Bank holidays are something many brits look forward to each year, as an exciting day off. But when it comes to business it’s important to be aware of them to ensure you’re providing your employees with the correct holidays or working to specific regulations surrounding bank holidays.
How many bank holidays are there in the UK?
The standard bank holiday entitlement in England and Wales is 8 days. However, additional bank holidays can be provided for certain occasions, such as important milestones in the royal family. So, in 2022 there was an extra bank holiday day provided for the Queen’s Funeral and the Platinum Jubilee, meaning we had a total of 10 bank holidays for the year. While in 2023 there was an extra day for the King’s Coronation, so there were 9 for the year. In 2024 there are 8 bank holidays planned.
Scotland and Northern Ireland usually have 10 bank holidays per year.
UK bank holidays 2024
England and Wales bank holidays 2024
- Monday, 1st January 2024 – New Year’s Day
- Friday, 29th March 2024 – Good Friday
- Monday, 1st April 2024 – Easter Bank Holiday
- Monday, 6th May 2024 – Early May Bank Holiday
- Monday, 27th May 2024 – Spring Bank Holiday
- Monday, 26th August 2024 – Summer Bank Holiday
- Wednesday, 25th December 2024 – Christmas Day
- Thursday, 26th December 2024 – Boxing Day
Scottish bank holidays 2024
- Monday, 1st January 2024 – New Year’s Day
- Tuesday 2nd January 2024 – New Year Holiday
- Friday 29th March 2024 – Good Friday
- Monday 6th May 2024 – May Day
- Monday 27th May 2024 – Late May Bank Holiday
- Monday 5th August 2024 – August Bank Holiday
- Saturday 30th November 2024 – St Andrew’s Day
- Monday 2nd December 2024 – St Andrew’s Day Holiday
- Wednesday, 25th December 2024 – Christmas Day
- Thursday, 26th December 2024 – Boxing Day
Northern Ireland bank holidays 2024
- Monday, 1st January – New Year’s Day
- Monday, 18th March (substitute day) – St Patrick’s Day
- Friday, 29th March – Good Friday
- Monday 1st April – Easter Monday
- Monday 6th May – Early May Bank Holiday
- Monday 27th May – Spring Bank Holiday
- Friday 12th July – Battle of the Boyne / Orangemen’s Day
- Monday 26th August – Summer Bank Holiday
- Wednesday 25th December – Christmas Day
- Thursday 26th December – Boxing Day
What are employees entitled to?
When it comes to bank holidays in the UK all employees are entitled to the day off, or a day of annual leave in lieu of time off. It’s important that you calculate your employees annual leave entitlement right, so employees who are not required to work bank holidays are then entitled to 20 days of annual leave, and employees who are required to work bank holidays should receive 28 days (or 5.6 weeks) of annual leave.
Bank holiday wage payments
A big question that comes up often amongst employees when it comes to annual leave is ‘do I have to pay my employees extra for working?’ The simple answer is no, there are no legal requirements to offer a higher rate of pay when an employee works a bank holiday, however, some employers may choose to provide a bank holiday rate.
Bank holiday opening hours
If you’re going to remain open and working on a bank holiday, then you need to be aware of the laws surrounding trading times. For most businesses these might not apply, however, when it comes to retail the law states that in England and Wales, small shops—those up to and including 280 meters squared—can operate at any day or hour; shops larger than this are required to close on Christmas Day and Easter Sunday, and must stick to Sunday trading hours on other bank holidays—meaning they can only open for six consecutive hours between 10am and 6pm). Certain larger shops are exempt from these rules, so if you want to check who, you can see the full list on the Gov.uk website.
The simple way to manage annual leave
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