Am I Entitled To Bank Holidays?

Only bank workers themselves are entitled to bank holidays. For all other workers there is no automatic right to take bank or public holidays as paid or unpaid leave, or to take time off in lieu. Any right to do so depends on the terms of your contract. There may be express terms in your contract giving you a right to time off on some or all bank and public holidays. There may also be terms implied by custom and practice.

In some industries it is common for the entire workplace to be shut down between Christmas and New Year. In others there may be a shut down for two weeks over that period and for two weeks in the summer, so that all workers take holidays at the same time. In this case your contract may specifically state that you can only take holidays during shutdowns.

The Working Time Regulations (WTRs) give workers a statutory right to 20 days holiday a year. If your contract does not have the minimum paid holidays required by the WTRs, you will be entitled to that minimum by virtue of the WTRs. However, unless agreed otherwise, paid time off on bank or public holidays will count towards the minimum under the WTRs, so you may find that up to 8 of the 20 days are swallowed up by bank or public holidays.