Holidays under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971.
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the bank holidays are: Easter Monday; the last Mondays in May and August; Boxing Day (if not a Sunday); December 27 (if either Christmas Day or Boxing Day falls on a Sunday); and any other day that is proclaimed a bank holiday. Since 1974, 1 January (or the next available working day) has been proclaimed a bank holiday. Since 1978 the first Monday in May has been proclaimed a bank holiday.
Two additional bank holidays have been proclaimed in Northern Ireland, St Patrick's Day (17 March) and the anniversary of the Battle of Boyne (12 July).
In Scotland, the bank holidays are New Year's Day, 2 January, Good Friday, the first Monday in May, the first Monday in August, St Andrew's Day (30 November, or the following Monday if it falls at a weekend) and Christmas Day.
Since 1974, Boxing Day has been proclaimed an additional bank holiday and, since 1987, the last Monday in May has been proclaimed an additional bank holiday.
Good Friday and Christmas day are traditional public holidays, but not bank holidays.
Related links
Practical Law Dictionary. Glossary of UK, US and international legal terms. www.practicallaw.com. 2010.