Dates for people living in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have all been published with between eight and 10 days off depending where you live
Bank holiday dates for 2026 have been published by the government. In a post on X they have said there will be between eight and 10 days which will be counted as a Bank Holiday.
In England and Wales it is eight days off. However in Scotland it is nine and in Northern Ireland it goes up to 10.
While in England and Wales the days cover things like Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day and Easter in Scotland people get an extra day off on January 2. In Northern Ireland it is two more days – March 17 for St Patrick’s Day and July 12, to mark the Battle of the Boyne.
However some dates have come under fire for having too big a gap across the summer months. While people living in Northern Ireland get a day off for the Battle of the Boyne, traditionally on July 12, and Scotland has a day off at the beginning of August, elsewhere there are no breaks from the end of May to the end of August.
Posting on X, formerly twitter, Paul urged them to have a rethink. He said: “Please arrange a bank holiday in summer. Nothing between the end of May and the end of August is ludicrous.”
In the UK we have had bank holidays since 1871. An Act of Parliament formally allowed banks to close on these days, giving the time off its name.
In the past everyone had a day off on the first Monday in August. However in 1971 a new law formally moved it to the last Monday of the month for everywhere but Scotland.
England and Wales have less public holidays than almost anywhere else in the world. There is only one country worse off for the annual days off – Mexico has just seven.
2026 bank holidays in England & Wales
- January 1 – New Year’s Day
- April 3 – Good Friday
- April 6 – Easter Monday
- May 4 – Early May bank holiday
- May 25 – Spring bank holiday
- August 31 – Summer bank holiday
- December 25 – Christmas Day
- December 28 – Boxing Day (substitute day)
2026 bank holidays in Scotland
- January 1 – New Year’s Day
- January 2
- April 3 – Good Friday
- May 4 – Early May bank holiday
- May 25 – Spring bank holiday
- August 3 – Summer bank holiday
- November 30 – St Andrew’s Day
- December 25 – Christmas Day
- December 28 – Boxing Day (substitute day)
2026 bank holidays in Northern Ireland
- January 1 – New Year’s Day
- March 17 – St Patrick’s Day
- April 3 – Good Friday
- April 6 – Easter Monday
- May 4 – Early May bank holiday
- May 25 – Spring bank holiday
- July 13, Battle of the Boyne (substitute day)
- August 31 – Summer bank holiday
- December 25 – Christmas Day
- December 28 – Boxing Day (substitute day)
