Bank holidays for where people work
England and Wales dates are not Scotland’s. Set the calendar for the place, so a substitute day is not a shared guess.
Holiday planning
Holiday planning
Bank holidays are on a GOV.UK page, the office shutdown is in a chat, and booked leave is in a spreadsheet. Holiday planning puts those three on one calendar. The request is still approved in leave and sickness.
December 2026 · England and Wales
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 Booked | 22 Booked | 23 Booked | 24 Shut | 25 Bank | 26 | 27 |
| 28 Bank | 29 Shut | 30 Shut | 31 Shut |
- Booked already booked
- Shut office shut
- Bank bank holiday
What you can do
Requests stay in leave and sickness. Allowance and carry-over still follow the holiday policy.
The days you shut the office
Publish the shutdown once. It is not a chat message half the team missed.
Leave that is already booked
A manager can see the clash before approving the week before Christmas. The request itself is still approved in leave and sickness.
Questions teams ask
Are England and Wales bank holidays the same as Scotland’s?
No. Christmas Day 2026 is a Friday in both, but the Boxing Day substitute and other dates differ. Set the calendar for where people work.
Where is a leave request approved?
In leave and sickness. Holiday planning is the calendar of bank holidays, shutdowns, and leave that is already booked.
Does this calendar set the holiday allowance?
No. Allowance and carry-over still follow the holiday policy.
Related reading
Related Features
Explore more features in Employee Lifecycle
Try Holiday Planning with your own team
CitoHR is free for up to five people. Paid plans start at £2 per person, with no setup fee.