Do you get bank holidays off?

No law gives you the right to take bank holidays off, and no law says you must be paid extra for working them. Whether you get the day off, a day in lieu or a higher rate depends on your contract. Most public sector contracts are better than the legal minimum: NHS Agenda for Change staff and council staff on the Green Book get 8 public holidays on top of their annual leave.

What the law says

Every worker is entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year, which is 28 days for someone working five days a week. An employer can count bank holidays as part of that 28. So a private sector contract offering “28 days including bank holidays” meets the law, and that employer can also ask you to work on the bank holiday and take the day another time.

That is the floor. The rest is contractual, and public sector contracts mostly treat public holidays as an extra entitlement.

England and Wales have eight bank holidays a year. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different lists, and the gov.uk bank holidays page shows the dates for each nation. Your contract may name particular days, or it may use a fixed number of public holidays that apply wherever you work.

NHS staff

Under Agenda for Change, full-time staff get 8 general public holidays in addition to their annual leave of 27, 29 or 33 days. Part-time staff get public holidays pro rata, so they end up with the same share whichever days of the week they work. Our part-time holiday guide shows how that is calculated.

Hospitals do not close for bank holidays, so many staff will work some of them. When you work a public holiday under Agenda for Change, you are paid at the public holiday rate set out in the unsocial hours provisions and you also get time off in lieu. The rates are covered in our guide to NHS unsocial hours enhancements. How bank holiday shifts are shared out is a matter for local rota rules, and NHS shift patterns explains the common set-ups.

GP practices are mostly independent employers and set their own terms. A practice can lawfully include bank holidays in a 28-day package, so read the contract before you accept.

Council staff and school support staff

The Green Book minimum is 23 days of annual leave (26 after five years’ continuous service), plus 8 public holidays and 2 extra-statutory days. Many councils add more or let you choose when to take the extra days.

Council services that run every day, such as residential care, some waste services and leisure centres, may need staff on bank holidays. Local agreements cover the pay for this, so the rate varies by council. Your contract or the council’s pay and conditions handbook will set it out.

Term-time-only support staff in schools do not get bank holidays as days off in the usual sense. A pro-rata share of the 8 public holidays and 2 extra days is built into the paid weeks used to calculate their salary.

Teachers

Most bank holidays fall in school holidays or half-terms. Teachers in maintained schools in England are directed to work on 195 days a year, and those days are set by the school or local authority calendar, which avoids bank holidays. The early May bank holiday is the one that usually falls during term, and schools close for it.

Civil Service and emergency services

Civil Service departments set their own leave terms, and most give public holidays on top of annual leave plus a privilege day. Check the job advert or contract for the exact package.

Police officers, firefighters and ambulance staff work rotas that cover every day of the year. Each service has its own national or local rules on public holiday working, rest days and enhanced pay. Your federation, union or HR team can point you to the right document.

When the contract is silent

If your contract does not say how bank holidays are handled, the employer’s usual practice may become an implied term over time. For example, if everyone has always had bank holidays off with pay, that can become part of the contract. This is a grey area, and ACAS gives free advice on it.

Three things to check in a new contract:

• whether the holiday figure includes or excludes public holidays
• whether you can be required to work them and, if so, what you are paid
• whether you get a day in lieu if a public holiday falls on a day you do not work or while you are on leave

If you are in a union, the rep will know the local agreement. Otherwise, HR can give you the policy in writing, which is the document that counts if there is a dispute.