Date and leave guides

Dates & Times' guides explain the everyday UK date questions in plain English: how to stretch your annual leave around bank holidays, how statutory holiday entitlement works for full-time, part-time and casual staff, when the 2026 bank holidays fall, and how to count working days between two dates. Each guide cites the official gov.uk source and links to the calculator that does the maths. This is general calendar and time information, not legal or employment advice.

How to maximise your annual leave with UK bank holidays Turn a handful of leave days into long breaks by booking around the 2026 bank holidays. UK holiday entitlement explained, including part-time and irregular hours The 5.6 weeks statutory minimum, the 28-day cap, and the 12.07% method for casual workers. When are the 2026 UK bank holidays Every 2026 bank-holiday date for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. How to calculate working days between two dates What counts as a working day, how to count Monday to Friday, and where bank holidays fit.

Prefer to skip straight to the tools? Use the calculators, the 2026 bank holidays, or the annual leave page.

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Dates & Times Editorial

Calculators and Data Desk, Dates & Times

Dates & Times's editorial desk builds and documents the calculators, citing the underlying date maths and the official UK source behind every number. Calendar and time tools are checked against primary UK sources such as the gov.uk Bank Holidays API before publication.

Last reviewed: 12 June 2026