England & Wales Working Days by Month in 2026
Check how many working days fall in each month of 2026 for England & Wales. The summary includes monthly working-day totals, bank-holiday disruptions, weekend counts, and the full-year figure in one place.
Working days here leave out weekends and the bank holidays GOV.UK publishes for the selected jurisdiction, including substitute days and one-off holidays. CPR 2.8, SCTS court closures, employer closures and contract-specific shutdowns are not deducted.
253 working days
in 2026: England & Wales
July has the most working days (23); May has the fewest (19). April, May and December each lose two working days to bank holidays. The longest run without a bank holiday is 83 working days, from Tuesday 1 September to Thursday 24 December.
Working dayWeekendBank holiday on a weekday
| Month | Working days | Bank holidays | Weekend days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2026New Year's Day | 21 | 1 | 9 |
| February 2026 | 20 | 0 | 8 |
| March 2026 | 22 | 0 | 9 |
| April 2026Good Friday, Easter Monday | 20 | 2 | 8 |
| May 2026May Day, Spring Bank Holiday | 19 | 2 | 10 |
| June 2026 | 22 | 0 | 8 |
| July 2026 | 23 | 0 | 8 |
| August 2026Late Summer Bank Holiday | 20 | 1 | 10 |
| September 2026 | 22 | 0 | 8 |
| October 2026 | 22 | 0 | 9 |
| November 2026 | 21 | 0 | 9 |
| December 2026Christmas Day, Boxing Day (observed) | 21 | 2 | 8 |
| Total | 253 | 8 | 104 |
Long weekends in 2026
| Dates | Holiday | Days off |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 3 – Monday 6 April | Good Friday, Easter Monday | 4 |
| Saturday 2 – Monday 4 May | May Day | 3 |
| Saturday 23 – Monday 25 May | Spring Bank Holiday | 3 |
| Saturday 29 – Monday 31 August | Late Summer Bank Holiday | 3 |
| Friday 25 – Monday 28 December | Christmas Day, Boxing Day (observed) | 4 |
Disrupted weeks in 2026
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| Thursday 1 January 2026 | New Year's Day |
Compare UK working-day calendars in 2026
| Calendar | Bank holidays | Working days |
|---|---|---|
| England & Wales | 8 | 253 |
| Scotland | 10 | 251 |
| Northern Ireland | 10 | 251 |
All three calendars count Monday to Friday. Their totals differ because Scotland includes 2 January and St Andrew's Day, Northern Ireland includes St Patrick's Day and the Battle of the Boyne, and Easter Monday and summer bank holidays vary by jurisdiction. Substitute days and one-off bank holidays are included for the selected year.
These are bank-holiday calendars, not court-closure or employer calendars. Source: GOV.UK bank holidays. Choose a jurisdiction for its monthly breakdown.
How many working days are in a UK year?
There are 253 working days in 2026 in England & Wales.
In a typical year with the standard 8 bank holidays, England & Wales has between 252 and 254 working days. The range starts with the 260 to 262 weekdays possible in a calendar year, then removes the standard bank holidays.
The exact total changes with the calendar, the selected UK jurisdiction, substitute days, and any one-off bank holidays. The figure above uses the holiday calendar for your current selection.
Source: GOV.UK bank holidays for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
For the calculation behind this annual total, see how the 253 working days in 2026 are derived.
Year Summary FAQs
How are working days calculated in this summary?
The summary counts Monday to Friday, then removes the bank holidays published on GOV.UK for your selected jurisdiction, including substitute days and one-off holidays. It does not apply CPR 2.8, SCTS court closures, employer closures or contract-specific shutdowns. Use the calculator's court rules separately when those counting rules apply.
Which public holidays are included?
We load the official GOV.UK bank holiday calendar for the chosen jurisdiction. That means St Andrew's Day appears when Scotland is selected and St Patrick's Day when Northern Ireland is selected.
Does the summary include optional shutdown periods?
No. Contract-specific shutdowns (for example construction Christmas shutdown clauses) are not applied here. Use the main working day calculator if you need to exclude a bespoke shutdown period.
What can I do with the long weekend and disrupted week data?
The long weekend list highlights 3–4 day weekends so you can plan leave, staffing, and marketing activity. Disrupted weeks flag mid-week bank holidays that typically reduce productivity or require SLA adjustments.
Can I export this information?
Use the wallplanner PDF or ICS export for a calendar view of the same data. A downloadable format for the year summary will be added in a later release.