The bank holiday dates for 2024 have been confirmed, with one major change compared with 2023. There will also be some differences depending on whether you are in England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.
In addition, next year’s Christmas break will be half as long as this year based on how the bank holidays fall compared with surrounding weekends.
Some bank holidays get moved around because they must fall on a specific day of the week in a certain month, others are always on a set date, and some such as Easter depend on calculations that are determined by when hugely significant religious events are said to have taken place.
The next bank holiday coming in England and Wales in 2023 is Christmas Day on Monday, December 25, and then Boxing Day on Tuesday, December 26. Both come straight after the previous weekend, giving many people a four-day break. Scotland has a bank holiday coming earlier than those, with St Andrew’s Day on Thursday, November 30.
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Bank holidays for 2024 in England and Wales
New Year’s Day – Monday, January 1
Good Friday – Friday, March 29
Easter Monday – Monday, April 1
Early May Bank Holiday (also called May Day Bank Holiday) – Monday, May 6
Spring Bank Holiday (also called Late May Bank Holiday) – Monday, May 27
Summer Bank Holiday (also called August Bank Holiday) – Monday, August 26
Christmas Day – Wednesday, December 25
Boxing Day – Thursday, December 26
There’s one fewer bank holiday in 2024 because in 2023 we had an additional day off for King Charles’ Coronation on May 8. In 2022, there were two extra bank holiday dates, one on June 3 for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee (with the Spring Bank Holiday moved to the day before that, on June 2) and one on September 19 for the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
For 2024, we will also see a Christmas break that’s half as long. Whereas this year’s Christmas Day and Boxing Day are directly after a weekend, creating a four-day break, next year both those days fall on weekdays that are not right next to a weekend. So you’ll need to book a day off on Friday, December 27, to create a long break which would then be five days in total.
In addition, the Easter three-day weekend for 2024 falls across two months as it starts at the end of March and ends at the beginning of April. Easter is worked out each year as being on the first Sunday following the full moon at Passover, the time of the Last Supper. This Paschal Full Moon is always taken as the 14th day of the lunar month, and it must always be the next full moon after the Spring Equinox.
Variations in Scotland
In 2024, Scotland has many of the same bank holidays as England and Wales with a few changes. It has an extra bank holiday on January 2, directly after New Year’s Day; it doesn’t have a bank holiday on Easter Monday; and its Summer Bank Holiday is at the start of the month on Monday, August 5.
Additionally, it will have Monday, December 2, as a substitute bank holiday because St Andrew’s Day is on November 30 which happens to fall on a Saturday.
Variations in Northern Ireland
In 2024, Northern Ireland has most of the same bank holidays as England and Wales, with two additional dates.
Firstly, there’s a bank holiday for St Patrick’s Day. In 2024, the date falls on Sunday, March 17, so there’s a substitute bank holiday on Monday, March 18. A second additional bank holiday is on Friday, July 12, which is for the Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day).
