Today we observe the Early Spring bank holiday
Today, Monday May 4, marks the Early Spring bank holiday across the UK. Many people get bank holidays off work as standard, while schools also close for the day.
The remaining bank holidays the UK will observe in 2026 have been confirmed by the Government. While different UK nations often have varying bank holiday dates, some remain the same. For instance the next bank holiday – the Spring bank holiday which falls on Monday, May 25 – will be commemorated across all four parts of the UK.
For England and Wales the bank holidays in May will be the last before August. However other parts of the UK have more to come before then. Scotland will observe a one-off bank holiday in June, to celebrate its team qualifying for the World Cup.
Buckingham Palace declared in February: “To mark the achievement of Scotland’s men’s football team competing at the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 28 years, we consider it desirable that Monday, the fifteenth day of June in the year 2026 should be a bank holiday in Scotland.
“Now, therefore, we, in pursuance of section 1(3) of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, do hereby appoint Monday, the fifteenth day of June in the year 2026 to be a bank holiday in Scotland.”
And in Northern Ireland Monday, July 13, marks the Battle of the Boyne bank holiday. The next bank holidays after these will take place on Monday, August 3, when Scotland marks its Summer bank holiday, and elsewhere the rest of the UK, namely England, Wales and Northern Ireland, will observe their Summer bank holiday on Monday, August 31.
After this, Scotland only will celebrate a bank holiday on Monday, November 30, for St. Andrew’s Day. Then the entirety of the UK will observe a bank holiday for Christmas Day, December 25, and a “substitute” bank holiday for Boxing Day on Monday, December 28.
This is because Boxing Day falls on a Saturday this year.
Remaining UK bank holidays in 2026
Monday, May 25 – Spring bank holiday (UK wide)
Monday, June 15 – World Cup bank holiday (Scotland only)
Monday, July 13 – Battle of the Boyne (substitute day) (Northern Ireland only)
Monday, August 3 – Summer bank holiday (Scotland only)
Monday, August 31- Summer bank holiday (England, Wales and Northern Ireland only)
Monday, November 30 – St. Andrew’s Day (Scotland only)
Friday, December 25 – Christmas Day (UK wide)
Monday, December 28 – Boxing Day (substitute day) (UK wide)
