Bank holidays
Bank holidays in Scotland
Scotland has its own list. Choose a year to see each date, then compare it with England and Wales below.
Scotland has 9 bank holidays in 2027: New Year's Day on Friday, 1 January 2027, the 2 January holiday on Monday, 4 January 2027, because the 2nd is a Saturday, Good Friday on 26 March 2027, the early May holiday on 3 May 2027, the spring holiday on 31 May 2027, the summer holiday on 2 August 2027, St Andrew's Day on Tuesday, 30 November 2027, and two Christmas substitutes on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December. Compared with England and Wales, Scotland adds 2 January and St Andrew's Day, has its summer holiday at the start of August instead of the end, and has no Easter Monday. The list is set by the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 and the St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007. Local holidays, set by councils, are separate and vary from town to town.
Scotland against England and Wales
Days that differ
5
| Scotland only | 4 January 2027, 2 August 2027, 30 November 2027 |
| England and Wales only | 29 March 2027, 30 August 2027 |
| Total in Scotland | 9 |
Rules and dates checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Scotland's list, three years
| Holiday | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | 1 January 2026 | 1 January 2027 | 3 January 2028 |
| 2nd January | 2 January 2026 | 4 January 2027 | 4 January 2028 |
| Good Friday | 3 April 2026 | 26 March 2027 | 14 April 2028 |
| Early May | 4 May 2026 | 3 May 2027 | 1 May 2028 |
| Spring | 25 May 2026 | 31 May 2027 | 29 May 2028 |
| Summer (first Monday in August) | 3 August 2026 | 2 August 2027 | 7 August 2028 |
| St Andrew's Day | 30 November 2026 | 30 November 2027 | 30 November 2028 |
| Christmas Day | 25 December 2026 | 27 December 2027 | 25 December 2028 |
| Boxing Day | 28 December 2026 | 28 December 2027 | 26 December 2028 |
Where Scotland differs, and why
Scotland's banking law was always separate. The Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 lists the Scottish days in their own paragraph of Schedule 1: New Year's Day and 2 January (or the next weekday when either is a Sunday), Good Friday, the first Monday in May, the first Monday in August and Christmas Day. The last Monday in May and Boxing Day are appointed by proclamation. St Andrew's Day was added by the St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007, which moves it to the following Monday when 30 November falls at a weekend.
The August date is the oldest difference. In 1871 the summer bank holiday was the first Monday in August across the United Kingdom. England and Wales moved theirs to the end of the month in the 1960s, to lengthen the summer season, and Scotland kept the original date, which fits its school holidays that start in late June.
Local holidays and school holidays
Because the national list is short and banks follow it closely, most Scottish workers' real holidays come from their council or employer. mygov.scot lists the national dates and sends you to your council for the rest. Typical local holidays are a spring Monday, the Victoria Day Monday in late May in some cities, a trades or fair holiday in July and an autumn Monday. They are set locally and not covered by the tools here.
School holidays are also set by each council, and the Scottish summer break starts around the end of June, a month before England's. That is one reason the August bank holiday stays at the start of the month in Scotland: it falls in the middle of the school holidays rather than at their end. Families moving across the border are often surprised to find that the two summers barely overlap.
Comparing with England and Wales
The simulator below the summary sets the two lists side by side for a year of your choice and counts the days each has. For a business with staff on both sides of the border, the practical differences are four: 2 January, Easter Monday, the August Monday and St Andrew's Day. The August bank holiday page has the two summer dates for every year to 2035, and the patron saints' days page puts St Andrew's Day beside the other three nations' days.