UK bank holidays
Bank holidays 2027: every UK date by nation
England and Wales have 8 bank holidays in 2027, Scotland has 9 and Northern Ireland has 10. Christmas Day and Boxing Day fall on a Saturday and Sunday, so the bank holidays move to Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December. Ireland’s 10 public holidays are listed too.
Checked against GOV.UK on 14 November 2026
Bank holidays 2027 in England and Wales
8 days
Bank holidays in England and Wales in 2027
| Date | Day | Bank holiday |
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| 1 January | Friday | New Year’s Day |
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| 26 March | Friday | Good Friday |
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| 29 March | Monday | Easter Monday |
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| 3 May | Monday | Early May bank holiday |
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| 31 May | Monday | Spring bank holiday |
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| 30 August | Monday | Summer bank holiday |
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| 27 December | Monday | Christmas DaySubstitute day |
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| 28 December | Tuesday | Boxing DaySubstitute day |
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England and Wales share the same dates. Source: GOV.UK bank holidays. Jump to Scotland, Northern Ireland or Ireland.
9 bank holidays
Bank holidays 2027 in Scotland
Scotland has no Easter Monday bank holiday, and its summer bank holiday comes at the start of August: Monday 2 August in 2027. St Andrew’s Day adds Tuesday 30 November. 2 January is a Saturday, so that bank holiday moves to Monday 4 January.
Bank holidays in Scotland in 2027
| Date | Day | Bank holiday |
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| 1 January | Friday | New Year’s Day |
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| 4 January | Monday | 2nd JanuarySubstitute day |
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| 26 March | Friday | Good Friday |
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| 3 May | Monday | Early May bank holiday |
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| 31 May | Monday | Spring bank holiday |
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| 2 August | Monday | Summer bank holiday |
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| 30 November | Tuesday | St Andrew’s Day |
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| 27 December | Monday | Christmas DaySubstitute day |
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| 28 December | Tuesday | Boxing DaySubstitute day |
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Source: GOV.UK bank holidays, Scotland.
10 bank holidays
Bank holidays 2027 in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland has the same 8 dates as England and Wales and two of its own: St Patrick’s Day on Wednesday 17 March and the Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day) on Monday 12 July.
Bank holidays in Northern Ireland in 2027
| Date | Day | Bank holiday |
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| 1 January | Friday | New Year’s Day |
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| 17 March | Wednesday | St Patrick’s Day |
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| 26 March | Friday | Good Friday |
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| 29 March | Monday | Easter Monday |
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| 3 May | Monday | Early May bank holiday |
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| 31 May | Monday | Spring bank holiday |
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| 12 July | Monday | Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day) |
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| 30 August | Monday | Summer bank holiday |
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| 27 December | Monday | Christmas DaySubstitute day |
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| 28 December | Tuesday | Boxing DaySubstitute day |
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Source: GOV.UK bank holidays, Northern Ireland.
10 public holidays
Public holidays 2027 in Ireland
Good Friday is not a public holiday in Ireland. Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day fall on a Saturday and Sunday in 2027, and Ireland does not move a public holiday to the next weekday. Staff still get the benefit of the day in another form, such as a paid day off within a month or an extra day of annual leave.
Public holidays in Ireland in 2027
| Date | Day | Public holiday |
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| 1 January | Friday | New Year’s Day |
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| 1 February | Monday | St Brigid’s Day |
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| 17 March | Wednesday | St Patrick’s Day |
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| 29 March | Monday | Easter Monday |
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| 3 May | Monday | May bank holiday |
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| 7 June | Monday | June bank holiday |
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| 2 August | Monday | August bank holiday |
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| 25 October | Monday | October bank holiday |
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| 25 December | Saturday | Christmas DayNo substitute day |
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| 26 December | Sunday | St Stephen’s DayNo substitute day |
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Source: Citizens Information: public holidays.
Weekend dates
Which 2027 bank holidays are substitute days?
When a UK bank holiday lands on a weekend, a weekday becomes the bank holiday in its place, normally the following Monday. Three of the bank holidays in 2027 are substitute days.
Substitute bank holidays in 2027
| Bank holiday on | Stands in for | Where |
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| Mon 4 January | 2nd JanuarySaturday 2 January | Scotland |
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| Mon 27 December | Christmas DaySaturday 25 December | All of the UK |
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| Tue 28 December | Boxing DaySunday 26 December | All of the UK |
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The same thing happens a few days later. New Year’s Day 2028 is a Saturday, so the bank holiday is Monday 3 January 2028. Scotland’s 2nd January holiday moves as well, to Tuesday 4 January 2028.
Your leave year
How many bank holidays fall in your leave year?
A leave year that runs from April to March does not always hold 8 bank holidays. In England and Wales it holds 10 in 2026/27 and 6 in 2027/28.
Number of bank holidays by leave year and nation
| Leave year | England & Wales | Scotland | N. Ireland |
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| January to December 2027 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
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| April 2026 to March 2027two Easters | 10 | 11 | 12 |
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| April 2027 to March 2028no Easter | 6 | 8 | 8 |
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Counted from the GOV.UK bank holiday list on 14 November 2026. A leave year that starts on the first of any other month in 2027 has the usual 8, 9 and 10.
Why the count moves
Two Easters in one leave year, none in the next
Easter 2027 is early: Good Friday is 26 March and Easter Monday is 29 March. Easter 2028 is late: Good Friday is 14 April and Easter Monday is 17 April. A leave year from April 2026 to March 2027 therefore holds two Easters, and the year from April 2027 to March 2028 holds none.
Scotland’s 2026/27 figure also includes the one-off World Cup bank holiday on Monday 15 June 2026.
Count any leave-year start in the free 2027 staff holiday planner →
What to check
Contracts that give “20 days plus bank holidays”
In England and Wales that wording gives 26 days in a leave year from April 2027 to March 2028. The legal minimum for someone working a five-day week is 28 days, and bank holidays can count towards it, so the employer has to add 2 days for that year. In Scotland and Northern Ireland the year holds 8 bank holidays and the same wording still reaches 28.
20 days + 6 bank holidays = 26 days
Statutory minimum = 28 days
To add for 2027/28 = 2 days
Check the minimum on GOV.UK →
Long breaks
The best days to book off in 2027
Three or four days of leave next to a bank holiday gives a break of 9 or 10 days. The table assumes a Monday to Friday week in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Days to book off around each 2027 bank holiday
| Break | Book these days | Leave used | Days off in a row |
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| Easter | Tue 30 March to Fri 2 April | 4 days | 10 daysFri 26 March to Sun 4 April |
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| Early May bank holiday | Tue 4 to Fri 7 May | 4 days | 9 daysSat 1 to Sun 9 May |
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| Spring bank holiday | Tue 1 to Fri 4 June | 4 days | 9 daysSat 29 May to Sun 6 June |
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| August bank holiday | Tue 31 August to Fri 3 September | 4 days | 9 daysSat 28 August to Sun 5 September |
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| Christmas and New Year | Wed 29 to Fri 31 December | 3 days | 10 daysSat 25 December to Mon 3 January 2028 |
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| All five breaks | | 19 days | 47 days |
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In Scotland the dates differ at Easter and in August, and the Christmas break runs a day longer, to Tuesday 4 January 2028. If you manage a team, these are the weeks when leave requests will overlap, so agree cover early. The free planner lets you see who is off on the same days.
Your rights
Do staff have a right to bank holidays off?
No. An employer does not have to give bank holidays as paid leave. Whether you get the day off, and what you are paid if you work it, depends on your contract.
An employer can also count bank holidays as part of the 5.6 weeks of statutory leave, which is 28 days for someone working five days a week. The holiday entitlement calculator gives the minimum for any working pattern.
GOV.UK: holiday entitlement →
Part-time
Bank holidays for part-time staff
Five of the eight bank holidays in England and Wales fall on a Monday in 2027, two on a Friday and one on a Tuesday. For someone who works Wednesday to Friday, only two of them land on a working day.
The standard approach is a pro rata share: three days a week gets 3/5 of 8, which is 4.8 days. The pro rata bank holiday calculator works it out for any pattern, and there are worked examples for 2 days, 3 days and 4 days a week.
Looking ahead
Bank holidays 2028
England and Wales have 8 bank holidays in 2028. New Year’s Day is a Saturday, so the first is the substitute day on Monday 3 January.
Scotland has 9. It adds Tuesday 4 January, Monday 7 August and Thursday 30 November, and has no bank holiday on Easter Monday or 28 August.
Northern Ireland has 10: the England and Wales dates plus Friday 17 March and Wednesday 12 July.
Bank holidays in England and Wales in 2028
| Date | Day | Bank holiday |
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| 3 January | Monday | New Year’s DaySubstitute day |
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| 14 April | Friday | Good Friday |
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| 17 April | Monday | Easter Monday |
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| 1 May | Monday | Early May bank holiday |
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| 29 May | Monday | Spring bank holiday |
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| 28 August | Monday | Summer bank holiday |
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| 25 December | Monday | Christmas Day |
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| 26 December | Tuesday | Boxing Day |
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Bank holidays 2027: common questions
When is Easter 2027?
Good Friday is 26 March 2027, Easter Sunday is 28 March and Easter Monday is 29 March. Good Friday is a bank holiday across the UK. Easter Monday is a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and a public holiday in Ireland, but not in Scotland.
When are the May bank holidays in 2027?
The early May bank holiday is Monday 3 May 2027 and the spring bank holiday is Monday 31 May 2027. Both apply across the UK. Ireland has Monday 3 May, then its June bank holiday on Monday 7 June.
When is the August bank holiday in 2027?
Monday 30 August 2027 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland the summer bank holiday is Monday 2 August 2027, which is also the August bank holiday in Ireland.
Is there an extra bank holiday in 2027?
None has been announced. On 14 November 2026 GOV.UK listed the usual 8 bank holidays for England and Wales, 9 for Scotland and 10 for Northern Ireland. One-off bank holidays have been added before, such as the World Cup bank holiday in Scotland on 15 June 2026, so look at GOV.UK before you book travel.
What happens when a bank holiday falls on a weekend?
In the UK a weekday becomes the bank holiday in its place, normally the following Monday. Christmas Day and Boxing Day 2027 are a Saturday and Sunday, so the bank holidays are Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December. Ireland does not do this: the public holiday stays on the weekend and staff get the benefit of it another way.
Free tools
A planner and calculators for these dates. No sign-up.
Put the bank holidays on a wall chart, then work out the right allowance for each person, with the working shown at every step.
- Dates from GOV.UK and Citizens Information
- Working shown at every step
- No account, no email capture
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