The Government has confirmed the remaining bank holidays the UK will observe this year. While different UK nations frequently have varying bank holiday dates, some remain consistent across the board. For example, the recent Easter weekend brought two bank holidays on Good Friday, April 3, and Easter Monday, April 6, for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland, however, does not recognise Easter Monday as a bank holiday.
May Bank Holidays
The two May bank holidays - Early May bank holiday and Spring bank holiday on May 4 and May 25 respectively - will be acknowledged across all four nations of the UK. For England and Wales, these will be the last bank holidays until August. Other parts of the UK, however, have additional dates to look forward to before the eighth month of the year.
Scotland's World Cup Bank Holiday
Scotland will mark a one-off bank holiday in June, celebrating its national team's qualification for the World Cup. Buckingham Palace announced in February: "To mark the achievement of Scotland's men's football team competing at the Fifa World Cup for the first time in 28 years, we consider it desirable that Monday, the fifteenth day of June in the year 2026 should be a bank holiday in Scotland." The proclamation, made under section 1(3) of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, officially appoints Monday, June 15, 2026, as a bank holiday in Scotland.
Northern Ireland's Battle of the Boyne Holiday
Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, Monday, July 13, marks the Battle of the Boyne bank holiday (substitute day). This is a traditional holiday observed in Northern Ireland.
Upcoming Bank Holidays in August
The following bank holidays after these will fall on Monday, August 3, when Scotland celebrates its Summer bank holiday, while the remainder of the UK, that is England, Wales and Northern Ireland, will mark their Summer bank holiday on Monday, August 25.
Full List of UK Bank Holidays in May, June and July
- Monday, May 4 – Early May bank holiday (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland)
- Monday, May 25 – Spring bank holiday (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland)
- Monday, June 15 – World Cup bank holiday (Scotland only)
- Monday, July 13 – Battle of the Boyne (substitute day) (Northern Ireland only)
