Bank holidays

Bank holidays are the UK's public holidays, fixed under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 with occasional one-off additions by proclamation. The dates differ slightly between England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

No automatic rights

This surprises many people: there is no statutory right to take bank holidays off, no right to extra pay for working them, and no right to time off in lieu. Everything depends on the contract. The wording matters — "28 days' holiday including bank holidays" is very different from "plus bank holidays". Bank holidays can lawfully count towards the 5.6 weeks of statutory paid holiday. Part-time staff should get a fair pro-rata arrangement so that which days they happen to work doesn't shortchange them.

Planning the rota

In hospitality and retail, bank holidays are often the busiest trading days, so most teams work them. Good practice is straightforward: be clear in contracts about pay and time off, share the popular days fairly across the team year to year, and publish the holiday rota early so people can plan around it. Any premium pay for bank holidays is a contractual choice, not a legal duty.

Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 sets the holidays; rights to time off or pay come from the employment contract and the Working Time Regulations 1998 holiday rules.

Related terms

• Statutory holiday entitlement
• Rota
• Overtime