UK HR Term
Bank holiday
A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom on which banks and most businesses traditionally close. There is no automatic statutory right to paid leave on a bank holiday — entitlement depends on the employment contract.
In plain English
A bank holiday is a public holiday across the UK, originally designated under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971. England and Wales recognise eight a year (New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Early May, Spring, Summer, Christmas Day, Boxing Day). Scotland has nine; Northern Ireland has ten (adding St Patrick's Day and Battle of the Boyne).
The common misconception
There is no automatic legal right to paid time off on a bank holiday. Whether an employee gets the day off — paid, unpaid, or has to work — depends entirely on their employment contract. If the contract is silent on bank holidays, the default position is that the employee can be required to work them.
How they fit into statutory holiday
The UK statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks (28 days for a five-day worker) is inclusive of bank holidays unless the contract says otherwise. A typical employer might give 20 days' annual leave plus 8 bank holidays = 28 days total. A more generous employer might give 25 days plus 8 bank holidays = 33 days.
Pro-rata for part-timers
Bank holidays disproportionately fall on Mondays. To avoid disadvantaging part-timers who don't normally work Mondays, employers should pro-rate the bank holiday entitlement separately and add it to the general holiday allocation.
How Luna HR handles this
Luna HR Leave Management — automatic UK bank holiday calendar