Bank holidays are public holidays when banks and many other businesses are closed for the day. Find out about the bank and public holiday dates in Northern Ireland and employees' rights to pay or time off on bank holidays.
In Northern Ireland, there are currently 10 permanent bank holidays - the same eight as in England and Wales, plus St Patrick's Day and the Anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
The expected dates of bank and public holidays in Northern Ireland for 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 2010, Christmas Day is on Saturday, 25 December, so the substitute bank holiday is Monday, 27 December.
Northern Ireland |
2010 |
2011 |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | 1 January | 3 January* |
| St Patrick's Day | 17 March | 17 March |
| Good Friday | 2 April | 22 April |
| Easter Monday | 5 April | 25 April |
| Early May Bank Holiday | 3 May | 2 May |
| Spring Bank Holiday | 31 May | 30 May |
| Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen's Day) |
12 July | 12 July |
| Summer Bank Holiday | 30 August | 29 August |
| Christmas Day | 27 December* | 26 December* |
| Boxing Day | 28 December* | 27 December* |
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 (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 the next two years, the summer time periods begin and end on the following dates:
2010 |
2011 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Clocks go forward | 28 March | 27 March |
| Clocks go back | 31 October | 30 October |
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