With the summer bank holiday now behind us, attention turns to when the next day off falls and how many bank holidays remain on the 2026 calendar for England and Wales.
The Next Bank Holiday
The next bank holiday for England and Wales falls on Friday 25 December, Christmas Day. There is a sizeable gap between now and then, as the summer bank holiday on Monday 31 August was the last one before the winter break, meaning workers face roughly four months without a statutory day off.
Full List of 2026 Bank Holidays
England and Wales share the same bank holiday calendar, with eight bank holidays falling across the year:
- Thursday 1 January – New Year’s Day
- Friday 3 April – Good Friday
- Monday 6 April – Easter Monday
- Monday 4 May – Early May bank holiday
- Monday 25 May – Spring bank holiday
- Monday 31 August – Summer bank holiday
- Friday 25 December – Christmas Day
- Monday 28 December – Boxing Day (substitute day)
The Boxing Day holiday moves to Monday 28 December because 26 December falls on a Saturday in 2026, meaning the bank holiday is shifted so employees still receive the benefit of a non-working day.
How Scotland And Northern Ireland Differ
Scotland and Northern Ireland each mark slightly different sets of dates. Scotland observes New Year’s Day and 2 January as consecutive holidays, along with Good Friday, the early May and spring bank holidays, a summer bank holiday on Monday 3 August rather than the end of August, St Andrew’s Day on Monday 30 November, and the same Christmas and Boxing Day arrangement as England and Wales.
Northern Ireland’s calendar includes St Patrick’s Day on Tuesday 17 March and shares Good Friday, Easter Monday, the early May and spring bank holidays with England and Wales, alongside its own arrangements around Christmas and the New Year.
Why It Matters For Planning
The long stretch between the August bank holiday and Christmas is often cited as one of the more difficult periods of the working year, prompting many employees to use annual leave to break up the months in between. With no statutory bank holiday scheduled in September, October or November, workers planning time off are likely to rely on existing leave allowances rather than public holidays to bridge the gap.
Retailers, hospitality businesses and transport operators typically use the bank holiday calendar to plan staffing and trading hours well in advance, and the fixed date of Christmas Day this year, falling on a Friday, gives businesses a clear run into an extended festive period, with Boxing Day’s substitute date on the following Monday effectively creating a long weekend for many employees before the year ends.
