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(Redirected from Bank Holiday)
A 'bank holiday' is a public holiday in the United Kingdom and also in the Republic of Ireland. Although there is no legal right to time off on these days, the majority of the population not employed in essential services (e.g. utilities, fire, ambulance, police, health-care workers) receive them as holidays; those employed in essential services usually receive extra pay for working on these days. Bank holidays are so called because they are days upon which banks are shut and therefore (traditionally) no other businesses could operate. Legislation allows certain payments to be deferred to the next working day.
Prior to 1834, the Bank of England observed about thirty-three saints' days and religious festivals as holidays, but in 1834, this was reduced to just four: 1 May, 1 November, Good Friday, and Christmas Day.
In 1871, the first legislation relating to bank holidays was passed when Sir John Lubbock introduced the Bank Holidays Act 1871 which specified the days in the table set out below. Sir John was an enthusiastic supporter of cricket and was firmly of the belief that bank employees should have the opportunity to participate in and attend matches when they were scheduled. Included in the dates of bank holidays are therefore dates when cricket games were traditionally played between the villages in the region where Sir John was raised. Scotland was treated separately because of its separate traditions; for example, New Year or Hogmanay is a more important holiday there.
The act does not specify Good Friday and Christmas Day as bank holidays in England, Wales and Ireland because they were already recognized there as common law holidays, and, because of common observance, they became customary holidays since before records began.
In 1903, the ''Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act'' added 17 March, Saint Patrick's Day, as a bank holiday for Ireland only.
Exactly a century after the 1871 Act, the ''Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971'', which currently regulates bank holidays in the UK, was passed. The table below details the bank holidays specified in the 1971 Act; also listed are New Year's Day and May Day, introduced since 1971. These are deemed bank holidays by the legal device of a royal proclamation every year. In January 2007, the ''St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act'' was given royal assent, making 30 November (or the nearest Monday if a weekend) a bank holiday in Scotland.
Royal proclamation is also used to shift bank holidays that would otherwise fall on a weekend. In this way, public holidays are not 'lost' in years when they coincide with weekends. These deferred bank holiday days are termed a 'bank holiday ' of the typical anniversary date. In the legislation they are known as 'substitute days'. The movement of the St Andrew's Day Scottish holiday to the nearest Monday when 30 November is a weekend day is statutory and does not require a proclamation.
# For one year only, 1995, this holiday was moved to the ''second Monday'' in May – i.e., from 1 May to 8 May – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of VE Day.
# For one year only, 2002, this holiday was moved to 4 June. This caused it to follow an extra bank holiday on 3 June, making a four-day weekend to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
# Strictly, Boxing Day is the first weekday after Christmas, so it cannot fall on a Sunday. If Christmas Day is a Saturday, then Boxing Day is the following Monday, although in practice, this is often ignored since both the Monday and the Tuesday will be public holidays in addition to the normal weekend. The traditional name for a Sunday which coincides with the 26th of December is Christmas Sunday, with the following Monday actually being Boxing Day.
A number of differences apply to Scotland rather than the rest of the UK. For example, Easter Monday is not a bank holiday. Also, although they share the same name, the Summer Bank Holiday falls on the first Monday of August in Scotland as opposed to the last elsewhere in the UK.
Bank holidays do not, however, assume the same importance in Scotland as they do elsewhere. Whereas they have effectively become public holidays elsewhere in the UK, in Scotland there remains a tradition of public holidays based on local tradition and determined by local authorities. In 1996, Scottish banks made the business decision to harmonize their own holidays with the rest of the UK, therefore bank holidays in Scotland are neither public holidays nor the days on which banks are closed.
It has been noted (for example in an essay published by the Fabian Society) that the number of holidays in the UK is relatively small compared to the number in many other European countries. There have been calls for an increase in the number, particularly for recognising April 23 (St George's Day) in England and March 1 (St David's Day) in Wales to have a public holiday on the feast day of the relevant patron saint. March 17 (St Patrick's Day) is already a bank holiday in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and, from 2007, November 30 (St Andrew's Day) is a bank holiday in Scotland. There are also calls for new national bank holidays such as one to represent the United Kingdom, British Day (possibly part of Gordon Brown's new Britishness policy), Trafalgar Day as a result of the recent bicentennial, Waterloo Day and also one to represent the European Union, making Europe Day a bank holiday, and one to represent the monarchy such as the Queen's Birthday (as in Australia, New Zealand and Canada) or coronation.
In the Republic of Ireland, the term "public holiday" is used officially, though "bank holiday" is used colloquially.
Good Friday is not a public holiday, though banks and public institutions are closed. The Summer Bank Holiday is also the first Monday in August rather than the last. A June Bank Holiday takes the place of the Spring Bank Holiday. Easter Monday and St Patrick's Day both qualify as National Days in the Republic.
Where public holidays fall at the weekend, an employee is entitled (at the employer's choice) to one of the following: a day off within a month, an additional day's paid annual leave or an additional day's pay. The public holiday does not move to the next weekday. The usual practice is, however, to take the day off on the next available weekday.
The most recent public holiday to be added was Labour Day (often called May Day). This holiday is taken as the first Monday in May, and was introduced in 1994. Recently, senior politicians (including Ruairi Quinn TD) have been considering the addition of one or two extra public holidays to bring Ireland in line with the rest of Europe.
In the United States, banks are generally closed on all federal holidays, but the term 'bank holiday' refers specifically to emergency bank closures mandated by executive order or act of Congress to remedy financial crises, for example the Emergency Banking Act of 1933.
★ St. David's Day
★ St. Andrew's Day
★ St. Patrick's Day
★ St. George's Day
★ Tourism
★ Trafalgar Day
★ UK national holidays
★ UK topics
★ St George Unofficial Bank Holiday
★ Schedule of bank holidays for the UK (except Scotland)
★ Schedule of bank holidays for Scotland
★ Annual leave and public holidays (Republic of Ireland)
★ Lloyds TSB signals end of the bank holiday, Telegraph, 29 August 2005.
A 'bank holiday' is a public holiday in the United Kingdom and also in the Republic of Ireland. Although there is no legal right to time off on these days, the majority of the population not employed in essential services (e.g. utilities, fire, ambulance, police, health-care workers) receive them as holidays; those employed in essential services usually receive extra pay for working on these days. Bank holidays are so called because they are days upon which banks are shut and therefore (traditionally) no other businesses could operate. Legislation allows certain payments to be deferred to the next working day.
| Contents |
| History of bank holidays |
| Current bank and public holidays |
| Scotland |
| Prospective new bank holidays |
| Republic of Ireland |
| United States |
| See also |
| External links |
History of bank holidays
Prior to 1834, the Bank of England observed about thirty-three saints' days and religious festivals as holidays, but in 1834, this was reduced to just four: 1 May, 1 November, Good Friday, and Christmas Day.
In 1871, the first legislation relating to bank holidays was passed when Sir John Lubbock introduced the Bank Holidays Act 1871 which specified the days in the table set out below. Sir John was an enthusiastic supporter of cricket and was firmly of the belief that bank employees should have the opportunity to participate in and attend matches when they were scheduled. Included in the dates of bank holidays are therefore dates when cricket games were traditionally played between the villages in the region where Sir John was raised. Scotland was treated separately because of its separate traditions; for example, New Year or Hogmanay is a more important holiday there.
| England, Wales, Ireland | Scotland |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | |
| Good Friday | |
| Easter Monday | |
| Whit Monday | First Monday in May |
| Last Monday in August | Last Monday in August |
| Boxing Day | Christmas Day |
The act does not specify Good Friday and Christmas Day as bank holidays in England, Wales and Ireland because they were already recognized there as common law holidays, and, because of common observance, they became customary holidays since before records began.
In 1903, the ''Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act'' added 17 March, Saint Patrick's Day, as a bank holiday for Ireland only.
Current bank and public holidays
Exactly a century after the 1871 Act, the ''Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971'', which currently regulates bank holidays in the UK, was passed. The table below details the bank holidays specified in the 1971 Act; also listed are New Year's Day and May Day, introduced since 1971. These are deemed bank holidays by the legal device of a royal proclamation every year. In January 2007, the ''St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act'' was given royal assent, making 30 November (or the nearest Monday if a weekend) a bank holiday in Scotland.
Royal proclamation is also used to shift bank holidays that would otherwise fall on a weekend. In this way, public holidays are not 'lost' in years when they coincide with weekends. These deferred bank holiday days are termed a 'bank holiday ' of the typical anniversary date. In the legislation they are known as 'substitute days'. The movement of the St Andrew's Day Scottish holiday to the nearest Monday when 30 November is a weekend day is statutory and does not require a proclamation.
| Date | Name | England and Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January | New Year's Day | X | X | X | X |
| 2 January | 2nd January | X | |||
| 17 March | St Patrick's Day | X | X | ||
| The Friday before Easter Sunday | Good Friday | X | X | X | |
| The day after Easter Sunday | Easter Monday | X | X | X | |
| First Monday in May¹ | May Day Bank Holiday (or Early May Bank Holiday in Scotland) / Labour Day (called this in Ireland) | X | X | X | X |
| Last Monday in May² | Spring Bank Holiday | X | X | X | |
| First Monday In June | June Bank Holiday | X | |||
| 12 July | Battle of the Boyne - Orangemen's Day | X | |||
| First Monday in August | Summer Bank Holiday | X | X | ||
| Last Monday in August | Summer Bank Holiday | X | X | ||
| Last Monday in October | October Bank Holiday (''Hallowe'en Holiday'' sometimes) | X | |||
| 30 November or the next Monday if a weekend | St Andrew's Day | X | |||
| 25 December | Christmas Day | X | X | X | X |
| 26 December³ | Boxing Day, St. Stephen's Day | X | X | X | X |
# For one year only, 1995, this holiday was moved to the ''second Monday'' in May – i.e., from 1 May to 8 May – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of VE Day.
# For one year only, 2002, this holiday was moved to 4 June. This caused it to follow an extra bank holiday on 3 June, making a four-day weekend to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
# Strictly, Boxing Day is the first weekday after Christmas, so it cannot fall on a Sunday. If Christmas Day is a Saturday, then Boxing Day is the following Monday, although in practice, this is often ignored since both the Monday and the Tuesday will be public holidays in addition to the normal weekend. The traditional name for a Sunday which coincides with the 26th of December is Christmas Sunday, with the following Monday actually being Boxing Day.
Scotland
A number of differences apply to Scotland rather than the rest of the UK. For example, Easter Monday is not a bank holiday. Also, although they share the same name, the Summer Bank Holiday falls on the first Monday of August in Scotland as opposed to the last elsewhere in the UK.
Bank holidays do not, however, assume the same importance in Scotland as they do elsewhere. Whereas they have effectively become public holidays elsewhere in the UK, in Scotland there remains a tradition of public holidays based on local tradition and determined by local authorities. In 1996, Scottish banks made the business decision to harmonize their own holidays with the rest of the UK, therefore bank holidays in Scotland are neither public holidays nor the days on which banks are closed.
Prospective new bank holidays
It has been noted (for example in an essay published by the Fabian Society) that the number of holidays in the UK is relatively small compared to the number in many other European countries. There have been calls for an increase in the number, particularly for recognising April 23 (St George's Day) in England and March 1 (St David's Day) in Wales to have a public holiday on the feast day of the relevant patron saint. March 17 (St Patrick's Day) is already a bank holiday in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and, from 2007, November 30 (St Andrew's Day) is a bank holiday in Scotland. There are also calls for new national bank holidays such as one to represent the United Kingdom, British Day (possibly part of Gordon Brown's new Britishness policy), Trafalgar Day as a result of the recent bicentennial, Waterloo Day and also one to represent the European Union, making Europe Day a bank holiday, and one to represent the monarchy such as the Queen's Birthday (as in Australia, New Zealand and Canada) or coronation.
Republic of Ireland
In the Republic of Ireland, the term "public holiday" is used officially, though "bank holiday" is used colloquially.
Good Friday is not a public holiday, though banks and public institutions are closed. The Summer Bank Holiday is also the first Monday in August rather than the last. A June Bank Holiday takes the place of the Spring Bank Holiday. Easter Monday and St Patrick's Day both qualify as National Days in the Republic.
Where public holidays fall at the weekend, an employee is entitled (at the employer's choice) to one of the following: a day off within a month, an additional day's paid annual leave or an additional day's pay. The public holiday does not move to the next weekday. The usual practice is, however, to take the day off on the next available weekday.
The most recent public holiday to be added was Labour Day (often called May Day). This holiday is taken as the first Monday in May, and was introduced in 1994. Recently, senior politicians (including Ruairi Quinn TD) have been considering the addition of one or two extra public holidays to bring Ireland in line with the rest of Europe.
United States
In the United States, banks are generally closed on all federal holidays, but the term 'bank holiday' refers specifically to emergency bank closures mandated by executive order or act of Congress to remedy financial crises, for example the Emergency Banking Act of 1933.
See also
★ St. David's Day
★ St. Andrew's Day
★ St. Patrick's Day
★ St. George's Day
★ Tourism
★ Trafalgar Day
★ UK national holidays
★ UK topics
External links
★ St George Unofficial Bank Holiday
★ Schedule of bank holidays for the UK (except Scotland)
★ Schedule of bank holidays for Scotland
★ Annual leave and public holidays (Republic of Ireland)
★ Lloyds TSB signals end of the bank holiday, Telegraph, 29 August 2005.
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