Northern Ireland bank holidays 2027: dates and rota tips for employers

Northern Ireland has 10 bank and public holidays a year, two more than England and Wales. Here are the 2027 dates, the rest of 2026, and what they mean for your rota and your staff's holiday allowance.

Updated 9 October 2026 · DeskKit Tools, Belfast

Northern Ireland bank holidays in 2027

These dates come from the official list on GOV.UK, which also feeds nidirect.

Christmas Day 2027 falls on a Saturday and Boxing Day on a Sunday, so the bank holidays move to Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December. New Year's Day 2028 is also a Saturday, so its substitute day is Monday 3 January 2028.

The rest of 2026

Only two Northern Ireland bank holidays are left this year:

• Friday 25 December 2026: Christmas Day
• Monday 28 December 2026: Boxing Day (substitute day, because 26 December is a Saturday)

What stands out in 2027

• A busy March. Easter is early, so St Patrick's Day, Good Friday and Easter Monday all fall within 13 days (17 to 29 March). If you close for all three, it is worth sorting cover and holiday requests in January.
• The Twelfth is on a Monday. In 2026 it was a Saturday, with Monday 13 July as the substitute day. In 2027 the holiday is on 12 July itself. Many people book the whole "July fortnight", so expect holiday requests for the weeks around it.
• Christmas is a long weekend. With substitute days on 27 and 28 December, many staff will expect four days off in a row.

Do staff have a right to bank holidays off?

No. In Northern Ireland, as in the rest of the UK, there is no legal right to time off on a bank holiday or to extra pay for working one. Whether staff get the day off, and whether it counts towards their holiday, depends on the contract. nidirect confirms that bank holidays can be included in the statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks.

So a full-time contract that says "28 days including bank holidays" is legal. If your business closes on all 10 NI bank holidays, that leaves 18 days for staff to choose. A contract that says "20 days plus bank holidays" gives 30 days in total in NI, because there are 10 bank holidays rather than the 8 in England.

Part-time staff and bank holidays

This is where small businesses most often go wrong. If you simply give bank holidays to whoever is rostered on that day, part-timers who work Mondays get several extra days off and those who don't work Mondays get none. Most NI bank holidays in 2027 are on a Monday, so the gap can be large.

A fairer method is to give everyone their pro rata allowance in hours, including a share for bank holidays, then deduct the bank holidays they actually take. For example, someone working 20 hours over four days gets 20 x 5.6 = 112 hours a year. If they are rostered on two bank holidays when you close, 2 x 5 hours come off that total.

Bank holidays on the rota: a quick routine

1. Decide now which of the 10 days you will open and which you will close, and tell staff in writing.
2. Mark all 10 dates on the rota for the whole year so nobody is caught out.
3. For days you open, ask for volunteers early and decide whether you will offer enhanced pay or time off in lieu. Neither is a legal requirement, so be consistent.
4. Set a booking deadline for the busy periods: Easter, the July fortnight and Christmas.
5. Deduct closed bank holidays from each person's allowance as you go, so the running total stays right.

Cross-border staff

If someone lives in the Republic of Ireland or you have a branch there, remember the Republic has its own list of public holidays, including St Brigid's Day in February and the October bank holiday, and does not have the 12 July holiday. The dates above apply to work done in Northern Ireland.

General information for small businesses, not legal or professional advice. Rules change, so check the official sources linked above before you rely on them.