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14 public holidays
United Kingdom has 14 public holiday dates recorded for 2026, of which 5 apply nationwide. 5 of the listed dates are treated as non-working days and reduce the working-day count; 0 of those fall at a weekend. For the effect on working days see United Kingdom business days 2026.
| Date | Day | Holiday | Deducted from working days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-01 | Thursday | New Year's Day | Regional or sector-specific only |
| 2026-01-02 | Friday | 2 January | Regional or sector-specific only |
| 2026-03-17 | Tuesday | Saint Patrick's Day | Regional or sector-specific only |
| 2026-04-03 | Friday | Good Friday | Yes |
| 2026-04-06 | Monday | Easter Monday | Regional or sector-specific only |
| 2026-05-04 | Monday | Early May Bank Holiday | Yes |
| 2026-05-25 | Monday | Spring Bank Holiday | Yes |
| 2026-06-15 | Monday | World Cup Bank Holiday | Regional or sector-specific only |
| 2026-07-13 | Monday | Battle of the Boyne | Regional or sector-specific only |
| 2026-08-03 | Monday | Summer Bank Holiday | Regional or sector-specific only |
| 2026-08-31 | Monday | Summer Bank Holiday | Regional or sector-specific only |
| 2026-11-30 | Monday | Saint Andrew's Day | Regional or sector-specific only |
| 2026-12-25 | Friday | Christmas Day | Yes |
| 2026-12-28 | Monday | Boxing Day | Yes |
"Bank holiday" is a shorthand for the eight dates in England and Wales that were once days when banks closed and, by convention, everyone else did too. The modern legal basis is the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, which fixes the list and the substitution rule: if Christmas Day or Boxing Day falls at a weekend, the following Monday — or Tuesday, when both land on the weekend — becomes the substitute bank holiday — that is why late December always produces a "moved" date. Unlike Spain or Italy, there is no general bridging culture: a bank holiday on a Tuesday is simply one day off, and employers do not close the gap.
The UK also does not have one calendar. Scotland and Northern Ireland get their own sets — Scotland has a 3 January New Year's holiday and St Andrew's Day, and its summer bank holiday falls on the first Monday in August because 2 January crowds the list; Northern Ireland adds St Patrick's Day, the first Monday in June, the July Twelfth (Orangemen's Day) and a unique last-Monday-in-August holiday. Bank holidays are statutory holidays that workers may take in lieu of, or in addition to, the 28 days of paid annual leave under the Working Time Regulations — so "you don't automatically get Boxing Day off" is a real employment question, not a calendar one.
Deducted days are national public holidays (the days the dataset records as applying to the whole country). Holidays observed only in part of the country, or only in particular sectors, are listed with “Regional or sector-specific only” and are not deducted from the business-day counts.