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 holidays in Northern Ireland and employees' rights to pay or time off.
Bank and public holiday dates
The expected dates of bank and public holidays in Northern Ireland for this year, and the next year are listed below.
| Holidays | 2021 |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | 1 January |
| St Patrick's Day | 17 March |
| Good Friday | 2 April |
| Easter Monday | 5 April |
| Early May Bank Holiday | 3 May |
| Spring Bank Holiday | 31 May |
| Battle of the Boyne / Orangemen's Day | 12 July |
| Summer Bank Holiday | 30 August |
| Christmas Day | 27 December |
| Boxing Day | 28 December |
| Holidays | 2022 |
| New Year's Day | 3 January |
| St Patrick's Day | 17 March |
| Good Friday | 15 April |
| Easter Monday | 18 April |
| Early May Bank Holiday | 2 May |
| Spring Bank Holiday | 2 June |
| Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday | 3 June |
| Battle of the Boyne / Orangemen's Day | 12 July |
| Summer Bank Holiday | 29 August |
| Boxing Day | 26 December |
| Christmas Day | 27 December |
When the usual date falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the 'substitute day' is normally the following Monday. For example in 2021, Christmas Day is on Saturday 25 December, so the substitute day is Monday 27 December and the substitute day for Boxing Day is Tuesday, December 28.
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.
There will be an additional bank holiday on 3rd June 2022 to mark The Queen's Platinum Platinum Jubilee. You can find out more at this link:
Extra bank holiday to mark The Queen's Platinum Jubilee
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.
You can find out more about your right to paid leave at the link below.
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
This year, and next year the summer time periods begin and end on the following dates:
| BST | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Clocks go forward | 28 March | 27 March |
| Clocks go back | 31 October | 30 October |