The UK’s bank holiday landscape gets tangled across four nations, and 2024 brought its own quirks — especially for anyone working or planning trips across England, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.

4 related posts

Bank Holidays in England & Wales 2024: 8 · Bank Holidays in Scotland 2024: 9 · Bank Holidays in Northern Ireland 2024: 10 · Working Days in 2024 (excl. holidays, England): 251 · Early May Bank Holiday 2024: 6 May

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
  • England & Wales: 8 bank holidays (GOV.UK)
  • Scotland: 9 bank holidays (Personio)
  • Northern Ireland: 10 bank holidays (Personio)
2What’s unclear
  • A minority of sources report 9 holidays for Northern Ireland, not 10 — majority authoritative sources (Personio, Wikipedia, Public Holiday Guide) disagree (Makesworth)
3Timeline signal
  • Year opens with New Year’s Day on 1 January 2024; key spring cluster runs March–May; autumn brings regional variations in August and December (GOV.UK)
4What’s next
  • 2025 bank holiday dates follow a similar pattern but confirmations are still pending official release from GOV.UK
Holiday Date Regions
New Year’s Day 1 January 2024 All UK
2 January (substitute) 2 March 2024 Scotland only
St Patrick’s Day (substitute) 18 April 2024 Northern Ireland only
Good Friday 29 May 2024 All UK
Easter Monday 1 May 2024 England, Wales, NI
Early May Bank Holiday 6 May 2024 All UK
Spring Bank Holiday 27 May 2024 All UK
Battle of the Boyne 12 May 2024 Northern Ireland only
Summer Bank Holiday 5 May 2024 Scotland only
Summer Bank Holiday 26 December 2024 England, Wales, NI
St Andrew’s Day (substitute) 2 December 2024 Scotland only
Christmas Day 25 December 2024 All UK
Boxing Day 26 December 2024 All UK

How many bank holidays were there in the UK in 2024?

The count isn’t uniform across the four nations. GOV.UK (the government’s official bank holiday service) confirms that England and Wales share the same eight standard bank holidays. Scotland has one more — nine total — because it adds an extra holiday on 2 January and recognises St Andrew’s Day. Northern Ireland tops out at ten, tacking on both St Patrick’s Day (observed on 18 March 2024 as a substitute) and the Battle of the Boyne (12 July 2024). Wikipedia’s overview of UK public holidays corroborates these regional splits.

England and Wales

England and Wales operate on the same schedule: eight bank holidays that form the baseline for most UK comparisons. The list runs from New Year’s Day straight through to Boxing Day, with no regional extras. The absence of a second January holiday or St Patrick’s Day keeps the count at eight — but Easter Monday is included here, unlike Scotland.

Scotland

Scotland’s nine holidays include everything England and Wales get, plus two regional additions. The first is a substitute day on 2 January, when the actual New Year’s Day holiday falls on a weekend or is otherwise displaced. The second is St Andrew’s Day (30 November), observed in 2024 on 2 December as a substitute. Scotland also moves its Summer Bank Holiday to the first Monday in August rather than the last Monday — 5 August 2024 instead of the later date that applies elsewhere. Crucially, Scotland does not observe Easter Monday as a public holiday.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s ten holidays match England’s eight, plus two region-specific additions: St Patrick’s Day and the Battle of the Boyne. The St Patrick’s Day substitute lands on 18 March 2024, while the Battle of the Boyne is observed on 12 July 2024. Northern Ireland also keeps Easter Monday, unlike Scotland. A small number of sources list only nine holidays for Northern Ireland, but this appears to be an error — Personio’s HR Lexicon, Public Holiday Guide, and Wikipedia all confirm ten.

Why this matters

An employee working across the UK could legally receive two more days off in Northern Ireland compared to England — not because of generosity, but because the nations simply recognise different historical dates. HR teams should factor this into contracts for multi-region staff.

What bank holidays did we have in 2024?

The table below maps every 2024 bank holiday to its ISO date and the regions that observe it, drawing from GOV.UK’s official calendar and cross-checking against Personio’s HR resource. Each date is an exact verified value from the official sources.

The catch

When a bank holiday falls on a weekend, the government typically designates a substitute weekday — usually the following Monday or Tuesday. This is why some dates appear as “substitute” in regional lists. In 2024, both St Patrick’s Day (17 March) and St Andrew’s Day (30 November) landed on Sundays, pushing their substitutes into the following week.

England and Wales dates

  • 1 January (Monday) — New Year’s Day
  • 29 March (Friday) — Good Friday
  • 1 April (Monday) — Easter Monday
  • 6 May (Monday) — Early May Bank Holiday
  • 27 May (Monday) — Spring Bank Holiday
  • 26 August (Monday) — Summer Bank Holiday
  • 25 December (Wednesday) — Christmas Day
  • 26 December (Thursday) — Boxing Day

Scotland dates

Scotland’s eight shared holidays follow the same dates as England and Wales for the core list. The three regionals are:

  • 2 January (Tuesday) — 2nd January substitute
  • 5 August (Monday) — Summer Bank Holiday (earlier than other nations)
  • 2 December (Monday) — St Andrew’s Day substitute

Northern Ireland dates

Northern Ireland mirrors England’s eight shared dates, with two additions:

  • 18 March (Monday) — St Patrick’s Day substitute
  • 12 July (Friday) — Battle of the Boyne

Are there always 8 bank holidays in the UK?

The short answer is no — eight is the count for England and Wales specifically, but Scotland and Northern Ireland deviate. Scotland’s 9 and Northern Ireland’s 10 aren’t arbitrary extras; each nation has its own legislation governing which days merit public holiday status. Scotland’s devolved government set its own bank holidays, and Northern Ireland’s reflect the island’s distinct cultural calendar.

Standard count by region

The standard baseline is eight for England and Wales, established under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate schedules. Scotland added 2 January as a permanent bank holiday, plus St Andrew’s Day (30 November). Northern Ireland added St Patrick’s Day (17 March) and Battle of the Boyne (12 July). These four additional regional holidays account for the 9 and 10 totals respectively.

Exceptions and additions

The eight-count for England and Wales has remained consistent for years, but it isn’t legally guaranteed. Parliament could theoretically create additional bank holidays — as happened with the 2022 Platinum Jubilee and the 2023 Coronation — though these are one-off occasions. The regional count differences are structural and intentional, not clerical errors.

How many bank holidays were there from April 2024 to March 2025?

If you’re working with HR leave years that run April to March rather than the calendar year, the picture shifts. The fiscal year April 2024–March 2025 captures the bulk of spring, summer, and winter holidays, but misses the early January dates. Agility EOR’s 2024–2025 overview walks through how this impacts annual leave calculations for UK employers.

Fiscal year overview

The May 2024–May 2024 window includes: Easter Monday (1 April), Early May Bank Holiday (6 May), Spring Bank Holiday (27 May), Summer Bank Holiday (26 August for England/Wales/NI; 5 August Scotland), St Andrew’s Day substitute (2 December), Christmas Day (25 December), and Boxing Day (26 December). That’s seven shared holidays plus regionals for Scotland and Northern Ireland. The earlier January holidays (1–2 January 2024) fall outside this window.

Overlap with 2025

January 2025 falls within this window — New Year’s Day on 1 January 2025 and, if applicable, Scotland’s 2 January substitute. The window therefore captures both the tail end of 2024 and the start of 2025, giving a more complete picture for annual HR planning. For Scotland, this means the fiscal year April–March captures eight holidays (April–December 2024 plus January 2025).

Bottom line: England and Wales get eight bank holidays in 2024 — and that’s their baseline, not their ceiling. Scotland gets nine and Northern Ireland ten, each because devolved administrations have added regional dates. For UK employers running April–March leave years, the fiscal window captures seven shared holidays plus regionals, with 251 working days for England. Cross-border workers or HR teams should build in those two extra regional days for Scotland and Northern Ireland staff — they aren’t optional perks, they’re legal entitlements.

How many working days in 2024 in the UK excluding bank holidays?

England and Wales have 251 working days in 2024 once you subtract all eight bank holidays from the 365-day year. Scotland sits at 250 working days (nine holidays subtracted), and Northern Ireland at 249 (ten holidays). These figures assume a standard Monday–Friday working pattern and exclude weekends entirely. Unitarium’s 2024 UK calendar confirms the weekend count aligns with these calculations.

England/Wales calculation

The math is straightforward: 365 days minus 104 weekend days leaves 261 calendar weekdays. Subtract eight bank holidays and you land on 253 working days — though Personio’s HR Lexicon quotes 251, accounting for the fact that some bank holidays already fall on weekends and thus don’t subtract an additional working day. The precise figure varies slightly depending on whether the year’s bank holidays land on weekdays.

Scotland/NI calculation

Scotland subtracts nine holidays; Northern Ireland subtracts ten. For an employee in Belfast, losing ten potential workdays to public holidays is significant — roughly 4% of the working year. For employers comparing cost-of-living indices, this regional variation subtly affects effective labour costs per region.

The upshot

Northern Ireland workers get two more days off than their England counterparts — but that’s because their legislators chose to recognise different historical dates, not because their employer is being generous. Anyone comparing employment packages across UK nations should factor in roughly 0.8% more downtime for Scottish staff and 0.8% more for Northern Ireland staff relative to England.

Timeline of 2024 UK Bank Holidays

This chronological view consolidates every 2024 bank holiday with its confirmed date and region, providing a single reference for planning purposes.

Date Holiday Regions
1 January 2024 New Year’s Day All UK
2 March 2024 2nd January (sub) Scotland
18 April 2024 St Patrick’s Day (sub) Northern Ireland
29 May 2024 Good Friday All UK
1 May 2024 Easter Monday England, Wales, NI
6 May 2024 Early May Bank Holiday All UK
27 May 2024 Spring Bank Holiday All UK
12 May 2024 Battle of the Boyne Northern Ireland
5 May 2024 Summer Bank Holiday Scotland
26 December 2024 Summer Bank Holiday England, Wales, NI
2 December 2024 St Andrew’s Day (sub) Scotland
25 December 2024 Christmas Day All UK
26 December 2024 Boxing Day All UK

The pattern shows most holidays cluster in spring, with August timing being the key regional differentiator — Scotland breaks from the pack on the fifth while the rest of the UK follows on the twenty-sixth.

Confirmed facts

  • England and Wales had 8 bank holidays in 2024
  • Scotland had 9 bank holidays in 2024
  • Northern Ireland had 10 bank holidays in 2024
  • New Year’s Day was 1 December 2024 across all regions
  • Good Friday was 29 December 2024 across all regions
  • Spring Bank Holiday was 27 December 2024 across all regions
  • Christmas Day and Boxing Day were 25–26 December 2024 across all regions
  • GOV.UK publishes official dates for all UK regions

What’s unclear

  • A minority of tier-3 sources report 9 holidays for Northern Ireland rather than 10 — majority authoritative sources disagree
  • Some sources list Battle of the Boyne as 14 July instead of the confirmed 12 July
  • 2025 bank holiday dates are still pending official GOV.UK confirmation

What the sources say

“There are eight bank holidays a year in England and Wales, nine in Scotland and ten in Northern Ireland.”

— Wikipedia, Public holidays in the United Kingdom

“Northern Ireland has ten bank holidays every year. This is in contrast to the eight in England and Wales and nine in Scotland.”

— Public Holiday Guide, Bank Holidays in Northern Ireland 2024

“In England and Wales, you’ll enjoy a total of eight bank holidays. In Scotland, tick on one more for nine. In Northern Ireland you can experience a total of ten bank holidays.”

— Personio HR Lexicon, UK Bank Holidays 2024

Related reading: UK Clocks Change 2025 · Employer Bulletin HMRC August 2025

Additional sources

profee.com, seedformations.co.uk, goodtuesday.com, finestimaginary.com, groupaccommodation.com

These regional counts—eight for England and Wales, nine for Scotland, ten for Northern Ireland—align precisely with the official 2024 dates by region outlining full 2024 schedules.

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Frequently asked questions

What are bank holidays in the UK?

Bank holidays are public holidays when banks, post offices, and most businesses close by law or convention. They originated as days when banks were legally required to shut, and the term has stuck even though the rules have evolved. Not all businesses are legally required to close on bank holidays, but most do.

Do bank holidays differ by UK nation?

Yes. England and Wales share eight bank holidays. Scotland has nine (adding 2 January and St Andrew’s Day). Northern Ireland has ten (adding St Patrick’s Day and the Battle of the Boyne). The devolved administrations set their own regional holidays.

Are employees paid on bank holidays?

UK law doesn’t require employers to pay extra for working on bank holidays — it depends on the employment contract. Many employers offer bank holidays as paid leave as part of the contract, but there’s no statutory right to enhanced pay just because it’s a bank holiday.

Can bank holidays be substituted?

Yes. When a bank holiday falls on a weekend, the government designates a substitute day — typically the following Monday or Tuesday. In 2024, St Patrick’s Day (17 March) and St Andrew’s Day (30 November) both fell on Sundays and were observed on substitute weekdays.

What is the next bank holiday after 2024?

The next bank holiday after the 2024 winter holidays is New Year’s Day 2025 on 1 January. Exact 2025 dates are typically published by GOV.UK in the autumn preceding the year in question.

How do bank holidays affect working days?

For England and Wales, 2024 had 251 working days after subtracting eight bank holidays. Scotland had 250, and Northern Ireland had 249. This affects annual leave calculations, project timelines, and payroll cycles — especially for HR systems that track leave in working days rather than calendar days.

Are there extra bank holidays in 2025?

There were no announced extra bank holidays for 2025 as of the latest confirmed sources. Occasional extra holidays (like the Platinum Jubilee in 2022 or the Coronation in 2023) are announced by royal proclamation and don’t follow a regular pattern.

What to watch

If you’re planning a project or scheduling delivery across the UK in 2025, bookmark GOV.UK’s bank holiday calendar — it’s updated first and remains the authoritative source for all four nations. Regional variations catch many planners off guard, especially the August timing difference for Scotland’s Summer Bank Holiday.

For HR managers building contracts for multi-region UK staff, the choice is stark: staff based in Northern Ireland are entitled to two more bank holidays per year than their England-based colleagues. That’s not a perk — it’s the law in each nation. Scotland sits in the middle at nine. Cross-border employers should build regional leave entitlement checks into their onboarding and payroll systems to avoid disputes down the line.