Public holidays
Pick a country and a year to see every public holiday with its date and weekday, the bridge days and how many working days the year has.
Choose a country and a year
Public holidays in the United Kingdom 2026
Holidays
8
On weekdays
8
Working days
253
| Date | Weekday | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January Thursday | Thursday | New Year’s Day |
| 3 April Friday | Friday | Good Friday |
| 6 April Monday | Monday | Easter Monday |
| 4 May Monday | Monday | Early May bank holiday |
| 25 May Monday | Monday | Spring bank holiday |
| 31 August Monday | Monday | Summer bank holiday |
| 25 December Friday | Friday | Christmas Day |
| 28 December Monday | Monday | Boxing Day (substitute day) |
Bridge days
- Friday 2 January the day after New Year’s Day
Holidays in some regions only
These days are off only in part of the country. Choose a region in the working days calculator or the bridge days planner to count with them.
| Date | Holiday | Applies in |
|---|---|---|
| 2 January Friday | 2nd January | Scotland |
| 17 March Tuesday | St Patrick’s Day | Northern Ireland |
| 15 June Monday | World Cup bank holiday | Scotland |
| 13 July Monday | Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day) (substitute day) | Northern Ireland |
| 3 August Monday | Summer bank holiday | Scotland |
| 30 November Monday | St Andrew’s Day | Scotland |
Good to know
The list covers England and Wales. Scotland has 2 January and St Andrew’s Day but not Easter Monday, and its summer bank holiday is at the start of August. Northern Ireland also has St Patrick’s Day and the Battle of the Boyne. When a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the next weekday is a substitute day off.
The same year in other countries
How it works
A public holiday is a day the law treats as a holiday. Eves, and days off that come only from collective agreements, are not counted.
Easter decides several of the holidays, depending on the country: Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension Day and Whitsun. By the church’s rule, Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox on 21 March, so these days move between March and June from year to year.
A bridge day is a weekday between a holiday and the weekend, such as the Friday after Ascension Day. Taking that day off gives four days off in a row.
Working days are the weekdays of the year, Monday to Friday, less the holidays that fall on a weekday.
Sources
- GOV.UK – UK bank holidays
- Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, Schedule 1
- Lag (1989:253) om allmänna helgdagar
- Lovdata – Lov om helligdager og helligdagsfred, § 2 (helligdager)
- Lov nr. 214 af 6. marts 2023 – afskaffelsen af store bededag, § 7 (helligdagene opregnet)
- Einigungsvertrag, Artikel 2 Absatz 2 – Tag der Deutschen Einheit (3. Oktober)
- Algemene termijnenwet, artikel 3 (algemeen erkende feestdagen)
- Legge 27 maggio 1949, n. 260, art. 2 – giorni festivi
- Légifrance – Article L3133-1 du code du travail (jours fériés)
- Lei nº 662/1949 (feriados nacionais)
- Código do Trabalho (Lei n.º 7/2009), art. 234.º (feriados obrigatórios em Portugal)
- Ustawa z dnia 18 stycznia 1951 r. o dniach wolnych od pracy, art. 1
- Real Decreto 2001/1983 – fiestas laborales de ámbito nacional (art. 45)
- Ley Federal del Trabajo, art. 74 (días de descanso obligatorios)
- Codul muncii (Legea nr. 53/2003), art. 139 – zilele de sărbătoare legală
- 5 U.S. Code § 6103 – Holidays