Bank holidays 2027: the dates in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland

England and Wales have 8 bank holidays in 2027, according to the official list on GOV.UK. Scotland has 9 and Northern Ireland has 10. Christmas Day and Boxing Day both move to weekdays because the real dates land on a weekend.

The differences between the nations come down to a handful of days. Good Friday is a bank holiday everywhere, but Easter Monday is listed only for England and Wales and Northern Ireland, not for Scotland. Scotland has no day off on that Monday. Its own extra days fall in early January and on 30 November.

Why do the Christmas and new year dates move?

Christmas Day 2027 is a Saturday and Boxing Day is a Sunday. GOV.UK says that when a bank holiday is on a weekend, a substitute weekday becomes the bank holiday, normally the following Monday, so the holidays are on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December in all three nations.

The same rule explains Scotland’s extra January day. The 2nd of January 2027 is a Saturday, so Scotland’s substitute holiday is Monday 4 January, which England and Wales and Northern Ireland do not have.

Which holidays are specific to one nation?

Northern Ireland has two days that appear nowhere else: St Patrick’s Day on Wednesday 17 March and the Battle of the Boyne, also known as Orangemen’s Day, on Monday 12 July. Scotland has St Andrew’s Day on Tuesday 30 November and moves its summer bank holiday to Monday 2 August, four weeks before the date used in the rest of the UK.

How many days off does a long weekend give you?

The Easter weekend runs from Friday 26 March to Monday 29 March in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland, a four-day break. In Scotland the Monday is a normal working day, so the holiday is the Friday alone and the weekend is three days long.

Our count of the calendar shows how that stretches. Taking Tuesday 30 March to Friday 2 April as leave, four days, gives England and Wales and Northern Ireland a 10-day break from Friday 26 March to Sunday 4 April. Scotland needs five leave days, Monday 29 March to Friday 2 April, for the same 10 days.

At Christmas, three days of leave, Wednesday 29 to Friday 31 December, joins the holidays to the weekend.

Counting the 2028 dates GOV.UK also lists, the break runs from Saturday 25 December to Monday 3 January 2028 in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland, 10 days. In Scotland it runs to Tuesday 4 January 2028, 11 days.

Do you get paid for a bank holiday?

Not automatically. GOV.UK says an employer does not have to give paid leave on bank or public holidays, so a day off is not always a paid day off. The government site also notes that bank holidays might affect how and when benefits are paid.