Britain has relatively few public holidays as compared to other European countries. They are called 'Bank Holidays' or 'Public Holidays' because banks are officially closed and so no trading takes place. British Bank Holidays have been recognized since 1871. There are total of 8 permanent and public holidays in England, Wales and Ireland, and 10 in Northern Ireland, these are not specified by law but have become customary holidays because of common observance.
The expected dates of bank and public holidays in England, Wales and Scotland are listed below.
When the usual date of a bank or public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, a 'substitute day' is given, normally the following Monday. For example in 2009, Boxing Day was on Saturday, 26 December, so there was a substitute bank holiday on Monday, 28 December.
There are currently eight permanent bank holidays in England and Wales and an additional one in 2012:
| England and Wales | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | 1 January | 3 January* | 2 January* |
| Good Friday | 2 April | 22 April | 6 April |
| Easter Monday | 5 April | 25 April | 9 April |
| Early May Bank Holiday | 3 May | 2 May | 7 May |
| Spring Bank Holiday | 31 May | 30 May | 4 June* |
| Queen's Diamond Jubilee | - | - | 5 June |
| Summer Bank Holiday | 30 August | 29 August | 27 August |
| Christmas Day | 27 December* | 26 December* | 25 December |
| Boxing Day | 28 December* | 27 December* | 26 December |
| * substitute day | |||
There are nine statutory bank holidays across the whole of Scotland. There are also other public or local holidays which can be determined by local authorities, based on local tradition. Since 2007, St Andrew's Day has been an alternative, voluntary public holiday, which can replace an existing local holiday.
Businesses and schools are not necessarily closed on Scottish bank holidays, and the Scottish banks follow the English and Welsh bank holidays for business reasons.
| Scotland | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | 1 January | 3 January* | 2 January* |
| 2nd January | 4 January* | 4 January* | 3 January |
| Good Friday | 2 April | 22 April | 6 April |
| Early May Bank Holiday | 3 May | 2 May | 7 May |
| Spring Bank Holiday | 31 May | 30 May | 4 June* |
| Queen's Diamond Jubilee | - | - | 5 June |
| Summer Bank Holiday | 2 August | 1 August | 6 August |
| St Andrew's Day | 30 November | 30 November | 30 November |
| Christmas Day | 27 December* | 26 December* | 25 December |
| Boxing Day | 28 December* | 27 December* | 26 December |
| * substitute day | |||
In Northern Ireland, there are ten permanent bank holidays - the same eight as in England and Wales, plus St Patrick's Day and the Anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. For more information see the nidirect website.
There are laws that allow the dates of bank holidays to be changed, or other holidays to be declared, for example to celebrate special occasions.
It has been announced that there will be a special bank holiday in 2012 to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The 2012 late May bank holiday will be moved to Monday 4 June 2012 and an additional Jubilee bank holiday will be on Tuesday 5 June 2012.
You don't have an automatic right to paid leave on bank and public holidays, though many people receive the day off work. Any right to time off or extra pay for working on a bank holiday depends on the terms of your contract of employment.
For more information about your right to paid leave, see 'Holiday entitlements'.
British Summer Time (BST) starts on the last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in October, at 1.00 am Greenwich Mean Time (GMT):
Summer time periods begin and end on the following dates:
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clocks go forward | 28 March | 27 March | 25 March |
| Clocks go back | 31 October | 30 October | 28 October |
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