Working days calculator for the UK: count or add working days, skipping weekends and bank holidays
A working day here is a Monday to Friday that is not a bank holiday on GOV.UK’s list for the nation chosen: England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The calculator counts the working days between two dates, or finds the date a number of working days after or before a start date, and lists the bank holidays it left out. It covers 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2028.
Working days calculator
Enter a start date and an end date to count working days.
- Saturdays and Sundays and the England and Wales bank holiday dates listed for 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2028 are not counted.
- The start date is included and the end date is included; an included date counts if it is a working day.
- Employer closures, shift patterns and local holidays are not known to the calculator.
How the count works, and the defaults
- Count between two dates: both the start date and the end date are included by default. An included date counts as one working day if it is a Monday to Friday and not a bank holiday; untick either box to leave that date out. If the end date is before the start date the two dates are swapped.
- Add or subtract: the start date is never counted. Day 1 is the next working day after it (or the previous one when subtracting), so 1 working day after a Friday is the following Monday, or the Tuesday if that Monday is a bank holiday. With 0 the start date is returned unchanged.
- Which holidays: the bank holidays GOV.UK lists for the selected nation, including its substitute days, from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2028; the 2028 dates are the last. A date outside that range gives an error message; the days outside it are never counted as working days.
- Not included: employer closures, shift patterns, local holidays and annual leave (see the holiday entitlement calculator). A contract, court rule or statute that sets a deadline may count days by its own rules, which the calculator does not know.
GOV.UK’s bank holidays page says:
“If a bank holiday is on a weekend, a ‘substitute’ weekday becomes a bank holiday, normally the following Monday. Your employer does not have to give you paid leave on bank or public holidays.”
The same dates can give different counts
The three nations have different bank holidays, which the bank holiday checker also shows by region. For example, GOV.UK lists 2nd January for Scotland and St Patrick’s Day for Northern Ireland. This table runs the calculator’s code for 1 January 2026 to 6 January 2026 (both dates included) and for adding 10 working days to Friday 18 December 2026.
| Nation | Working days, 1 January 2026 to 6 January 2026 | Bank holidays left out | 10 working days after 18 December 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 3 | 1 January 2026 New Year’s Day | Wednesday 6 January 2027 |
| Scotland | 2 | 1 January 2026 New Year’s Day; 2 January 2026 2nd January | Thursday 7 January 2027 |
| Northern Ireland | 3 | 1 January 2026 New Year’s Day | Wednesday 6 January 2027 |
Frequently asked questions
How does the working days calculator count days?
It counts Monday to Friday and leaves out the bank holidays that GOV.UK lists for the nation selected, including the substitute days GOV.UK lists. By default the start date and the end date are both included: a start or end date that is a working day counts as one. Unticking either box leaves that date out.
Are bank holidays the same in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland?
No. GOV.UK’s bank holidays page lists separate dates for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. For example, GOV.UK lists 2nd January for Scotland and St Patrick’s Day for Northern Ireland, and neither for England and Wales, so the same two dates can give different counts in each nation.
What happens when a bank holiday falls on a weekend?
GOV.UK’s bank holidays page says that if a bank holiday is on a weekend, a ‘substitute’ weekday becomes a bank holiday, normally the following Monday. The calculator uses the dates GOV.UK lists, so the substitute day is skipped and the weekend day is already a non-working day.
Does an employer have to give paid leave on bank holidays?
GOV.UK’s bank holidays page says an employer does not have to give paid leave on bank or public holidays. The calculator treats bank holidays as non-working days for counting; an individual contract, shift pattern or sector may differ, and the calculator does not read it.
Which dates does the calculator cover?
It covers 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2028, the dates in the GOV.UK bank-holidays.json data that the site holds (data retrieved on 4 November 2026). A start date, end date or result outside that range gives an error instead of counting the missing days as working days.
Does it show which bank holidays were left out?
Yes. After each calculation it lists every bank holiday that fell on a weekday inside the days counted, with the weekday, the date and any GOV.UK note such as substitute day. A bank holiday on a date that was excluded by the start or end option is not listed.
Bank holiday dates the calculator uses
| Nation | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 8 dates, on the 2027 page | 8 dates: England and Wales 2027 | 8 dates: England and Wales 2028 |
| Scotland | 10 dates, on the 2027 page | 9 dates: Scotland 2027 | 9 dates: Scotland 2028 |
| Northern Ireland | 10 dates, on the 2027 page | 10 dates: Northern Ireland 2027 | 10 dates: Northern Ireland 2028 |
All three nations on one page: bank holidays 2027 and bank holidays 2028.
Sources
The bank holiday dates are the GOV.UK bank-holidays.json data retrieved on 4 November 2026; GOV.UK’s bank holidays page was read the same day.
Reviewed 5 November 2026. FedRateCalc is not affiliated with GOV.UK or the UK Government; GOV.UK is the official source, and any later change to the bank holiday dates that it publishes overrides this site.