If you like to plan ahead, you’ll want to know the dates for 2024 so you can earmark potential holidays. Unlike in some recent years, however, there are no extra days off for big celebrations. It may be worth bearing in mind that it’s a leap year, so there’s an extra day in February.
Main photo: Brighton during a bank holiday weekend (Alamy)
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When are the UK bank holidays?
The dates for the bank holidays change every year depending on when the weekends fall. If New Year’s Day falls on a weekend for example, there will be a substitute bank holiday on the Monday straight after — although there are no substitute days in 2024.
When are the 2024 bank holidays?
Below are the dates for 2024 bank holidays for England and Wales.
- Monday, January 1 New Year’s Day
- Friday, March 29 Good Friday
- Monday, April 1 Easter Monday
- Monday, May 6 early May bank holiday
- Monday, May 27 spring bank holiday
- Monday, August 26 summer bank holiday
- Wednesday, December 25 Christmas Day
- Thursday, December 26 Boxing Day
The dates are slightly different for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Scotland has an extra day off after New Year’s Day (Tuesday, January 2), taking its annual bank holiday total to nine. And while it doesn’t have Easter Monday, it does have a day off towards the end of the year for St Andrew’s Day (it’s Monday, December 2 in 2024). Its August bank holiday also falls on a different day — in 2024 it’s on Monday, August 5.
Northern Ireland’s bank holidays are largely the same as those for England and Wales but there are two extra days off: St Patrick’s Day (the substitute bank holiday is Monday, March 18 in 2024) and a day to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day) on Friday, July 12.
