United Kingdom Public Holidays
The United Kingdom has 8 national public holidays on the list below for 2026, but it does not have one calendar: bank holidays are set separately for each uk nation. Over the years covered here the calendar draws on 8 recurring holidays. 3 sit on the same calendar date every year, while 5 move (Linked to Easter and Set weekday of the month). On top of that, 5 further public holidays are observed in some nations and jurisdictions only.
Which public holidays does United Kingdom have?
Every recurring national public holiday, how its date is decided, and the date it lands on in 2025, 2026 and 2027. Dates are computed from the rule, so Easter-linked and moon-linked holidays are correct for each individual year.
| Holiday | How the date is set | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Same date every year | |||
| Good Friday | Linked to Easter | |||
| Easter Monday | Linked to Easter | |||
| Early May bank holiday | Set weekday of the month | |||
| Spring bank holiday | Set weekday of the month | |||
| Summer bank holiday | Set weekday of the month | |||
| Christmas Day | Same date every year | observed, moved | ||
| Boxing Day | Same date every year | observed, moved | observed, moved |
Which British holidays are national and which are regional?
There is no single UK-wide bank holiday list. England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each have their own, and they differ: Scotland takes its Summer bank holiday on the first Monday in August rather than the last, and adds 2 January, while Northern Ireland adds St Patrick's Day and the Twelfth of July. The list below is the England and Wales calendar, which is the one most people mean by UK bank holidays.
The table above is the national calendar. Separately, this dataset tracks 5 nations and jurisdictions of United Kingdom, and 5 further public holidays are observed in some of them but not nationwide in 2026. If you are planning around a specific place, add the relevant rows below to the national list.
| Regional holiday | Date in 2026 | Observed in |
|---|---|---|
| January 2nd | Scotland | |
| St Patrick’s Day | Northern Ireland | |
| Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day) | Northern Ireland | |
| St Andrew’s Day | Scotland | |
| Homecoming Day | Alderney |
Regional coverage is only as complete as the underlying open dataset, so treat this as a strong indication rather than a legal source. Confirm with the relevant local or regional authority in United Kingdom before you rely on a single date.
Which holidays move each year, and why?
5 of the 8 recurring holidays land on a different date each year. Here is the rule behind each group.
Same date every year (3)
The holiday is tied to one calendar date, so it lands on a different weekday each year but never changes date. In United Kingdom this covers New Year's Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Set weekday of the month (3)
The rule names a weekday rather than a date, for example the third Monday in January, so the calendar date changes every year while the weekday stays the same. In United Kingdom this covers Early May bank holiday, Spring bank holiday and Summer bank holiday.
Linked to Easter (2)
The date is counted from Easter Sunday, which is the Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon falling on or after 21 March, so it swings between late March and late April. In United Kingdom this covers Good Friday and Easter Monday.
Corrections applied to the United Kingdom calendar
These dates start from the open date-holidays dataset, which is a good general source but is wrong or incomplete for a number of countries. Every departure from it is listed here with the law or official publication it was checked against, so you can verify it rather than trust it.
| Change | Holiday | Why | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Added | Summer bank holiday | The dependency has no Summer bank holiday at all, so every UK year was missing the last Monday in August. | GOV.UK, UK bank holidays, England and Wales calendarChecked 2026-07-27 |
When is the next public holiday in United Kingdom?
The next 2 holidays on the 2026 calendar.
| Holiday | Date | Weekday |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas Day | Friday | |
| Boxing Day | in lieu of | Monday |
United Kingdom public holiday calendars by year
Open a year for the full table with dates, weekdays and long-weekend counts.
Frequently asked questions
How many public holidays does the United Kingdom have?
The United Kingdom has 8 national public holidays in 2026 and 8 in 2027. The total can differ from year to year because holidays that fall on a weekend sometimes gain a substitute day, and because moon-based and Easter-based dates occasionally shift in or out of a calendar year.
Which British public holidays fall on the same date every year?
Three of them: New Year's Day (January 1), Christmas Day (December 25) and Boxing Day (December 28). These are pinned to a calendar date, so only the weekday changes from year to year.
Which public holidays in the United Kingdom change date each year?
Five do: Good Friday, Easter Monday, Early May bank holiday, Spring bank holiday and Summer bank holiday. The reasons are linked to easter and set weekday of the month, so the Gregorian date has to be recalculated for every year rather than copied forward.
Are there regional public holidays in the United Kingdom?
Yes. Besides the national list, five public holidays are observed in some nations and jurisdictions only, for example January 2nd in Scotland, St Patrick’s Day in Northern Ireland and Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day) in Northern Ireland. The year calendars on this site show national holidays only, so add the relevant regional dates on top.
What happens when a public holiday in the United Kingdom falls on a weekend?
This dataset records no substitute days for the United Kingdom, so every date listed here is the holiday itself rather than a replacement weekday. That is not the same as saying none is granted: a number of countries move a weekend holiday onto a working day under national labour law without that rule being captured in the underlying data, so check a local source whenever a holiday lands on a Saturday or Sunday.
Where do these British holiday dates come from?
The dates are computed per year from each holiday's own rule using the open date-holidays dataset. That dataset is wrong or incomplete for the United Kingdom, so one correction has been applied on top of it, each checked against the legislation or the official publication and listed further down this page with its source and the date it was checked.
How to use this page
Public holidays shape the working year in United Kingdom, closing many offices, banks and public services and shifting the rhythm of travel and shopping. If you are scheduling a delivery, a launch or a meeting with a British team, the table at the top is the quickest check: it shows every recurring holiday side by side across 2025, 2026 and 2027, so you can see at a glance which dates are stable and which need looking up again next year. Where a holiday falls on a weekend and is taken on another day, it appears once, on the day off, with its calendar date beside it, so the totals here match the official ones rather than double counting.
For a single year with weekday counts and long weekends, open the year page for 2025, 2026 or 2027. To compare countries in one year, the 2026 worldwide overview lists every country we cover side by side. Dates come from the open date-holidays dataset and are recalculated per year from each holiday's rule, with 1 correction applied on top of it against the British legislation, listed above with sources. Always confirm official dates with a local authority before you commit to travel or contracts.