Does 28 days holiday include bank holidays? It can, and whether it does is the employer's choice, stated in the contract or the policy. The statutory entitlement is 5.6 weeks, 28 days for a five-day week, and there is no separate legal right to bank holidays off or to extra pay for working them. An employer can count the eight bank holidays in England and Wales inside the 28, leaving 20 days to book, or give them on top. This page sets out both shapes, what each means for a part-timer, and where to write the rule so the annual leave calculator's answer is read correctly.
Inside or on top: the two shapes a policy can take
Inside: the entitlement is 28 days and bank holidays are taken from it, so a full-timer books 20 days and has the eight bank holidays off. On top: the entitlement is 20 days plus the bank holidays, or 28 plus them where the contract is generous. Both are lawful. What is not lawful is silence that leaves the employee with fewer than 5.6 weeks in total, and what is not workable is a policy that leaves the answer to whoever is asked. The policy template on this site states the choice in one line.
Pro rata bank holidays for part-timers
A part-timer on three days a week gets 16.8 days, and if bank holidays are inside the entitlement their share is already in that figure. If bank holidays are on top, the day of the week matters: most bank holidays fall on a Monday, so a part-timer who never works Mondays would gain nothing while a colleague on Mondays gains all eight. The even-handed answer is a pro rata share of the bank holidays, three fifths of eight is 4.8 days, added to their bookable leave and taken when they choose.
When a bank holiday falls on a non-working day
If a bank holiday falls on a day the person does not work, and bank holidays are inside the entitlement, no day is taken from them for it; the day simply is not one of theirs. If bank holidays are on top and given as days to book, nothing changes because the share was already converted into bookable days. The wall chart on this site marks the bank holidays for the year so the employer sees which fall on whose working days before the leave year opens.
Working on a bank holiday
There is no statutory premium for working a bank holiday; pay for it is whatever the contract says. If an employee works one and the policy counts bank holidays inside the entitlement, they should be given the day back to book, or the record shows them a day short. Keep that as a request line against the employee, which is what the paid plan on this site does, so the day given back does not vanish by March.
Questions people ask about does 28 days holiday include bank holidays
Is 28 days holiday including bank holidays?
It can be. The statutory 5.6 weeks may include bank holidays if the contract says so. If it does, a full-timer books 20 days and has the eight bank holidays off; if not, they get 28 days to book plus the bank holidays.
How many bank holidays are there in England and Wales?
Eight in a normal year; GOV.UK publishes the dates, cited below, and there are occasional extra ones. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own lists.
Do part-time workers get bank holidays?
They get their 5.6 weeks like everyone else. If bank holidays are inside the entitlement, their share is already in it; if on top, a pro rata share of the bank holidays as bookable days avoids favouring those who work Mondays.
Do I have to pay extra for working a bank holiday?
No, unless the contract says so. Give the day back to book if bank holidays are counted inside the entitlement.