UK Bank Holidays 2025 by Nation
The United Kingdom has no single bank holiday calendar. In 2025 England and Wales get eight days, Scotland nine and Northern Ireland ten — and the overlap is smaller than most people assume, because Scotland skips Easter Monday and takes its summer holiday three weeks earlier than everyone else. The table below is the England and Wales list; Scotland’s and Northern Ireland’s dates follow underneath.
Dates in 2025
| Date | Day | Holiday | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2025 | Wednesday | New Year's DayPublic holiday | Public holiday |
| April 18, 2025 | Friday | Good FridayPublic holiday | Public holiday |
| April 21, 2025 | Monday | Easter MondayPublic holiday | Public holiday |
| May 5, 2025 | Monday | Early May bank holidayPublic holiday | Public holiday |
| May 26, 2025 | Monday | Spring bank holidayPublic holiday | Public holiday |
| August 25, 2025 | Monday | Summer bank holidayPublic holiday | Public holiday |
| December 25, 2025 | Thursday | Christmas DayPublic holiday | Public holiday |
| December 26, 2025 | Friday | Boxing DayPublic holiday | Public holiday |
Scotland: nine bank holidays in 2025
Scotland’s 2025 list runs: New Year’s Day (Wed Jan 1), 2nd January (Thu Jan 2), Good Friday (Fri Apr 18), Early May (Mon May 5), Spring (Mon May 26), Summer (Mon Aug 4), the St Andrew’s Day substitute (Mon Dec 1), Christmas Day (Thu Dec 25) and Boxing Day (Fri Dec 26).
St Andrew’s Day itself is 30 November, which fell on a Sunday in 2025, so Scotland moved the bank holiday to Monday 1 December. The two New Year dates are the Hogmanay legacy England does not share, and they more than cover the loss of Easter Monday: Scottish workers get a four-day New Year window while England and Wales take only one day.
Scotland takes its summer bank holiday on the first Monday of August (4 August 2025) rather than the last (25 August in England and Wales), which pulls Scottish school and business calendars out of step with England for most of the month.
Northern Ireland: the two extra days
Northern Ireland follows the England and Wales pattern and then adds two days of its own: St Patrick’s Day (Mon Mar 17, 2025) and the Battle of the Boyne, also known as Orangemen’s Day. The Boyne anniversary is 12 July, which was a Saturday in 2025, so the bank holiday moved to Monday 14 July.
Unlike Scotland, Northern Ireland does keep Easter Monday (Mon Apr 21) and takes the summer bank holiday on the last Monday of August (Mon Aug 25), in step with England and Wales. Its full 2025 list is ten days: New Year’s Day, St Patrick’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Early May, Spring, the Battle of the Boyne substitute, Summer, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
What a bank holiday does — and does not — give you
A bank holiday is not a statutory right to paid leave anywhere in the UK. Whether you are paid, and whether you get the day at all, is set by your employment contract. Many contracts fold bank holidays into the statutory 28 days of annual leave rather than adding to them, which is why two people on the same salary can end up with very different numbers of days off.
This matters most when a contract crosses a border. A clause promising “all UK bank holidays” is genuinely ambiguous — a Glasgow employee and a Manchester employee reading the same words would take different days. Employers with staff in more than one nation normally name the nation whose list applies.
When a fixed-date bank holiday lands on a weekend, a substitute weekday is created, normally the following Monday. Substitutes are the main reason the three lists occasionally realign at the end of December even when they differ all year.
Official sources & data
Frequently asked questions
How many bank holidays does each UK nation get in 2025?
England and Wales have eight, Scotland has nine and Northern Ireland has ten. Scotland’s count comes from 2nd January and the St Andrew’s Day substitute, offset by dropping Easter Monday; Northern Ireland’s comes from St Patrick’s Day and the Battle of the Boyne.
When was St Andrew’s Day observed in 2025?
Monday 1 December 2025. The saint’s day itself is 30 November, which fell on a Sunday, so Scotland took the substitute bank holiday on the following Monday. As ever, the 2007 Act makes it a bank holiday but does not oblige employers to close — check your contract.
When was the Battle of the Boyne bank holiday in 2025?
Monday 14 July 2025. The anniversary itself is 12 July, but that was a Saturday in 2025, so Northern Ireland took the substitute bank holiday on the following Monday.
Were there any Christmas substitute days in 2025?
No. Christmas Day fell on Thursday 25 December and Boxing Day on Friday 26 December, so every nation took both days as they stand — the resulting four-day weekend needed no leave at all.
Does Scotland have Easter Monday off?
No. Easter Monday (Apr 21, 2025) is a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland but not in Scotland, where only Good Friday (Apr 18) appears on the list. Scottish employers who give the Monday off do so by contract, not by statute.
Why is Scotland’s summer bank holiday in early August?
Scotland fixes it to the first Monday of August (Aug 4 in 2025), while England, Wales and Northern Ireland use the last Monday (Aug 25). It is a long-standing divergence that also shows up in school terms — Scottish schools return in mid-August, weeks before English ones.