Official dates · practical leave planning

Make your annual leave go further

Choose your UK division, a starting date and how many leave days you can book. The planner checks every window in the next 12 months and finds the longest continuous break.

Best result in the following 12 months

12days off

Wed, 23 December 2026 to Sun, 3 January 2027

Book 5 working days as annual leave.

Bank holidays inside the break: Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day.

Data was refreshed from GOV.UK on 2026-07-21. Bank holidays can differ across the UK, so choose the division where you work and confirm arrangements with your employer.

Bank holidays by UK division

Scotland and Northern Ireland have dates that do not apply in England and Wales. Each list keeps official substitute-day notes.

England and Wales 19 published dates from today through 2028 Scotland 22 published dates from today through 2028 Northern Ireland 23 published dates from today through 2028

Next dates in England and Wales

Mon, 31 August 2026 Summer bank holiday
Fri, 25 December 2026 Christmas Day
Mon, 28 December 2026 Boxing Day Substitute day
Fri, 1 January 2027 New Year’s Day

Plan by year

2026 bank holidaysCompare all three UK divisions 2027 bank holidaysCompare all three UK divisions 2028 bank holidaysCompare all three UK divisions

What the result means

The tool counts Monday to Friday as working days unless an official bank holiday falls on that date. Weekends and bank holidays cost no annual leave; ordinary weekdays do. It searches up to 365 days from your chosen date and caps a single suggested break at 21 days so the result remains practical.

Your employer can include bank holidays within your statutory annual-leave entitlement, and may set different working patterns. Use the result as a planning aid, then check your contract and booking policy.