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Bank holidays

Bank holidays are holidays when banks and many other businesses are closed for the day. Public Holidays are holidays which have been observed through custom and practice, such as Christmas Day. Find out about the bank and public holiday dates in Northern Ireland and employees' rights to pay or time off on bank holidays.

Bank and public holiday dates

The expected dates of bank and public holidays in Northern Ireland for this year, and the next two years, are listed below.

*When the usual date falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the 'substitute day' is normally the following Monday. For example in 2013, St Patrick's Day is on Sunday 17 March, so the substitute bank holiday is Monday, 18 March

Holiday 2013 2014
New Year's Day 1 January 1 January
St Patrick's Day 18 March* 17 March
Good Friday 29 March 18 April
Easter Monday 1 April 21 April
Early May Bank Holiday 6 May 5 May
Spring Bank Holiday 27 May 26 May
Battle of the Boyne - or Orangemen's Day 12 July 14 July*
Summer Bank Holiday 26 August 25 August
Christmas Day 25 December 25 December
Boxing Day 26 December 26 December

Special bank holidays

There are laws that allow the dates of bank holidays to be changed, or other holidays to be declared, for example to celebrate special occasions.

Time off for employees

You don't have a statutory right to paid leave on bank and public holidays, though many people receive the day off work. Any right to time off or extra pay for working on a bank holiday depends on the terms of your contract of employment.

For more information about your right to paid leave, see 'Holiday entitlements'.

British Summer Time

British Summer Time (BST) starts on the last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in October, at 1.00 am Greenwich Mean Time (GMT):

  • in spring the clocks go forward, losing an hour - at 1.00 am GMT the UK moves to 2.00 am BST
  • in autumn the clocks go back, giving an extra hour - at 2.00 am BST the UK moves to 1.00 am GMT

In the next two years, the summer time periods begin and end on the following dates:

2013
Clocks go forward 31 March
Clocks go back 27 October

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