Some people are all for the man’s bank holiday ‘fix’, but others are not
Bank holidays are a cherished tradition in the UK, with schools shutting and most workers enjoying a day off. So far this year, England and Wales have had six bank holidays: January 1, April 18, April 21, May 5, May 26, and August 25.
There are also two more to look forward to before the end of 2025, which will occur on December 25 and December 26. However, bank holiday dates tend to vary across different regions of the UK.
In Scotland, the 2025 bank holidays so far have been January 1, January 2, April 18, May 5, May 26, and August 4, with three left to come: December 1, as well as Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland has enjoyed eight bank holidays this year: January 1, March 17, April 18, April 21, May 5, May 26, July 14 and August 25.
The remaining bank holidays for Northern Ireland will fall on December 25 and December 26. The varying dates can cause confusion, leading one Reddit user to propose a “solution” that would result in 12 bank holidays per year across the UK.
This post has garnered significant attention, racking up nearly a thousand comments. The user wrote: “I always find it weird that we have so many bank holidays in spring then nothing in England and Wales until one in August and then Christmas.
“Add to this the fact that Scotland, Jersey and Guernsey get 9; whilst Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man get 10 compared to England and Wales’s 8 and I think we need to balance this out. All of us are below the European average of 12 bank holidays beside that.”
Outlining their “proposal”, the Reddit user explains that his “fix” would see everyone have a bank holiday on New Year’s Day, but then Scotland would lose its January 2 bank holiday. The post continues: “We’ll keep Good Friday and Scotland will join everyone else with Easter Monday too.
“Scotland and Northern Ireland keep their saints days whilst England and Wales will get St George’s Day and St David’s day respectively. If either of these (or St Patrick’s in NI) fall during the Easter long weekend then it moves to the Tuesday.
“Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man also get their saints days for Sts Helier, Sampson and Maughold respectively. The first Monday in May stays, but the last one goes. Senior Day and Tynwald Day stay for IoM, as do Liberation Day for JandG and The Twelfth for NI.
“Scotland adds Burns Night, Wales adds Gold Medal Day. Scotland moves their August Bank Holiday to join everyone else at the end of the month. We add one for the first Monday in October (except for IoM who already have an extra day) another for Bonfire Night and a third for Remembrance Day.
“We keep Christmas and Boxing Day.” Some users say they agree with the idea, as one shared: “Agree would be nice to have them spread out more” and another added: “More bank holidays needed.”
However, not everyone was pleased with one suggestion. A Scottish user expressed their disapproval, stating: “You can pry the 2nd Jan bank holiday from my cold dead hands”, while another insisted: “Don’t take our 2nd January off, great bank holiday so you can spend the 1st in the pub”. Some even proposed abolishing bank holidays altogether, advocating for a four-day work week instead.
One comment reads: “The fix here is going down to a 4 day working week” while another suggests: “As other people have said, 4 day work week would fix most of this. A day to do nothing, a day for fun and a day for all your adult admin stuff”.