What are the public holidays (Bank Holidays) in 2024 and 2025 in the United Kingdom?

What are the public holidays (Bank Holidays) in 2024 and 2025 in the United Kingdom?

/ Vie pratique

In the United Kingdom, the calendar lists 8 Bank Holidays (public holidays) in 2024 and 8 Bank Holidays in 2025.

Compared to 19 public holidays in France.

If a Bank Holidays falls on a weekend, it is substituted for the following Monday.

Bank Holidays in 2025

  1. Wednesday, January 1 (New Year's Day)
  2. Friday, April 18 (Good Friday)
  3. Monday, April 21 (Easter Monday)
  4. Monday, May 5 (Early May Bank Holiday)
  5. Monday, May 26 (Spring Bank Holiday)
  6. Monday, August 25 (Summer Bank Holiday)
  7. Thursday, December 25 (Christmas Day)
  8. Friday, December 26 (Boxing Day)

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Bank Holidays in 2024

  1. Monday, January 1 (New Year's Day)
  2. Friday, March 29 (Good Friday)
  3. Monday, April 1 (Easter Monday)
  4. Monday, May 6 (Early May Bank Holiday)
  5. Monday, May 27 (Spring Bank Holiday)
  6. Monday, August 26 (Summer Bank Holiday)
  7. Wednesday, December 25 (Christmas Day)
  8. Thursday, December 26 (Boxing Day)

Bank Holidays in 2023

  1. Monday, January 2 (New Year's Day)
  2. Friday, April 7 (Good Friday)
  3. Monday, April 10 (Easter Monday)
  4. Monday, May 1 (Early May Bank Holiday)
  5. Monday, May 8 (Bank holiday for the coronation of King Charles III)
  6. Monday, May 29 (Spring Bank Holiday)
  7. Monday, August 28 (Summer Bank Holiday)
  8. Monday, December 25 (Christmas Day)
  9. Tuesday, December 26 (Boxing Day)

In 2023, a special occasion added an extra bank holiday to the usual UK calendar. Monday, May 8 has been designated as a bank holiday to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III. This exceptional bank holiday was established to allow the public to participate in the festivities and celebrate the beginning of the new monarch's reign. It is a historic event that enriches the cultural and royal heritage of the United Kingdom, reflecting the importance of the monarchy in the national identity.

Bank Holidays in 2022

  1. Monday, January 3 (New Year's Day)
  2. Friday, April 15 (Good Friday)
  3. Monday, April 18 (Easter Monday)
  4. Monday, May 2 (Early May Bank Holiday)
  5. Thursday, June 2 (Spring Bank Holiday)
  6. Friday, June 3 (Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday)
  7. Monday, August 29 (Summer Bank Holiday)
  8. Monday, December 26 (Christmas Day)
  9. Tuesday, December 27 (Boxing Day)

In 2022, an additional bank holiday was added to the traditional UK calendar to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, marking her 70 years on the throne. This special celebration took place on Friday, June 3, thus extending the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. This historic event not only allowed the public to celebrate seven decades of the queen's dedicated service but also offered a unique opportunity for reflection on the many achievements and challenges overcome during her reign.

Origin of Bank Holidays

In the United Kingdom, public holidays - known as "Bank Holidays" - were initially established as days off for bank employees.

The Bank Holidays Act of 1871 was introduced by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir John Lubbock, a banker's son, a banker himself, and a member of the Liberal Parliament, to encourage leisure time for bankers and to improve their well-being.

These rest days were later extended to the entire workforce, knowing that if banks were not operational during these periods, no one could carry out transactions. They became national public holidays - adopted by most businesses - and took an important place in the British calendar.

First official public holiday

The first official public holiday in the United Kingdom took place on August 5, 1871. It was designated as a day off to allow bank employees to attend a cricket match between England and Australia at Kennington Oval.

Reduction in the number of Bank Holidays

Before 1834, the Bank of England offered about 33 Bank Holidays, based on religious festivals and the celebration of saints, to its employees. But in 1834, this number was reduced to 4 by the government, deeming this figure too high for the bank's operational needs. The choice was therefore made for May 1st, November 1st, Good Friday, and Christmas Day.

The Bank Holidays Act of 1871 formalized the concept of paid Bank Holidays in the United Kingdom, designating specific dates as Bank Holidays. This act established 4 Bank Holidays in the United Kingdom: Easter Monday, the first Monday in August, December 26 (Boxing Day), and Whit Monday.

Good Friday and Christmas Day were not included in the law as they were already considered traditional rest days.

A century later, the Banking and Financial Dealings Act of 1971 added to the list of these Bank holidays by including January 1st as well as the first Monday in May, and by setting Whit Monday to the last Monday of May. It also changed the August public holiday from the first to the last Monday of the month.

Other changes have also been proposed, such as the 2011 coalition government's attempt to move May Day to October and rename it UK Day or Trafalgar Day, although this proposal was rejected due to public opposition.

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Compared to other countries, the United Kingdom has a relatively low number of public holidays. For example, Cambodia holds the record for the highest number of public holidays in the world with 28 public holidays.

Bank Holidays vary between different regions of the United Kingdom. For example, Scotland has a public holiday on January 2nd and Saint Andrew's Day on November 30th, but does not celebrate Easter Monday. And Northern Ireland has two additional Bank Holidays: Saint Patrick's Day on March 17th and the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne on July 12th (Orangemen's Day orThe Twelfth).

Royal Proclamation

For the four territories of the kingdom, the law also grants the king the power to declare additional Bank holidays. This was the case, for example, for the silver, golden, diamond, and platinum jubilees of Queen Elizabeth II, for December 31, 1999, or more recently for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29, 2011. However, there was great disappointment in November 2017, when the engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was announced. All Britons were hoping for the decree of a public holiday, in vain.

Other cases can also prompt the king to make some changes, for example, when Bank Holidays fall on a weekend and the law does not provide for a replacement day, there can be a royal proclamation. For instance, in 1993, Christmas Day fell on a Saturday. The 1971 law already provided that December 27 would be a public holiday when December 26 fell on a Sunday, which is why the queen proclaimed December 28 as a public holiday to compensate. It was thus a very long end-of-year weekend!

Official sources