Holidays in the bank – what the additional bank holidays in 2026/27 means for you as employers 

Businesses who operate their annual leave year from the 1 April to 31 March should be aware that the 2026/27 period includes 10 bank holidays, compared to the typical eight.  

This is due to the dates of Good Friday and Easter Monday in 2026 and 2027 falling under the same leave year, adding two additional bank holidays to the period.  

While this may appear to be a minor calendar variation, it can have meaningful implications for workforce planning, contractual entitlements, and business operations. 

Are workers automatically entitled to these extra two days holiday?  

The Working Time Regulations 1998 provides that workers are entitled to the statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks (or 28 days) holiday entitlement per year.  

It is a common misunderstanding that all workers have the right to take bank and public holidays as paid leave in addition to their statutory leave. This is not the case, and it not an automatic, statutory right to be entitled to bank holidays. Ultimately, it is the employer’s decision to determine whether a worker will receive the additional bank holiday off and it depends how holiday entitlement is set out in their contracts.  

Some employers include public holidays as part of annual leave entitlement, whereas others label them as additional paid days off. The key question is not how many bank holidays fall within the year, but what the employment contract says about them. 

What do different contract wordings mean in practice? 

The impact of those extra bank holidays can vary significantly depending on how entitlement is expressed, for example: 

• If a contract states that a worker is entitled to ‘20 days paid holiday plus the usual bank holidays in England and Wales’, they will be entitled to 30 days’ paid leave during the 2026/27 leave year because of the extra two bank holidays. 
• However, if a contract states that a worker is entitled to ‘28 days’ paid holiday which includes the usual bank holidays in England and Wales’, the entitlement remains capped at 28 days, with no additional leave granted despite the extra bank holidays. 

How can you prepare as an employer? 

It is important you review your contracts to check you are giving employees the correct holiday entitlement and ascertain whether they need updating for future starters.  

The 2026/27 leave year may be an anomaly, but it is one that carries practical implications.  

If you require any assistance in interpreting or amending your contracts, please contact [email protected]