A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom during which most businesses, organisations and schools are closed. These holidays originated to provide a day off for bank employees but have since become a day of rest or celebration for the whole country. There will be at least 8 UK Bank Holidays 2025, depending on the country it can be more. If you are in the UK on a work visa or study visa, it is important to plan for bank holidays.
UK Bank Holidays 2025
In England & Wales there will be 8 bank holidays in 2025.
Scotland has an additional bank holiday on St. Andrew’s Day.
Northern Ireland has 2 additional Bank Holidays, St Patrick’s Day and Orangemen’s Day.
Substitute Bank Holiday
Substitute bank holidays occur when the original date falls on a Saturday or Sunday, therefor the bank holiday is moved to the Monday.
There will be 1 substitute bank holiday each in Scotland and Northern Ireland this year.
- 14 July – Orangemen’s Day (Northern Ireland)
- 1 December – St Andrew’s Day (Scotland)
Maximising Annual Leave
To maximise annual leave some people book a day or two before or after a bank holiday, you can increase short breaks into extended periods of rest without using too many of your annual leave days.
Which UK country bank holidays do I take?
Another factor for which bank holidays you will take will depend on where the company you work for are headquartered. It is not necessarily where you work. For example, if you work in Scotland but the main office is in London, you may have to take English public holidays over Scotland.
Does your Company need to allow you a Bank Holiday off?
No, but they would have to give you that time off on another date. This is common in retail and hospitality as bank holidays can be the busiest days of the year.
UK Bank Holidays 2025 – England and Wales
8 Public Holidays
1 January 2025 – New Year’s Day
18 April 2025 – Good Friday
21 April 2025 – Easter Monday
5 May 2025 – Early May Bank Holiday
26 May 2025 – Spring Bank Holiday
25 August 2025 – Summer Bank Holiday
25 December 2025 – Christmas Day
26 December 2025 – Boxing Day
UK Bank Holidays 2025 – Scotland
9 Public Holidays
1 January 2025 – New Year’s Day
2 January – 2nd January
18 April – Good Friday
5 May – Early May Bank Holiday
26 May – Spring Bank Holiday
4 August – Summer Bank Holiday
1 December – St Andrew’s Day
25 December – Christmas Day
26 December – Boxing Day
UK Bank Holidays 2025 – Northern Ireland
10 Public Holidays
1 January – New Year’s Day
17 March – St Patrick’s Day
18 April – Good Friday
21 April – Easter Monday
5 May – Early May Bank Holiday
26 May – Spring Bank Holiday
14 July – Orangemen’s Day
25 August – Summer Bank Holiday
25 December – Christmas Day
26 December – Boxing Day
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