Bank holidays for 2024: With an extra day off for all UK workers following the King’s coronation, 2023 was a particularly bountiful year for national celebrations. Employees will need to be more resilient the following year because there will only be eight public holidays to look forward to on a thin bank holiday calendar.
The complete schedule of bank holidays for 2024 is provided below, along with tips on how to maximise your vacation time by carefully organising your yearly leave.
Bank holidays for 2024
The UK’s member states all have slightly different laws pertaining to public holidays. Employees in Northern Ireland are entitled to ten national days off, compared to eight for those in England and Wales.
The business calendar for the following year will show that, together with information on the longest leave programme that is offered in each UK region:
England and Wales
- Monday 1 January – New Year’s Day
- Friday 29 March – Good Friday
- Monday 1 April – Easter Monday
- Monday 6 May – Early May bank holiday
- Monday 27 May – Spring bank holiday
- Monday 26 August – Summer bank holiday
- Wednesday 25 December – Christmas Day
- Thursday 26 December – Boxing Day
Scotland
- Monday 1 January – New Year’s Day
- Tuesday 2 January
- Friday 29 March – Good Friday
- Monday 6 May – Early May bank holiday
- Monday 27 May – Spring bank holiday
- Monday 5 August – Summer bank holiday
- Monday 2 December – St. Andrew’s Day
- Wednesday 25 December – Christmas Day
- Thursday 26 December – Boxing Day
Northern Ireland
- Monday 1 January – New Year’s Day
- Monday 18 March – St. Patrick’s Day
- Friday 29 March – Good Friday
- Monday 1 April – Easter Monday
- Monday 6 May – Early May bank holiday
- Monday 27 May – Spring bank holiday
- Friday 12 July – Battle of the Boyne
- Monday 26 August – Summer bank holiday
- Wednesday 25 December – Christmas Day
- Thursday 26 December – Boxing Day
Explore the Top Holiday Destinations for Retirees in 2023
Easter and Christmas vacations in 2024
Easter and Christmas vacations in 2024 Easter and Christmas are popular holiday times with numerous bank holidays that fall within a year that allows employees to maximise their yearly leave entitlement.
As usual, employees can increase their total leave from eight days to sixteen days by taking four days off on either side of Easter Monday and Good Friday.
The two bank holidays that fall around Christmas 2024 will provide employees one more chance to spend time in the sun. Because Boxing Day and Christmas Day fall on a Wednesday and Thursday, employees should take three days off from work in order to take a total of nine days off.
But that’s a different story on New Year’s Day. Since the bank holiday falls on a Tuesday in 2024, workers will only have one day off from work to recover from their holiday hangover (both literally and figuratively).
How about bank holidays that are more flexible?
The fact that there is no legally mandated right to paid time off on bank holidays may surprise you. Nevertheless, the majority of firms outside the service sector will nevertheless recognise these days as public holidays and subtract them from employees’ mandatory vacation pay.
However, there is rising awareness of the potential effects of the practice on workplace inclusion, especially for people who observe cultural or religious holidays that coincide with the UK’s Christian holiday calendar.
Progressive UK firms are starting to embrace flexible bank holiday arrangements, commonly referred to as “pick and mix” holidays, as a solution to these issues.
Employees may swap in a set number of bank holidays for other dates that better suit their own schedules or cultural customs, according to the rules.
This flexibility promotes a more welcoming workplace that values diversity in the workplace in addition to giving employees the freedom to organise their vacations around their particular circumstances.
