UK Bank Holidays 2027: Essential Dates To Remember

As the new year approaches, there are many good reasons to inform yourself of the bank holidays across the UK. With bank holidays affecting businesses, schools, and transportation, knowing what’s coming ahead of time will ensure you’re best prepared. They also provide the perfect opportunity to take a longer break from work by planning a holiday around the long weekends.

Each of the four countries in the United Kingdom – England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland – has its own bank holidays. So while there are some holidays that are celebrated across the UK, it’s important to know the regional differences, especially if you have colleagues, business partners, or friends and family in other UK nations.

What You Need To Know About UK Bank Holidays

Bank holidays in the UK have various origins; they may be religious, cultural, or historical. There have been cases of bank holidays being moved to mark special occasions. One example of this is the Spring Bank Holiday, which was moved to early June in 2002, 2012, and 2022 to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden, Diamond, and Platinum Jubilees. From time to time, an additional bank holiday may be declared, as was the case in April 2011 for the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Another characteristic of UK bank holidays is that they ‘roll over’ if they fall on a weekend. For example, in years when Christmas Day or Boxing Day fall on a Saturday or Sunday, there will be a substitute day on the following Monday. This is not the case in some other countries in Europe, such as Germany and the Netherlands.

Businesses in the UK are not required to give staff paid time off on bank holidays, unless it’s specifically stated in their employment contract. Full-time employees are, however, entitled to a minimum of 28 days of paid annual leave, and this may include bank holidays.

What’s the Difference Between a Public Holiday and a Bank Holiday?

In the UK, a bank holiday refers to a national public holiday. This differs slightly from the Republic of Ireland, where some bank holidays are not public holidays, even though the former is often used colloquially.

The term bank holiday originates from the fact that banks would be closed for business on these days. Over time, it has come to be the more common term for any public holiday in the UK. Most other countries don’t differentiate between the two terms, referring to them as public holidays, federal holidays (in the USA), or national holidays.

Bank Holiday Opening Hours and Wages

Contrary to popular belief, employers are not required to pay employees an increased wage on bank holidays. However, it is common for employees to receive time-and-a-half or even double time for pitching in on public holidays, especially in the retail and restaurant industries. Offering an incentive like this is a good way to improve employee satisfaction and make sure you have sufficient cover for busy holiday periods. Just be sure to formalise bank holiday pay agreements in your employment contract to avoid any conflicts in the future.

In addition, large shops (more than 280 square metres in size) in England and Wales are required to close on Christmas Day and Easter Sunday. They may, however, open on other public holidays, as long as they stick to Sunday trading hours (maximum of six consecutive hour between 10am and 6pm). Small shops are not affected by these restrictions, and trading hours do not apply to businesses in Scotland. There are a number of exemptions, which you can find on the gov.uk website.

Overall, the best approach is for business owners to consider the needs of their staff as well as their customers. Opening on public holidays can be lucrative for retailers, restaurants, and pubs, which is why many choose to give their hardworking staff extra pay for being available on these days. Expectations and shift plans should be communicated well in advance to ensure that there are enough employees on hand to keep things running smoothly.

UK Bank Holidays 2027

Date	Holiday	Applies to
Friday 1 January	New Year's Day	UK
Monday 4 January*	2nd January	Scotland
Wednesday 17 March	St Patrick's Day	Northern Ireland
Friday 26 March	Good Friday	UK
Monday 29 March	Easter Monday	England, Wales, Northern Ireland
Monday 3 May	Early May bank holiday	UK
Monday 31 May	Spring bank holiday	UK
Monday 12 July	Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen's Day)	Northern Ireland
Monday 2 August	Summer bank holiday	Scotland
Monday 30 August	Summer bank holiday	England, Wales, Northern Ireland
Tuesday 30 November	St Andrew's Day	Scotland
Monday 27 December*	Christmas Day	UK
Tuesday 28 December*	Boxing Day	UK

*Substitute day: the holiday itself falls on a weekend. In 2027, 2 January is a Saturday, and Christmas Day and Boxing Day fall on Saturday and Sunday. That gives England and Wales 8 bank holidays in 2027, Scotland 9 and Northern Ireland 10.

2027 Bank Holiday Dates for England & Wales

Early Year Holidays

In 2027, you can ease into the year with New Year's Day on Friday 1 January, which makes for a long weekend straight away. 2 January is not a bank holiday in England and Wales, so the next one is at Easter.

Mid-Year Holidays

Easter falls early in 2027: Good Friday is on 26 March and Easter Monday on 29 March. The clocks also go forward that weekend, on Sunday 28 March. Next up are the Early May bank holiday on Monday 3 May and the Spring bank holiday on Monday 31 May.

The Summer bank holiday follows on Monday 30 August, the last bank holiday before Christmas.

Autumn and Winter Holidays

There are no bank holidays in autumn. The clocks go back on Sunday 31 October 2027.

Christmas Day falls on a Saturday and Boxing Day on a Sunday in 2027, so the bank holidays move to the substitute days: Monday 27 December and Tuesday 28 December.

2027 Bank Holiday Dates for Scotland

Early Year Holidays

Scotland starts the year with two bank holidays: New Year's Day on Friday 1 January and 2nd January. As 2 January 2027 is a Saturday, the substitute day is Monday 4 January.

Good Friday on 26 March is a bank holiday in Scotland too. Easter Monday, however, is not a bank holiday in Scotland.

Mid-Year Holidays

The Early May bank holiday on 3 May and the Spring bank holiday on 31 May are the same as in England and Wales, but the Summer bank holiday falls earlier in Scotland, on Monday 2 August.

End-of-Year Holidays

Scotland celebrates St Andrew's Day, the feast day of the country's patron saint, on Tuesday 30 November 2027. The year ends with the substitute days for Christmas Day and Boxing Day on 27 and 28 December.

2027 Bank Holiday Dates for Northern Ireland

Early Year Holidays

Northern Ireland's bank holidays differ slightly from its UK neighbours. St Patrick's Day falls on Wednesday 17 March in 2027. As the patron saint of Ireland, St Patrick's Day is an important cultural and religious holiday for people in Northern Ireland.

Mid-Year Holidays

In spring, Northern Ireland observes the same bank holidays as England and Wales: Good Friday on 26 March, Easter Monday on 29 March, and the Early May and Spring bank holidays on 3 May and 31 May.

The other holiday specific to Northern Ireland is the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne, a significant event in Northern Irish history that occurred in 1690. Otherwise known as Orangemen's Day or simply The Twelfth, it falls on Monday 12 July in 2027.

As in England and Wales, the Summer bank holiday falls on Monday 30 August.

End-of-Year Holidays

Northern Ireland observes the UK-wide Christmas holidays, which in 2027 are the substitute days on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December.

Get Set for 2027

There are a number of peculiarities about bank holidays in the UK, which can catch you out if you're not used to them. With differences between the British nations, substitute days, occasional additions, and specific rules for businesses, it's important to stay up to date with the latest.

We recommend planning ahead and checking official websites such as gov.uk to see when the next bank holiday is coming and view a full list of UK holidays for each country.

In a work context, it's also a good idea to have HR software that can help with bank holiday planning. With flair, you can automatically import public holidays for each location your company works in. Not only does this help you to remember when there are holidays approaching, it also helps ensure that employee leave allowances are calculated correctly. You can also use flair to track working time, apply bonus pay to bank holidays, and flexibly plan shifts around busy times.