United Kingdom Bank Holidays

View all UK bank holidays and public holidays comfortably in year calendar. Plan holidays and see dates in year calendar view. Do not miss next bank holiday and enjoy your free time.

Most businesses and non-essentials are usually put to halt on public holidays in the United Kingdom. Nonetheless, there would always be few retail businesses functioning across the United Kingdom - exceptionally large firms or retail shops in popular places for tourist.

Regional Variations

• Dates or time of celebration at times could defer among the independent nations under the United Kingdom as in Great Britain comprises England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, while New Year’s Day and Christmas Day are national holidays. Nonetheless, other bank holidays are not given official recognition to be a national holiday as the Scots have their conventional local custom in celebrating their public holidays.
• Bank holidays, unlike New Year’s Day and Christmas, are not regarded for holidays in Northern Ireland. Directly, this is not the case with the other three independent States under the umbrella of the United Kingdom: England, Wales, and Scotland.
• Scots do not recognize both of the Good Friday and Christmas Day as standard enough for national holidays as they do Bank holiday, but the remaining three States recognize both Good Friday and Christmas Day as a public holiday.
• 1st January (or 2nd January if 1st January is Sunday) is statutory for Scots for a holiday. Nonetheless, in the situation, New Year’s Day falls on a weekend or a non-working day, by Royal Proclamation, if it falls on Saturday, even after Sunday, the Monday that follows would be regarded as holiday and if it is on Sunday, Monday would be given as a break nationally too. And the same applies to other states by Royal Proclamation; there will have to be a substitute holiday when it falls on a non-working day. Based on the Gregorian calendar, this is to allow people to enjoy a day off even if the 1st falls on a non-working day.
• Both of the 25th December and/ or the 26th December is considered a statutory holiday as if both or one falls on a non-working day in Scotland, by Royal Proclamation a day –the immediately following day would be given as off nationally. All this is to ensure the citizens of Scotland have a day off each for both Christmas and Boxing Day on the regular working day of the week in the situation the holidays, based on Gregorian calendar falls on both of the non-working days of the week - Saturday and then Sunday.
• In the rest States in the United Kingdom excluding Scotland, if both Christmas Day and Boxing Day fall on non-working days, one day are added by Royal Proclamation for a holiday. In other words, if Christmas falls on Saturday, there would be a holiday on both 26th and 27th, and the same applies for Boxing day. This is made plausible by the Royal Proclamation to allow the peoples of the United Kingdom to enjoy a day off on the regular working day.

Notes:

• Right before the current date for the celebration or recognition of August Bank holiday is being certified in 1971, between 1968-69, the celebration was agreed to take place in September. This was due to the decision to snooze the holiday to the end of the month and the nearest Monday being considered.
• For the sake of celebrating the wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Philip, 14th November 1973 was considered a special bank holiday.
• Just as part of the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, the 7th June 1977 was made a special bank holiday in the United Kingdom.
• On 29th July 1981, the wedding between Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer led to an extra bank holiday. This is quite historic.
• The May Day bank holiday was moved in the year 1995 to the 8th May for the 50th VE Day anniversary.
• As being part of the Millennium celebrations, the 31st December 1999 was recognized as a one-off bank holiday.
• To recognize the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in the year 2002, there was a need for dedicating the 3rd of June. The 27th May Spring Bank Holiday was moved to 4th June which then made it a four-day weekend.
• The 29th April 2011 was recognized as a special day/holiday as it was intended for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.
• In the name of celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, in the year 2012, 5th June, there was a need for a special holiday. So, the Spring Bank holiday that was supposed to hold in May was snoozed to 4th June 2012, which made it a four-day weekend then.
• And in the year 2020, it has been approved that May Bank holiday which is supposed to come up on the 4th May to take place on the 8th of the same month in the commemoration of the VE Day 75th anniversary.
• In 2022, United Kingdom has a special holiday on Friday, 3 June, to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The Spring Bank Holiday will be moved to Thursday, 2 June that people can enjoy a four-day weekend.