Employment - In N. Ireland

This information applies to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Time off work on bank and public holidays

Although many workers are given time off work on bank and public holidays, your employer is not required by law to allow you time off work on these days. And if they do give you the time off, they do not have to pay you for this time off. However, your contract of employment may give you the right to time off work on bank and public holidays. If so, it will also specify whether this time off will be paid or not.

Although there are some exceptions, most workers have the right to take 4.8 weeks' paid holiday from work. This is called statutory holiday.

To work out how many days paid statutory holiday you can take a year, you need to multiply 4.8 by the number of days you work in a week.

For example:

• if you work a five-day week, you are entitled to 24 days' paid holiday a year (4.8 X 5).
• if you work 2.5 days a week, you are entitled to 12 days' paid holiday a year (4.8 X 2.5).

The maximum amount of statutory paid holiday you can be entitled to is 28 days in one leave year. This applies even if you work more than five days a week.

If your employer gives you bank or public holidays off, they will count towards your statutory holiday unless your employment contract specifically says that you get bank or public holidays on top of your statutory holiday.

For example, if you work five days a week, you are entitled to 24 days' paid holiday a year. If you are expected to take bank and public holidays off, and are not given them on top of your statutory holiday, the bank/public holidays these will be deducted from your 24 days. In England and Wales, there are eight bank and public holidays so this will leave you 16 days which you can choose when to take.

However, your employment contract may give you bank or public holidays off on top of your statutory holiday. For example, if you work five days a week, and get 24 days' holiday a year, you would get 24 days plus eight bank and public holidays. This makes a total of 32 days altogether. Your contract should tell you whether or not you are paid for the bank/public holidays.

Even if your contract says nothing about bank and public holidays, you may still have the right to have bank and public holidays off in addition to your statutory holiday if it's usual for others at your workplace to be given these days off in addition to their statutory holiday. If you think you are in this situation, get expert advice about what to do.

There are special rules for shop-workers in England and Wales who work in large shops (over 280 square feet). If you work in one of these shops, you must be given Christmas Day off, regardless of which day it falls on. However, whether or not you will be paid will depend on your contract of employment.

For more information about your right to take paid leave from work, see How much paid holiday you can take in Holidays and holiday pay.

If you are unsure whether you have the right to take time off work on bank and public holidays, you should talk to an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.

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Dates of bank and public holidays in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

The expected dates for bank and public holidays in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for 2008 and 2009 are shown in the tables below.

Bank/public holidays in England and Wales

Bank/public holidays in Northern Ireland

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Dates of bank and public holidays in Scotland

The expected dates for bank holidays in Scotland for 2008 and 2009 are shown in the table below. They include 1 and 2 January. There are also a number of public holidays in Scotland that vary depending on where you live or work.

Bank holidays in Scotland

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Changes to bank or public holidays

Sometimes the government grants an extra bank or public holiday in order to celebrate a special occasion.

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