British Bank Holidays

​Bank Holidays are a much loved British tradition where many businesses close for certain days of the year.  England and Wales have eight bank holidays each year whilst Scotland has nine and Northern Ireland has 10.

​The idea was introduced by Sir John Lubbock, a banker, politician and scientific writer.  The Bank Holiday Act became Law in 1871 and ensured four public holidays every year in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and five in Scotland.  Initially it was only banks and financial institutions that closed but over time this has come to include many businesses as well as schools and the government.  Emergency services, retail businesses and those in the tourist industry usually remain open and operational as usual.  The number of bank holidays have increased over the years and there have been occasions when additional days have been granted such as the Millennium bank holiday on 31st December 1999 and the Golden Jubilee bank holiday on 3rd June 2002.  Moveable feasts such as Easter mean that the dates are not necessarily the same each year.

Whilst staff in jobs that continue to operate during public holidays are often compensated financially for having to work, neither bank nor public holidays have to be given to employees as paid leave.  An employer can choose to include bank holidays as part of a worker’s statutory annual leave.

These are the remaining bank holiday dates for 2020:

Monday 13th April                            Easter Monday
Friday 8th May                                  Early May bank holiday (VE day)
Monday 25th May                            Spring bank holiday
Monday 31st August                        Summer bank holiday
Friday 25th December                    Christmas Day
Monday 28th December                Boxing Day (substitute day)