UK bank holiday pay rules — what employees are entitled to

Bank holidays are not a statutory right in the UK. Whether you get the day off, get paid for it, or get extra pay for working it depends entirely on your employment contract.

The statutory baseline

Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, full-time workers in the UK are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave per year — equivalent to 28 days for someone working five days a week. This statutory minimum is the floor. Employers can choose how this 28 days is distributed across the year.

Crucially: bank holidays can be counted within this 28-day entitlement. An employer is not required to give you the eight bank holidays in addition to your annual leave.

What your contract says

There are three common contractual patterns:

• “X days plus bank holidays” — You get X days of annual leave on top of the eight (or 9/10 if you’re in Scotland or Northern Ireland) bank holidays. This is the most common pattern for office and professional roles.
• “X days inclusive of bank holidays” — Your X-day entitlement is intended to cover bank holidays you wish to take off. Common in retail, hospitality, healthcare and shift-based work.
• “Bank holidays at the employer’s discretion” — You may or may not get a bank holiday off depending on rota; whether you get extra pay depends on the contract.

Extra pay for working bank holidays

There is no statutory right to enhanced pay for working a bank holiday. “Time and a half” or “double time” on bank holidays is purely contractual. Many large retailers, the NHS, and emergency services contracts include such uplifts; many small businesses do not.

Substitute days when a bank holiday falls at a weekend

When 25 December or 1 January falls at a weekend, the government grants a substitute bank holiday on the next available weekday. This substitute day has the same contractual treatment as the original — if your contract gives you the eight bank holidays as paid leave, you get the substitute.

See substitute bank holiday rules for the detail.

Part-time and zero-hours workers

Part-time workers should receive pro-rated bank holiday entitlement under the Part-time Workers Regulations 2000. If a part-time worker only works Mondays, and the bank holiday falls on a Monday, the entitlement is more generous than for someone working Thursdays — and contracts usually pro-rate the annual entitlement to balance this. ACAS guidance recommends pro-rating by fraction of hours worked rather than by which days of the week.

Zero-hours workers accrue holiday pay at 12.07% of hours worked.

What to do if you’re unsure

• Check your contract or staff handbook first. The exact wording will tell you whether bank holidays are inclusive or in addition.
• Check the latest ACAS guidance at acas.org.uk for current statutory minimums and worked examples.
• In a dispute, ACAS offers a free conciliation service before any employment tribunal route is pursued.

This article is a general explainer, not legal advice. Employment law is fact-specific — for individual circumstances, contact ACAS, your union or a qualified employment solicitor.