Public and bank holidays in Scotland

Bank and public holidays in Scotland are determined under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 and the St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007. Unlike the rest of United Kingdom, most bank holidays are not recognised as statutory public holidays in Scotland, as most public holidays are determined by local authorities across Scotland. Some of these may be taken in lieu of statutory holidays, while others may be additional holidays, although many companies, including Royal Mail, do not follow all the holidays listed below; and many swap between English and local holidays. Many large shops and supermarkets continue to operate normally during public holidays, especially since there are no restrictions such as Sunday trading rules in Scotland.

Bank holidays

Since Easter 1996 the Scottish clearing banks have harmonised the days on which they are closed with those in England and Wales, and are therefore closed on Easter Monday and the last Monday in August (rather than the first). This has resulted in a number of local authorities creating a public holiday on Easter Monday. Previously Easter Monday had not been a public holiday in Scotland. There have been many protests about banks opening on 2 January since this decision was taken. This has resulted in many banks now providing only a limited service on 2 January, with most members of staff still entitled to the holiday.

Schedule 1 to the 1971 Act states that the following days are official bank holidays in Scotland:

Date	Name
1 January	New Year's Day
2 January	New Year Holiday
variable	Good Friday
First Monday in May	May Day
Last Monday in May	Spring Holiday
First Monday in August	Summer Holiday
30 November	St. Andrew's Day
25 December	Christmas Day
26 December	Boxing Day
Total	9

Notes

1. Certain bank branches in Edinburgh are open on the last Monday in August when the Edinburgh Festival is taking place
2. When the stated date falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday is normally designated a public holiday instead. When Christmas Day falls on a Saturday (and thus Boxing Day on a Sunday), the following Monday and Tuesday are normally designated public holidays instead
3. In 1995, May Day holiday was moved to the second Monday in May – i.e., from 1 May to 8 May – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of VE Day
4. In 1999, an additional bank holiday was given to enable people to prepare for the festivities to mark the arrival of the year 2000
5. In 2002, the Spring Holiday was moved to 4 June. This caused it to follow an extra bank holiday on 3 June, making a four-day weekend to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II
6. In 2011, a public holiday was given to ensure most people would have a chance to celebrate the Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, making a four-day weekend as May Day was on the following Monday
7. In 2012 the Spring Holiday was moved to 4 June. It was then followed by an extra holiday on 5 June, making a four-day weekend to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Unfortunately only Fife, Inverclyde and Scottish Borders were affected as they already take the first Monday in June as a public holiday. Most areas in Scotland did not have the four-day weekend and only had the Tuesday official holiday

If New Year's Day or 2 January fall on a Saturday or Sunday then the holidays will be taken on Monday or and Tuesday. The St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007, passed by the Scottish Parliament on 29 November 2006, added * St Andrew's Day (30 November), or the following Monday should 30 November fall on a weekend

Special days and substitute bank holidays

Section 1 of the 1971 Act also provides that special days may be appointed as bank holidays (either additional or in place of bank holidays which fall on a Saturday or Sunday) subject to Royal Proclamation each year. These include Boxing Day, which has been an additional bank holiday in Scotland since 1974 and the last Monday in May which has been a bank holiday since 1978.

Section 1 of the 1971 Act also enables the Queen to appoint substitute bank holidays in any one year by Royal Proclamation. Substitute days are customarily appointed for all UK bank holidays which fall on a Saturday or Sunday. Where any of the dates fall on a Sunday, the Act substitutes the following Monday for that date. If any fall on a Saturday (or if Boxing Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday), the Royal Proclamation includes substitute days for these days.

Public holidays

Date	Name	Major Towns/Cities (not an exhaustive list)
1 January	New Year's Day	all
2 January
First Monday in February	Winter Holiday	Inverness
First Monday in March		Inverness
Last Monday in March		Lochaber
Easter holiday (variable)	Good Friday	Ayr, Dumfries and Galloway, East Dunbartonshire, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Inverclyde, Kilmarnock, Paisley, Stirling, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire
	Easter Monday	Ayr, Edinburgh, Falkirk, East Dunbartonshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, Kilmarnock, North Lanarkshire, Paisley, Stirling, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire
First Monday in April	Spring Holiday	Carnoustie and Monifieth area, Dundee, Fife, Scottish Borders, Inverness, Perth,
Second Monday in April		Angus, expect Carnoustie and Monifieth area, Elgin
Third Monday in April, or preceding week if would otherwise coincide with Easter Monday		Edinburgh
Monday in April; date varies from year to year		Aberdeen
Last Monday in April		Inverclyde
First Monday in May	Labour Day or Early May Bank Holiday	all
Tuesday after 1st Monday in May	Victoria Day (*)/Spring Holiday	Clydebank, Stirling
Last Monday strictly before 24 May		Edinburgh*
Fourth Monday in May		Perth*
Last Monday in May		Ayr, Dundee*, East Dunbartonshire, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Paisley*, South Lanarkshire
1st Monday in June		Galashiels, Inverclyde, Fife
Friday and Saturday after 1st Monday in June	Common Riding	Hawick
Tuesday after 2nd Thursday in June	Linlithgow Marches	Linlithgow
Second Thursday in June	Lanimer Day	Lanark area only
Last Monday in June	Fair Holiday	Elgin
First Monday in July		Falkirk, Inverness
First Friday in July	Braw Lads Gathering	Galashiels
Second Monday in July	Fair Holiday	Aberdeen
Third Monday in July		Arbroath, Fife, East Dunbartonshire, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire except Lanark
Fourth Friday in July		Scottish Borders
Last Monday in July		Dundee
First Monday in August		Paisley
First Monday in September	Late Summer Holiday	Elgin, Inverclyde
Second Monday in September	Battle of Stirling Bridge	Falkirk, Perth, Stirling
Third Friday in September	Ayr Gold Cup	Ayr, Kilmarnock
Monday after Third Friday in September		Ayr, Kilmarnock
Third Monday in September	Autumn Holiday	Edinburgh
Last Monday in September		Aberdeen, Angus except Carnoustie and Monifieth area, East Dunbartonshire, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Paisley, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire
First Monday in October		Carnoustie and Monifieth area, Dundee, Inverness, Perth
Second Monday in October		Scottish Borders
Third Monday in October		Elgin, Fife
First Monday in November	Samhain holiday	Inverness
30 November	St. Andrew's Day To be taken in lieu of one of the other statutory holidays at discretion of individual companies/authorities.	an official holiday in Angus, Fife, Scottish Borders
25 December	Christmas Day	All
26 December	Boxing Day	All

Sources

• Scottish Government article on St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007
• Scottish Government article on bank holidays
• Text of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

See also

• Bank holiday
• Public holidays in the United Kingdom

External links

• Bank holidays in Scotland - Scottish Government