Scottish bank holidays

Bank holidays

2019	Day	Holiday
1 January	Tuesday	New Year's Day
2 January	Wednesday	2 January
19 April	Friday	Good Friday
6 May	Monday	Early May bank holiday
27 May	Monday	Spring bank holiday
5 August	Monday	Summer bank holiday
2 December	Monday	St Andrew's Day
25 December	Wednesday	Christmas Day
26 December	Thursday	Boxing Day

Scottish Bank holidays are set by Scottish Ministers and are the same across the whole of Scotland. Public or local holidays, on the other hand, are determined by local authorities and can differ between areas. The list of bank holidays below is not a comprehensive list of local holidays – check local authority websites for a list of local holidays.

Not everyone is entitled to paid leave on bank or public holidays. If in doubt, check the position with your employer.

If a bank holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, a substitute weekday becomes a bank holiday (usually the following Monday).

Additional information

Banks in Scotland do not always close on Scottish bank holidays. For business reasons, Scottish banks tend to close on the same day as those in England and Wales.

There is no law requiring banks or any other businesses to close on bank holidays.

Her Majesty the Queen can appoint special days as bank holidays in any year.

Check your local authority website for information on public or local holidays as well as school holidays.

St Andrew's Day: 30 November

St Andrew's Day was declared a bank holiday by the Scottish Parliament in 2006, although banks are not required to close if they do not wish to. If 30 November occurs on a weekend, the bank holiday is moved to the following Monday.

Employers are not required by law to give employees a holiday on the St Andrew's Day bank holiday.

For further information please see the St. Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007.

Past bank holidays

Holiday	2015	2016	2017	2018
New Year's Day (or in lieu of 1 Jan)	01 Jan	01 Jan	03 Jan*	01 Jan
2 January (or in lieu of 2 Jan)	02 Jan	04 Jan*	02 Jan	02 Jan
Good Friday	03 Apr	25 March	14 Apr	30 March
Early May Bank Holiday	04 May	02 May	01 May	7 May
Spring Bank Holiday	25 May	30 May	29 May	28 May
Summer Bank Holiday	03 Aug	01 Aug	07 Aug	06 Aug
St Andrew's Day	30 Nov	30 Nov	30 Nov	30 Nov
Christmas Day (or in lieu of 25 Dec)	25 Dec	26 Dec*	25 Dec	25 Dec
Boxing Day (or in lieu of 26 Dec)	28 Dec*	27 Dec*	26 Dec	26 Dec

* = substitute day