Public holidays in the United Kingdom

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These are the public holidays observed in the countries of the United Kingdom.^[1] Workers in the United Kingdom are not automatically entitled to time off on a public holiday. Time off can be provided for in an employment agreement or by expending annual leave.^[2]

British people tend to call their public holidays bank holidays.

When an anniversary day that is usually a bank holiday falls on a weekend, the date of the bank holiday is postponed and declared for a following weekday. This new date is termed a 'bank holiday in lieu' of the actual anniversary day. In this way, public holidays are not 'lost' on years when they coincide with weekends (which will already be a day off for many people).

Increasingly, there are calls for public holidays on the patron saints' days in England, Scotland and Wales (Northern Ireland already has St Patrick's Day as a holiday). An online petition sent to the Prime Minister received 11,000 signatures for a public holiday in Wales on St. David's Day; the Scottish Parliament has introduced a bill for a public holiday on St. Andrew's Day; campaigners in England are calling for a bank holiday on St. George's Day.