Planning annual leave, project timelines, or payroll for 2026? A single · “working days per year · ” number is too blunt. Different UK nations have different bank holidays. A month with two bank holidays (like May) has fewer working days than a month with none (like June). Here is what to expect in 2026, month by month.
Key takeaways
- England & Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland each observe slightly different bank holiday sets.
- Substitute bank holidays can shift the observed date when a holiday falls on a weekend.
- Month-by-month totals are more useful for planning than a single annual number.
- Use a calculator for specific date ranges — totals vary by which weekdays the holidays land on.
Why the number changes
The number of working days in a year depends on how weekends fall and which bank holidays apply. UK nations can also have different public holidays, so the exact count may vary by location.
What to include
- Monday to Friday weekdays
- UK bank holidays that apply to your location
- Company shutdown days, if relevant
- Part-time working patterns, if relevant
Planning uses
A yearly working day count can help with capacity planning, payroll checks, annual leave planning, project timelines, and service-level estimates.
For individual date ranges, a date calculator is usually more useful than a single annual total because it can show exactly which dates are counted.
Useful official resources
These sources are directly relevant to the date, public holiday, delivery, SLA, or complaint-handling topic covered in this article.
Estimated working days by month (England & Wales, 2026)
These counts exclude weekends and bank holidays for England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland totals may differ by 1 — 3 days.
| Month | Working days | Bank holidays this month |
|---|---|---|
| January | 21 | New Year's Day (Thu 1st) |
| February | 20 | None |
| March | 22 | None (St Patrick's Day in NI only) |
| April | 20 | Good Friday (3rd), Easter Monday (6th) |
| May | 19 | Early May (4th), Spring (25th) |
| June | 22 | None |
| July | 23 | None (Battle of the Boyne in NI only) |
| August | 20 | Summer bank holiday (31st) |
| September | 22 | None |
| October | 22 | None |
| November | 21 | None (St Andrew's Day in Scotland only) |
| December | 21 | Christmas Day (25th Fri), Boxing Day sub (28th Mon) |
Total for England & Wales: 253 working days. Scotland has 252 and Northern Ireland has 251 due to their additional or different bank holidays. Always verify against the official GOV.UK list for your specific nation and year.
UK bank holidays in 2026 by date
This is the full 2026 UK bank holiday calendar, showing which nations observe each date. Substitute days are shown where a holiday falls on a weekend.
| Holiday | Date (2026) | Day | Observed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | 1 January | Thursday | UK-wide |
| 2nd January | 2 January | Friday | Scotland |
| St Patrick's Day | 17 March | Tuesday | Northern Ireland |
| Good Friday | 3 April | Friday | UK-wide |
| Easter Monday | 6 April | Monday | England, Wales & Northern Ireland |
| Early May bank holiday | 4 May | Monday | UK-wide |
| Spring bank holiday | 25 May | Monday | UK-wide |
| Battle of the Boyne (substitute) | 13 July | Monday | Northern Ireland |
| Summer bank holiday | 3 August | Monday | Scotland |
| Summer bank holiday | 31 August | Monday | England, Wales & Northern Ireland |
| St Andrew's Day | 30 November | Monday | Scotland |
| Christmas Day | 25 December | Friday | UK-wide |
| Boxing Day (substitute) | 28 December | Monday | UK-wide |
Dates are sourced from GOV.UK bank holidays. Boxing Day 2026 falls on a Saturday, so Monday 28 December is the substitute bank holiday.
Why working-day totals vary by nation
Scotland and Northern Ireland observe holidays that England and Wales do not. Scotland has 2nd January and St Andrew's Day, and takes its summer bank holiday on the first Monday of August (3 August 2026) rather than the last. Northern Ireland adds St Patrick's Day (17 March) and the Battle of the Boyne (12 July, observed 13 July 2026). These extra holidays reduce the annual working-day total by one or two days.
How to work out a specific date range
A yearly total is only a starting point. For an actual project, payroll run or deadline, you need the working days between two specific dates, with the right nation's bank holidays applied. Count the weekdays in the range, then subtract any bank holidays that fall on those weekdays and are observed in the relevant nation. Remember that a substitute day is the date that counts when a holiday lands on a weekend.
Doing this by hand is error-prone, especially around Easter and Christmas when several holidays fall close together. Using a calculator that knows the UK, Ireland and US holiday calendars removes the guesswork and gives you the exact date.
Planning uses for the 2026 totals
The month-by-month and annual working-day figures are useful for capacity planning, payroll checks, annual leave planning, project timelines, and service-level estimates. Because May 2026 has two bank holidays, teams scheduling delivery or support commitments should allow for two non-working days in a single month. Conversely, June, July, September and October have no England and Wales bank holidays, so those months are the densest for planned work.
How to choose the right region in the calculator
Selecting the correct region matters because the three UK nations and the surrounding countries use different holiday sets. Choose the UK option for a general count, and remember that England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland differ by a day or two across the year. If your deadline involves Ireland or the United States, switch to those calendars instead, since their holidays (such as St Patrick's Day or US federal holidays) do not match the UK list.
Frequently asked questions
How many working days are there in 2026 in the UK?
England and Wales have 253 working days in 2026 after weekends and bank holidays, Scotland has 252, and Northern Ireland has 251.
How many bank holidays are there in the UK in 2026?
England and Wales observe 8 bank holidays in 2026, Scotland observes 9, and Northern Ireland observes 10.
Which month has the fewest working days in 2026?
May 2026 has the fewest working days for England and Wales, with 19, because both the early May and spring bank holidays fall in May.
Choose the UK option in bizdaycalc to check specific 2026 date ranges.
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