The United Kingdom: bank holidays in 2026
In 2026, the United Kingdom has 8 bank holidays (England and Wales). 7 fall on a weekday and 1 on a weekend (Boxing Day); one is moved to a weekday: Boxing Day on Monday, December 28. That makes 8 days off from Monday to Friday.
| Holiday | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | January 1 | Thursday |
| Good Friday | April 3 | Friday |
| Easter Monday except Scotland | April 6 | Monday |
| Early May bank holiday | May 4 | Monday |
| Spring bank holiday | May 25 | Monday |
| Summer bank holiday except Scotland | August 31 | Monday |
| Christmas Day | December 25 | Friday |
| Boxing Day | December 26 | Saturday |
| Boxing Day (substitute day) | December 28 | Monday |
Long weekends and bridge days in 2026
2026 has 5 long weekends of three days or more without taking any leave:
- Friday, April 3 to Monday, April 6: 4 days · Good Friday and Easter Monday
- Saturday, May 2 to Monday, May 4: 3 days · Early May bank holiday
- Saturday, May 23 to Monday, May 25: 3 days · Spring bank holiday
- Saturday, August 29 to Monday, August 31: 3 days · Summer bank holiday
- Friday, December 25 to Monday, December 28: 4 days · Christmas Day and Boxing Day (substitute day)
Bridge days, where a little leave buys a lot of time off:
- Take Friday, January 2 off: 4 days in a row, from Thursday, January 1 to Sunday, January 4 · New Year’s Day
Holidays on a weekend
Boxing Day (Saturday, December 26) falls on a weekend in 2026. When a bank holiday falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, a substitute day is given on the next weekday. Those substitute days are in the table.
Regional holidays in 2026
These days are holidays only in part of the United Kingdom:
| Holiday | Date | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd January | January 2 | Scotland |
| St Patrick’s Day | March 17 | Northern Ireland |
| World Cup bank holiday | June 15 | Scotland |
| Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day) | July 12 | Northern Ireland |
| Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day) (substitute day) | July 13 | Northern Ireland |
| Summer bank holiday | August 3 | Scotland |
| St Andrew’s Day | November 30 | Scotland |
Good to know
The UK calls them bank holidays and has three calendars. England and Wales have 8, Scotland 9 and Northern Ireland 10. Scotland adds January 2 and St Andrew’s Day but has no Easter Monday, and its summer bank holiday is the first Monday of August instead of the last. Northern Ireland adds St Patrick’s Day and July 12. In 2026 Scotland also gets a one-off bank holiday on Monday, June 15, for the men’s football World Cup.
2026 and 2027 compared
In 2027, the United Kingdom has 8 bank holidays, 8 of them on weekdays (United Kingdom 2027). With its holidays removed, 2026 counts 253 working days from Monday to Friday, against 253 in 2027: month by month in working days in United Kingdom 2026.
To count the working days between two dates, use the business days calculator; for the movable feasts of the year, see Easter 2026; and for the whole year on one page, the 2026 calendar.