Whether you're planning office closures, booking annual leave, or figuring out when your next long weekend falls, knowing the 2027 bank holiday dates well in advance gives you a serious head start.
Below you'll find every confirmed bank holiday for 2027 across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland — plus practical advice for office managers planning the year ahead and tips for stretching your annual leave as far as it'll go.
How Many Bank Holidays Are There in 2027?
The number of bank holidays depends on where in the UK you're based:
- England and Wales: 8 bank holidays
- Scotland: 9 bank holidays
- Northern Ireland: 10 bank holidays
One thing to note for 2027: Christmas Day falls on a Saturday and Boxing Day on a Sunday. That means substitute bank holidays will be observed on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December — giving everyone a four-day weekend to close out the year.
England and Wales Bank Holidays 2027
Key dates for your office calendar
The Easter weekend is a standout in 2027. Good Friday lands on 26 March, and with Easter Monday on the 29th, you get a four-day weekend without using a single day of annual leave. If your office tends to run on a skeleton crew around Easter, it's worth planning for this early.
The summer bank holiday falls on 30 August — the last Monday before most schools go back. Expect reduced attendance in the office the entire week before.
The real gift is Christmas 2027. With the substitute bank holidays on Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th December, most offices will effectively shut down from Christmas Eve (Friday 24th) through to the New Year bank holiday on Friday 1 January 2028. That's potentially 10 consecutive days off using just 3 days of annual leave (29, 30, 31 December).
Scotland Bank Holidays 2027
What's different in Scotland?
Scotland doesn't observe Easter Monday as a bank holiday, so the Easter weekend is only three days (Friday to Sunday). However, Scottish workers get a bonus New Year break — with the 2nd January substitute day falling on Monday 4 January, that's a four-day New Year weekend.
Scotland's summer bank holiday also falls earlier, on the first Monday of August (2 August) rather than the last Monday (30 August in England and Wales). If you manage teams across the border, make a note of this — your Edinburgh and Glasgow colleagues will be off nearly a month before your London team.
St Andrew's Day on 30 November is a Tuesday in 2027. Some employers offer this as an additional day off, while others allow staff to swap it for an alternative holiday. Check your employment contracts.
Northern Ireland Bank Holidays 2027
What's different in Northern Ireland?
Northern Ireland gets the most generous bank holiday allocation in the UK with 10 days. Two additional holidays — St Patrick's Day (17 March) and the Battle of the Boyne (12 July) — mean extra office closures to plan around.
St Patrick's Day falls on a Wednesday in 2027, which splits the working week. Many businesses in Northern Ireland close for the day or operate with reduced hours. If you're managing a UK-wide team, flag this date early so cover arrangements are in place.
Office Planning: When to Expect Reduced Attendance
Not every bank holiday affects your office equally. Some create long weekends that most of your team will take advantage of; others land mid-week and have less impact. Here's a practical breakdown for anyone managing an office, booking meeting rooms, or coordinating hybrid schedules in 2027.
The long weekends (plan for skeleton crew or full closure)
Easter (26–29 March): Four days off in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Many staff will book the Tuesday to Thursday before Easter to create a 10-day break. Expect a very quiet office from Monday 22 March onward.
Early May (1–3 May): The bank holiday is Monday 3 May. A standard three-day weekend — manageable, but some staff will extend it.
Spring Bank Holiday (29–31 May): Another three-day weekend. This one often coincides with school half-term, so expect higher leave requests from parents.
Summer Bank Holiday (28–30 August): The last hurrah before autumn. Traditionally one of the lowest-attendance weeks of the year.
Christmas/New Year (25 December – 1 January 2028): The big one. With Christmas and Boxing Day substitutes on the Monday and Tuesday, and New Year's Day 2028 falling on a Saturday (substitute likely on Monday 3 January), you're looking at a 10-day window that most offices close entirely.
The mid-week breaks (reduced but not empty)
St Patrick's Day, 17 March (NI only): A Wednesday. The office won't empty, but don't schedule anything critical.
St Andrew's Day, 30 November (Scotland): A Tuesday. Similar to above — lighter attendance but not a shutdown.
How to Maximise Your Annual Leave in 2027
This is the section everyone really wants. By booking annual leave strategically around bank holidays, you can turn a standard 28-day entitlement into significantly more time off. Here are the best opportunities in 2027.
New Year: 10 days off using 4 days of leave
Book Monday 4, Tuesday 5, Wednesday 6, and Thursday 7 January as annual leave. Combined with the New Year's Day bank holiday on Friday 1 January, that gives you a 10-day break from Saturday 26 December 2026 through to Sunday 10 January 2027.
Scottish bonus: Scotland already gets Monday 4 January as a bank holiday, so you only need 3 days of leave for the same break.
Easter: 10 days off using 4 days of leave
Book Monday 22, Tuesday 23, Wednesday 24, and Thursday 25 March. With Good Friday and Easter Monday as bank holidays, you get 10 consecutive days off (Saturday 20 to Monday 29 March).
This is one of the best value leave blocks of the year. If you can only do one strategic booking, make it this one.
Early May: 9 days off using 4 days of leave
Book Tuesday 4, Wednesday 5, Thursday 6, and Friday 7 May. Combined with the bank holiday Monday and the weekends either side, that's 9 days off.
Spring Bank Holiday: 9 days off using 4 days of leave
Book Tuesday 1, Wednesday 2, Thursday 3, and Friday 4 June after the 31 May bank holiday for 9 consecutive days off. This often aligns with school half-term, so it's a popular family option.
Summer Bank Holiday: 9 days off using 4 days of leave
Book Tuesday 31 August, Wednesday 1, Thursday 2, and Friday 3 September. That's 9 days off running into early September — perfect for a late summer holiday when prices tend to drop.
Christmas/New Year: 10+ days off using 3 days of leave
The best hack of 2027. Book Wednesday 29, Thursday 30, and Friday 31 December. With the substitute bank holidays on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December, plus the Christmas Eve shutdown many offices observe, you could get 10 or more consecutive days off using just 3 days of annual leave.
The full picture: 57 days off using 23 days of leave
If you book all of the above strategically, you can turn 23 days of annual leave into 57 days off work. That still leaves you 5 days of annual leave (based on the statutory minimum of 28 days including bank holidays) for ad-hoc days off throughout the year.
Do I Have to Give Staff Bank Holidays Off?
A common question from employers and office managers: there's actually no legal requirement in the UK to give employees bank holidays as paid leave. Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, full-time workers are entitled to 28 days of paid annual leave per year — and employers can choose to include bank holidays within that allowance.
That said, most employment contracts in the UK do specify bank holidays as additional paid leave on top of the statutory 28 days. Check your contracts and staff handbook.
If your business needs to stay open on bank holidays (retail, hospitality, healthcare), you'll typically need to offer time off in lieu (TOIL) or enhanced pay rates. Make sure this is clearly set out in your employment contracts.
Bank Holidays 2027 vs 2026: What's Changed?
If you're rolling over your office calendar from 2026, here are the key differences:
- New Year's Day moves from a Thursday (2026) to a Friday (2027) — creating a three-day weekend
- Easter shifts later, from April (2026) to late March (2027)
- Christmas moves from a Friday (2026) to a Saturday (2027), triggering substitute days on the Monday and Tuesday — a bigger end-of-year shutdown
The total number of bank holidays remains the same across all UK nations. No additional one-off bank holidays have been announced for 2027 at the time of writing.
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