Leave HackerGuidesPlan my yearDo bank holidays count as annual leave?
They can
There's no legal right to have bank holidays off, or to be paid extra for them. Your employer can count them as part of your 5.6 weeks (28 days for a five-day week), or give them on top. Your contract says which.
Read your contract
| Your contract says | Days to book | Days off in all |
|---|---|---|
| 28 days including bank holidays | 20 | 28 |
| 20 days plus bank holidays | 20 | 28 |
| 25 days plus bank holidays | 25 | 33 |
| 33 days including bank holidays | 25 | 33 |
England and Wales have 8 bank holidays in 2027. Scotland has 9 and Northern Ireland 10, though your employer may follow its own calendar.
The rules
- Bank holidays don't have to be days off. Whether you work them is up to your employer; restaurants and hotels, for example, are more likely to open.
- If they're included, your employer can make you use leave for them when the workplace closes, as long as it's in your contract or they give you notice.
- If you work one, you still get your full 5.6 weeks as paid time off on other days. You can't be paid instead of taking a bank holiday, except for leave you haven't used when you leave a job.
- Leave years that start in April can have a different number of bank holidays each year, depending on when Easter falls.
Part-time? Bank holidays fall unevenly across the week, so it matters which days you work. Part-time workers and bank holidays.
Sources
- gov.uk: Holiday entitlement
- Acas: Bank holidays and Christmas
- nidirect: Holiday entitlements (Northern Ireland)
Checked on 26 October 2026. This is general information about the legal minimum in the UK, not legal advice: your contract can give you more, and can set its own rules for notice and carrying over. For help with your own situation, call the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100 (England, Scotland and Wales) or the Labour Relations Agency on 03300 555 300 (Northern Ireland).
More questions
Do I get paid for bank holidays?
Only if they're part of your paid holiday, or your contract says so. There's no separate legal right to a paid day off or extra pay on a bank holiday.
Is 28 days holiday including bank holidays legal?
Yes, for a five-day week. 28 days is the statutory minimum and it can include bank holidays.