Public Holidays in United Kingdom 2026 + Free Staff Planning Template

Complete list of official public holidays and free downloadable staff planning templates

Official Public Holidays

9 holidays in United Kingdom for 2026

Holiday	Date	Day	Applies To
New Year's Day New Year's Day marks the start of a new year in the Gregorian calendar, the official calendar use...	January 01	Thursday	Nationwide
Good Friday Good Friday is just before Easter Sunday and is a public holiday in the United Kingdom.	April 03	Friday	Nationwide
Easter Monday Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday. It is a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern...	April 06	Monday	England,Wales,Northern Ireland
Early May Bank Holiday May Day, or the Early May Bank holiday, is on the first Monday of May each year.	May 04	Monday	Nationwide
Spring Bank Holiday The spring bank holiday in the United Kingdom is on the last Monday of May each year.	May 25	Monday	Nationwide
Summer Bank Holiday The summer bank holiday is on the first Monday of August in Scotland and the last Monday of Augus...	August 31	Monday	England,Wales,Northern Ireland
Christmas Day Christmas Day is a holiday that traditionally celebrates Jesus Christ's birth. It is on December ...	December 25	Friday	Nationwide
Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday in the United Kingdom that falls on December 26 each year.	December 26	Saturday	Nationwide
Substitute Bank Holiday for Boxing Day December 28 is a bank holiday in the United Kingdom only in some years, depending on which day Ch...	December 28	Monday	Nationwide

Legal Notice: This information is for guidance only and should not be considered legal advice. Always validate with local authorities or legal practitioners in United Kingdom.

📅 Free Staff Holiday Planning Templates

Download our ready-to-use templates to plan your team's time off around United Kingdom's public holidays

Google Sheets Template Excel Template

Perfect for HR managers, team leads, and small business owners planning staff coverage around public holidays

Managing staff leave around these holidays?

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Why HR Teams Choose Leavetrack

Everything you need for seamless leave management

Automatic Public Holiday Import: All public holidays for United Kingdom and 180+ other countries automatically loaded. No manual data entry required.
Save 5+ Hours Per Week: Eliminate manual leave calculations and reduce administrative overhead by up to 80%.
Compliance Made Easy: Built-in compliance tracking ensures you meet local employment laws and holiday entitlements.
Team Visibility: Everyone sees who's off when, preventing scheduling conflicts and ensuring adequate coverage.

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Absences managed

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Employees using Leavetrack

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Average customer rating

"With a team of over 50 employees, keeping track of absences and holidays using a paper based system used to be time consuming and prone to errors. Since introducing Leavetrack, the whole process has become a lot simpler and easier."

Cynthia Fisher

Commercial Director, Intatec Limited

How It Works

Simple, powerful leave management in four steps

Employees Request Leave

Simple, intuitive interface lets employees request time off in seconds. Public holidays are automatically excluded from calculations.

Book leave in under 30 seconds
See available leave balance instantly
Mobile-friendly for on-the-go requests

Managers Approve Instantly

Managers see all request details including conflicts with public holidays and other team members' leave.

Approve/reject directly from email
See team coverage at a glance
Complete audit trail of decisions

Plan Team Coverage

Beautiful visual calendar shows exactly who's off when, including public holidays, so you can plan optimal team coverage.

Color-coded wall chart
Filter by department or team
Spot conflicts before they happen

Generate Reports

Comprehensive reporting gives you insights into leave patterns, costs, and compliance - all exportable to Excel.

Full audit trail of all leave
Export to CSV for further analysis
Track entitlements and accruals

Don't Forget Your Free Planning Templates!

Get our ready-to-use staff planning templates to organize your team around United Kingdom's 2026 public holidays

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About Public Holidays in United Kingdom

Public holidays in the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as "bank holidays," are designated days when businesses and schools typically close to allow employees to take a break from work. These holidays are established by law and vary across the four nations: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Each region has its own specific public holidays, with some shared across the UK, such as Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Understanding public holidays is essential for effective absence management and staff leave planning, ensuring that businesses can accommodate employee time off while maintaining operational efficiency. For more information on public holidays in the UK, visit the official government website: Bank Holidays - GOV.UK.