UK Business Days Calculator
Add working days to any date, excluding weekends and UK bank holidays (England & Wales).
UK bank holidays
Bank holidays are public holidays in the UK where banks and many businesses close. The list below covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have a few additional dates.
| Holiday | Date | Day of week |
|---|
When a bank holiday falls on a weekend, a substitute day is usually given on the following Monday. This calculator uses the official holiday date.
How many business days are in a UK year?
A typical UK year has 253–255 business days (52 weeks × 5 days, minus 8 bank holidays). The exact count varies with how holidays land on weekends and whether substitute days apply.
UK vs US business days
The two countries share the Monday–Friday workweek but differ on holidays. The US has 11 federal holidays; the UK (England & Wales) has 8 bank holidays. The UK also has two Easter-based holidays (Good Friday and Easter Monday) whose dates change every year, plus three "floating" Monday bank holidays. If you work across both markets, use the country selector above to switch calendars.
UK Business Day Calculation
In the United Kingdom, a business day is typically Monday through Friday, excluding public holidays known as "bank holidays." The UK has 8 bank holidays per year in England and Wales, with additional holidays in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Our calculator automatically accounts for these holidays when computing UK business days.
2026 UK Bank Holidays (England and Wales)
- New Year's Day - January 1
- Good Friday - Friday before Easter
- Easter Monday - Monday after Easter
- Early May Bank Holiday - First Monday in May
- Spring Bank Holiday - Last Monday in May
- Summer Bank Holiday - Last Monday in August
- Christmas Day - December 25
- Boxing Day - December 26
If a bank holiday falls on a weekend, a substitute day is given — usually the following Monday. Our calculator accounts for these substitute days automatically.
UK Business Days for Contracts and Shipping
UK business contracts typically specify "working days" rather than "business days," but the meaning is the same: Monday through Friday excluding bank holidays. When calculating delivery times for UK shipments, carriers like Royal Mail, DPD, and Hermes use business day counting. International shipments may use the holidays of both origin and destination countries.