UK bank holidays 2027: all the dates for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

The essentials: England and Wales have 8 bank holidays in 2027, Scotland has 9 and Northern Ireland has 10, according to GOV.UK. The first is New Year’s Day on Friday 1 January. Christmas Day and Boxing Day both fall on a weekend in 2027, so the bank holidays move to Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December. Employers do not have to give paid leave on these days.

What are the bank holidays in 2027?

Date	Day	Bank holiday	England and Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland
1 January	Friday	New Year’s Day	Yes	Yes	Yes
4 January	Monday	2nd January (substitute day)	No	Yes	No
17 March	Wednesday	St Patrick’s Day	No	No	Yes
26 March	Friday	Good Friday	Yes	Yes	Yes
29 March	Monday	Easter Monday	Yes	No	Yes
3 May	Monday	Early May bank holiday	Yes	Yes	Yes
31 May	Monday	Spring bank holiday	Yes	Yes	Yes
12 July	Monday	Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day)	No	No	Yes
2 August	Monday	Summer bank holiday	No	Yes	No
30 August	Monday	Summer bank holiday	Yes	No	Yes
30 November	Tuesday	St Andrew’s Day	No	Yes	No
27 December	Monday	Christmas Day (substitute day)	Yes	Yes	Yes
28 December	Tuesday	Boxing Day (substitute day)	Yes	Yes	Yes

Source: GOV.UK bank holidays data, checked on 2 November 2026.

Why are Christmas and Boxing Day on 27 and 28 December?

Because of the substitute day rule. GOV.UK explains: “If a bank holiday is on a weekend, a ‘substitute’ weekday becomes a bank holiday, normally the following Monday.”

In 2027, Christmas Day is a Saturday and Boxing Day a Sunday, so the two bank holidays land on the following Monday and Tuesday. The same rule explains Scotland’s 4 January: 2 January 2027 is a Saturday.

How do Scotland and Northern Ireland differ?

Each part of the UK has its own list. Three differences matter most:

• Scotland has 2 January and St Andrew’s Day, but no Easter Monday bank holiday. Its summer bank holiday comes at the start of August, four weeks earlier than elsewhere.
• Northern Ireland has the same dates as England and Wales, plus St Patrick’s Day and the Battle of the Boyne.
• England and Wales share one calendar, with no national day of their own among the bank holidays.

Do you get paid leave on bank holidays?

Not automatically. GOV.UK is clear: “Your employer does not have to give you paid leave on bank or public holidays.”

Most workers are “legally entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year”, capped at 28 days. And “an employer can choose to include bank holidays as part of a worker’s statutory annual leave”. For someone working five days a week, that means the 8 bank holidays in England and Wales may simply count towards their 28 days.

Your contract decides how this works in practice. Acas says bank holidays “might be included” in paid holiday and advises workers to check their contract if they are not sure. In Northern Ireland, nidirect adds: “You don’t have a legal right to paid leave on bank and public holidays, though many people get the day off work.”

How can you turn them into a longer break?

This table is our own calculation, for someone in England or Wales who works Monday to Friday. It shows how a few days of annual leave stretch around each bank holiday.

Break	Leave to book	Days of leave	Days off in a row
Easter	30 March to 2 April	4	10
Early May	4 to 7 May	4	9
Late May	1 to 4 June	4	9
Late August	31 August to 3 September	4	9
Christmas	29 to 31 December	3	10

Christmas is the best value of the year. Three days of leave link the two substitute days to New Year’s Day, whose own substitute day is Monday 3 January 2028.

If you are planning a trip to the UK around these dates, check first whether you need an electronic travel authorisation.

Which bank holidays are left in 2026?

Date	Day	Bank holiday	Where
30 November	Monday	St Andrew’s Day	Scotland
25 December	Friday	Christmas Day	Whole UK
28 December	Monday	Boxing Day (substitute day)	Whole UK

Could the dates change?

Yes, although no extra day appears in the official list for 2027 as of 2 November 2026. The Scottish Government notes that the King “can create special bank holidays in any year”. The latest example is Scotland’s World Cup bank holiday on 15 June 2026, which marked the country’s first appearance at the men’s World Cup since 1998.

One-off days have marked national occasions too. GOV.UK’s records show extra bank holidays for the Platinum Jubilee and the State Funeral in 2022, and for the coronation in 2023.

What are the dates for 2028?

GOV.UK has already published them.

Bank holiday	England and Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland
New Year’s Day (substitute day)	3 January	3 January	3 January
2nd January (substitute day)	Not a bank holiday	4 January	Not a bank holiday
St Patrick’s Day	Not a bank holiday	Not a bank holiday	17 March
Good Friday	14 April	14 April	14 April
Easter Monday	17 April	Not a bank holiday	17 April
Early May bank holiday	1 May	1 May	1 May
Spring bank holiday	29 May	29 May	29 May
Battle of the Boyne	Not a bank holiday	Not a bank holiday	12 July
Summer bank holiday	28 August	7 August	28 August
St Andrew’s Day	Not a bank holiday	30 November	Not a bank holiday
Christmas Day	25 December	25 December	25 December
Boxing Day	26 December	26 December	26 December

Source: GOV.UK bank holidays data, checked on 2 November 2026.