If your employer does grant you bank holidays off work, then you could maximise your leave in 2027 if you book around the bank holidays and substitute daysCalendar

In 2027 we’ll be treated to a three-day working week around the festive period.(Image: SCU)

After a lovely long Easter weekend, many of you may be planning ahead for future bank holidays. We all cherish additional time off, and as we enter a new season, we also enter the new financial year. For some, this means that your annual leave allowance has reset and maybe you’re planning for the year ahead.

Occasionally, if the Christmas bank holidays fall on a weekend then we are entitled to a substitute day off in the week. This can often mean that we may have an extra couple of days off in a row without needing to book any time off at all over the winter period.

On their website, the Government have said: “If a bank holiday is on a weekend, a ‘substitute’ weekday becomes a bank holiday, normally the following Monday.”

Although, they also add that your “employer does not have to give you paid leave on bank or public holidays.”

If your employer does grant you bank holidays off work, then you could maximise your leave in 2027 if you book around the bank holidays and substitute days.

In fact, in 2027 we’ll be treated to a three-day working week around the festive period. This means that you’d have an impressive five consecutive days off, without needing a single day of annual leave. Additionally, January 1, 2028, lands on a Saturday, which means we’ll receive a ‘substitute’ day on Monday, January 3,2028.

So, if you take merely two days of annual leave on Wednesday, December 30 and Thursday, December 31 in 2027, you’ll enjoy a staggering 10 days off from Saturday, December 25 until Monday, January 3, 2028. Always keep on top of the latest Welsh news with our newsletter

Here are all the bank holidays from now until the end of 2027 in England and Wales:

Remaining 2026 bank holidays in England and Wales

Early May bank holiday: Monday, May 4

Spring bank holiday: Monday, May 25

Summer bank holiday: Monday, August 31

Christmas Day: Friday, December 25

Boxing Day (substitute day): Monday, December 28

2027 Bank Holidays in England and Wales

New Year’s Day: Friday, January 1, 2027

Good Friday: Friday, March 26

Easter Monday: Monday, March 29

Early May bank holiday: Monday, May 3

Spring bank holiday: Monday, May 31

Summer bank holiday: Monday, August 30

Christmas Day (substitute day): Monday, December 27

Boxing Day (substitute day): Tuesday, December 28