Bank Holidays from April 2019 to March 2020: The Full List & Key Dates You Need to Know

Hello everyone, I am your dedicated public holiday assistant. Recently, a little friend consulted me about the question of how many bank holidays fall between April 2019 and March 2020. This is actually a super common question, especially for folks trying to plan vacations or who just want to know when they get a day off. Now I will summarize all the relevant info, so listen up, because I’ve got the full rundown for all you who wanna know exactly when the days off drop.

Alright, let’s cut right to the chase. If you are in the United Kingdom, specifically England and Wales, there are exactly 8 bank holidays in the period from April 1, 2019, all the way through to March 31, 2020. But wait, if you’re in Scotland, you get an extra one, so that’s 9 total. People always get confused about this, and I don’t blame you, because the dates change every stinkin’ year. So let’s break it down month by month so you can mark your calendars right now.

April 2019 to March 2020 Bank Holidays in the UK

Here’s the deal. The holiday year in the UK basically runs from April to March, which is not the same as the normal calendar year. That’s why people ask this exact question. The dates are set by the government, and they usually come out well ahead of time. For this specific window, here is the complete list you’re looking for:

April 19, 2019 (Friday) – Good Friday
This one is a banger. It’s a nationwide holiday, so everyone gets a long weekend kickoff. Good Friday always falls on the Friday before Easter Sunday, and in 2019 it landed on the 19th.

April 22, 2019 (Monday) – Easter Monday
Right on the heels of Easter Sunday, so you basically get a four-day weekend if you’re lucky enough to have both off. Easter Monday is a bank holiday in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, but not in Scotland.

May 6, 2019 (Monday) – Early May Bank Holiday
This is the classic first Monday of May. It’s a standard one, nothing too crazy, but it gives you a nice little breather right after the Easter rush.

May 27, 2019 (Monday) – Spring Bank Holiday
The last Monday of May, and trust me, this one is a crowd favorite because it’s the unofficial start of summer vibes in the UK. Usually the weather starts turning nice, and people head out for BBQs.

August 26, 2019 (Monday) – Summer Bank Holiday
The last Monday of August. Another absolute classic. If you live in England or Wales, this is your final summer hurrah before everything starts getting back to school vibes.

December 25, 2019 (Wednesday) – Christmas Day
Boom. The big one. Of course, this is a bank holiday for the entire UK. And here’s the kicker, Christmas Day 2019 was on a Wednesday, which is a bit of an awkward spot, but you still get the day off.

December 26, 2019 (Thursday) – Boxing Day
Right after Christmas, and again, it falls on a Thursday. So a lot of people end up taking the Friday off to bridge the gap, but officially, you get the 26th off.

January 1, 2020 (Wednesday) – New Year’s Day
New Year’s, simple as that. Everyone gets this one off. In Scotland, they also get January 2 as an extra bank holiday, but more on that in a sec.

So that’s the full list for England and Wales. That brings us to 8 Feiertage. But hang on, let me not forget about our friends up in Scotland. They get an extra one called Andreastag, which is on November 30, 2019 (Saturday). However, and this is a big however, because it falls on a Saturday, the official “bank holiday” might get shifted to the following Monday. But actually, St Andrew’s Day is a bit weird, it’s not a mandatory bank holiday in the same way. In Scotland, employers often just swap it for a local day. So realistically, the standard count for the whole UK remains 8 for England and Wales, and 9 if you’re counting the traditional Scottish list.

Questions related to how many bank holidays in April 2019 to March 2020

People always ask me, “Hey, is there any extra holiday I’m missing?” or “Wait, what about the Queen’s Jubilee or something like that?” Here’s the answer: In this specific time frame, there was no extra one-off bank holiday. Usually those happen for royal weddings or coronations, but 2019-2020 didn’t have any of that. So the list I gave you above is literally it. No hidden surprises.

Another question I get a lot is, “Do I get paid extra for working on a bank holiday?” Listen, that is a tricky one because it’s not a legal right to get extra pay. It all depends on your employment contract. Some places give you time-and-a-half, and some just give you a day off later in the month. So don’t just assume you’re gonna get double time, you gotta check with your HR or your boss. But the day off itself, that’s pretty standard for most office jobs.

One more thing, you might be wondering why the Easter dates seem so late in April. That’s because Easter is based on the lunar calendar, it’s a whole whole complicated thing involving the first full moon after the vernal equinox. And in 2019, Easter landed on April 21. But in 2020, Easter was gonna be April 12, which means the next holiday year after March 2020 starts with Good Friday on April 10, 2020. It’s always shifting, so that’s why it’s good to check a calendar specifically for the year you’re looking at.

You also want to keep in mind that Northern Ireland has a few extra bank holidays compared to England and Wales, like St Patrick’s Day on March 17 and the Battle of the Boyne on July 12. But in this specific April 2019 to March 2020 window, St Patrick’s Day (March 17, 2019) is before the window starts, and the one in 2020 (March 17) falls at the very tail end plus it’s a Tuesday. So for Northern Ireland, you would count those separately if you live there. But for the generic “UK bank holidays” question that most people ask, the 8 for England and Wales is the standard answer.

To sum it all up, mark your calendar, set your alarms, and get ready to plan your long weekends. The key takeaway here is that from April 2019 to March 2020, there are 8 official bank holidays in England and Wales, with Scotland having 9 due to the additional January 2 holiday or the St Andrew’s Day substitution. If you’re in Northern Ireland, you’ve got a couple more to look forward to, but the general planning number is still 8 for the bigger region. If you’re trying to maximize your time off, the best trick is to use your annual leave to bridge the gap between a bank holiday and a weekend. For example, in December 2019, Christmas fell on a Wednesday and Boxing Day on Thursday, so if you took Friday the 27th and the weekend off, you’d get a solid five-day stretch with just one day of leave. Now that’s what I call a pro move.

public holiday calendar.COM Thank you for reading, I hope this article can help you fully understand the bank holidays from April 2019 to March 2020. If you still got more questions, like what happens if a bank holiday falls on a weekend, or how to calculate your holiday entitlement, just hit us up and we’ll get you sorted out. Honestly, it’s what I do best, so don’t be shy. Until next time, keep chasing those long weekends!