When is the next bank holiday?

Bank holiday entitlement and pay

In the UK you have no automatic right to bank holidays off, or to extra pay for working them. What you get depends on your contract – but the law does protect your total holiday and makes sure part-time workers aren't treated unfairly.

Last reviewed 16 September 2026 · General information, not legal advice

Work out your own figures. Our holiday entitlement calculator shows your statutory leave and how many bank holidays fall on your working days.

The key rules at a glance

  • Statutory leave is 5.6 weeks a year. For someone working five days a week that's 28 days. It's capped at 28 days even if you work six days.
  • Bank holidays can be included in those 28 days. If they are, a full-time worker in England or Wales has 20 days left to book.
  • There's no right to bank holidays off. Your employer can ask you to work them if your contract allows it.
  • There's no right to extra pay for working a bank holiday. Premium pay is only due if your contract says so.
  • Part-time workers must be treated fairly. They should get a pro rata share of bank holidays, whichever days they work.

Full-time workers

Most full-time contracts say something like "25 days plus bank holidays" or "33 days including bank holidays". Either way, the legal minimum is 28 days. England and Wales have 8 bank holidays in a normal year, Scotland 9 and Northern Ireland 10 – so check whether your employer gives the bank holidays for your nation or uses a UK-wide policy.

Part-time workers

Because most bank holidays fall on Mondays, a part-time worker who doesn't work Mondays could end up with fewer days off than colleagues. The Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 mean employers should avoid this, usually by:

  1. working out your total leave pro rata (for example 5.6 × 3 days = 16.8 days for a three-day week), then
  2. deducting any bank holidays that fall on your working days, and letting you book the rest as normal annual leave.

That way everyone gets the same share of time off, whether or not their days include Mondays.

Irregular hours and part-year workers

In England, Scotland and Wales, for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, workers with irregular hours or part-year contracts build up holiday at 12.07% of the hours they work in each pay period. Employers can also choose to pay rolled-up holiday pay for these workers. Northern Ireland has separate rules.

Working on a bank holiday

If your contract requires it, you can be asked to work on bank holidays. Many employers pay a premium or give a day off in lieu, but this is contractual rather than a legal right. Large shops in England and Wales must close on Christmas Day and Easter Sunday, and large shops in Scotland must close on Christmas Day.

Republic of Ireland

Ireland works differently: public holidays are a separate entitlement on top of annual leave. For each public holiday, eligible employees get a paid day off on the day, a paid day off within a month, an extra day of annual leave or an extra day's pay. Citizens Information has the full rules.

Where to get advice

For a dispute about holiday or pay, contact Acas (Great Britain) or the Labour Relations Agency (Northern Ireland). Official guidance is on GOV.UK.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have a legal right to bank holidays off?

No. There is no statutory right to time off on bank holidays in the UK. If your employer gives you bank holidays off, they can count them as part of your 5.6 weeks of statutory annual leave.

Do I get paid extra for working a bank holiday?

Only if your contract says so. There is no legal right to extra pay (such as time and a half) for working on a bank holiday, although many employers offer it.

Are bank holidays included in 28 days holiday?

They can be. The legal minimum for someone working five days a week is 28 days, and employers can choose to include the 8 bank holidays in that figure. That leaves 20 days to book yourself. Check your contract, because many employers give bank holidays on top.

How do bank holidays work if you don't work Mondays?

Most bank holidays fall on a Monday, so part-time workers who don't work Mondays could lose out. Under the Part-time Workers Regulations, employers should treat you no less favourably than full-time staff – usually by giving you a pro rata share of bank holidays as extra leave. Use our entitlement calculator to see your figure.

Am I entitled to all bank holidays if I work part-time?

You are entitled to a pro rata share, not every bank holiday. For example, someone working three days a week would normally get 3/5 of the bank holidays a full-time worker gets, however many of the actual dates fall on their working days.

What happens if my day off falls on a bank holiday?

If bank holidays are included in your leave entitlement and one falls on a day you don't work, you should usually get the time back as annual leave so you're not worse off than full-time colleagues.

What is the 12.07% rule for holiday pay?

In England, Scotland and Wales, workers with irregular hours or part-year contracts build up holiday at 12.07% of the hours they work in each pay period, for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024. The rules in Northern Ireland are different.

Can my employer make me work on a bank holiday?

Yes, if your contract says you may have to work bank holidays. Shop workers in England and Wales have extra protection around Sunday working, and large shops must close on Christmas Day and Easter Sunday.