UK bank holidays (2024)

FAQs

Is everyone in UK entitled to bank holidays? ›

By law, employees are entitled to 5.6 weeks' statutory paid holiday a year. Bank holidays might be included in this paid holiday. Employees should check their contract if they're not sure. The amount of time off someone gets depends on their circ*mstances.

If a bank holiday falls on a day you do not normally work you are still entitled to time off but this will likely be in lieu so as not to unfairly discriminate against you.

Limits on statutory leave

Statutory paid holiday entitlement is limited to 28 days.

Why do we have bank holidays? Bank holidays originated in the UK in 1871, when banks and financial institutions would take days off. As time went on, businesses, schools, and the government joined in, and now bank holidays are celebrated by everyone.

Generally, a public holiday has become known as a bank holiday; however they are different. A public holiday is a holiday that the government considered a day off for all employees. A bank holiday is referred to days that banks are closed but is not a public holiday.

The term “bank” holiday is used interchangeably with “public” holiday. For all practical purposes there is no difference. There is, however, an academic difference between bank holidays derived from statute and public holidays at common law (such as Christmas Day in England and Wales). advice of the relevant Minister.

It's up to your employer to decide whether or not you have to work on bank holidays. If your place of work is closed on bank holidays, your employer can make you take them as part of your annual leave entitlement.

A bank holiday might be on a day an employee does not usually work. For example, if someone works part-time and does not work on Mondays. In this situation, the employer cannot make the employee use that day as part of their holiday entitlement.

The minimum holiday entitlement that an employer must provide to a full-time worker is 28 days a year (or 5.6 weeks). The 28 days is split between 20 days 'Euro leave', which stems from the European Working Time Directive (and was subsequently codified into the UK's Working Time Regulations).

There's no statutory right to pay employees extra if they work bank or public holidays. Once again, if there are any occasions where an employee would be entitled to extra pay, it would have to be clearly outlined in a contract of employment.

How many days can you work legally without a day off in the UK? ›

It is not illegal to work 7 days in a row in the UK but employees have the right to a 24-hour uninterrupted rest period for a 7-day period. If an employee works for more than 7 days straight, they have the right to have a 48-hour uninterrupted rest period for each 14-day period.

An employer can set a fixed start and end date for when employees should take their holiday entitlement in each year.

List of countries by number of public holidays

Country	Minimum number of public holidays	Maximum number of public holidays
United Kingdom	8	10
United States	6	11
Uruguay	12	12
Venezuela	14	14

84 more rows

List of countries by number of public holidays - Wikipedia

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org

In the UK, we've had official bank holidays since 1871, when they were formally recognised by an Act of Parliament. On these days, banks were allowed to close, which is where the name comes from. It wasn't long, however, before other types of businesses and schools began to close their doors as well.

The countries with the highest number of public holidays include Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and India, with over 25 public holidays each. On the other hand, countries with the lowest number of public holidays include Mexico, Canada, and the United States, with an average of 8-10 public holidays each.

As a result, a bank holiday can wrinkle your payroll processing timeline and desired pay date. If a payday falls on a bank holiday, your employees have to wait until the next business day to access their wages—unless you take action and run payroll one business day earlier. Say you typically pay employees on Friday.

Most workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year. You can use the holiday calculator to work out how much leave someone should get.

1871. Introduced by Sir John Lubbock, this Act compelled the clearing banks to close on certain days, thus making them public holidays. In England and Wales Easter Monday, Whit Monday, the first Monday in August, and Boxing Day became public holidays.