, or other holidays to be declared, for example to celebrate special occasions.

The most recent examples of special bank holidays were for the Royal Wedding in 1981, the Millennium holiday in 1999 and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002.

Time off for employees

You don't have an automatic right to paid leave on bank and public holidays, though many people receive the day off work. Any right to time off or extra pay for working on a bank holiday depends on the terms of your contract of employment.

For more information about your right to paid leave, see 'Holiday entitlements'.

• Holiday entitlements (employment section)

British Summer Time

British Summer Time (BST) starts on the last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in October, at 1.00 am Greenwich Mean Time (GMT):

• in spring the clocks go forward, losing an hour - at 1.00 am GMT the UK moves to 2.00 am BST
• in autumn the clocks go back, giving an extra hour - at 2.00 am BST the UK moves to 1.00 am GMT

In the next three years, the summer time periods begin and end on the following dates:

More useful links

• School holidays and term dates (parents section)
• Journey planner (travel and transport section)
• Leisure and recreation (home and community section)
• Out-of-hours doctors and medical emergencies (health and well-being section)