While some of us still hope to get away on holiday this year, many of us will be shifting our focus to 2022. If you’re like me, you’ll be excited to find out about the bank holidays we can look forward to in 2022. And spoiler alert – there is a little something extra to look forward to!
England and Wales
Those of us who live in England and Wales can expect nine bank holidays in 2022 instead of the usual eight. This is because an extra day has been added to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
As a result, the Spring bank holiday has been moved and will now fall on Thursday 2 June 2022. It will be followed by the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday on Friday 3 June. This means that most of us will get to enjoy a four-day bank holiday weekend.
We can also expect a few substitute bank holiday dates in 2022. Substitute days are used when bank holidays fall on a weekend date. The holiday is usually shifted to the following Monday.
In 2022, the New Year’s Day bank holiday will be on Monday 3 January 2022, and we will get a substitute Christmas Day bank holiday on 27 December 2022.
Assuming the coronavirus pandemic is a thing of the past by then, we will find that shops can open on bank holidays in England and Wales. However, there are a couple of exceptions.
Shops must close on Easter Sunday and Christmas Day, and they must stick to Sunday trading hours (six consecutive hours between 10am and 6pm) on other bank holiday dates.
So here are the bank holidays in 2022:
Monday 3 January – New Year’s Day (substitute day)
Friday 13 April – Good Friday
Monday 18 April – Easter Monday
Monday 2 May – Early May bank holiday
Thursday 2 June – Spring bank holiday (this is later than usual)
Friday 3 June – Platinum Jubilee bank holiday (this is a bonus bank holiday!)
Monday 29 August – Summer bank holiday
Monday 26 December – Boxing Day
Tuesday 27 December – Christmas Day (substitute day)
Scotland
If you live in Scotland, then you already benefit from nine bank holidays a year, so for 2022 you will be getting 10 bank holidays. These are largely similar to the bank holidays in England and Wales, but with a few key differences.
The first difference is that Scotland traditionally has a bank holiday on 2 January. But because this date falls on a Sunday in 2022, the bank holiday will actually be Tuesday 4 January. It can’t be Monday 3 January, because that is already a substitute bank holiday for New Year’s Day.
Secondly, there is no Easter Monday bank holiday in Scotland. Instead, there is a bank holiday for St Andrew’s Day on Wednesday 30 November.
Finally, the Scottish Summer bank holiday differs from that in England and Wales. It is on Monday 1 August instead of Monday 29 August.
Unlike England and Wales, there are no trading hours restrictions in Scotland for bank holidays.
Northern Ireland
What’s better than nine bank holidays in a year? What about 11? That’s what you get in 2022 if you live in Northern Ireland.
Basically, you get all the same bank holidays as England and Wales, as well as two extra. In 2022, these are Thursday 17 March for St Patrick’s Day and Tuesday 12 July to mark the Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day).
Planning a holiday
Has all this talk of bank holidays got you making holiday plans in your head?
For those who want to get ahead, something like a reward credit card could help to save money on travel. A card like the British Airways American Express Credit Card offers the chance to earn Avios every time it is used. These points can then be used towards flights or flight upgrades.
It is also always a good idea to protect yourself, as Covid-19 has definitely taught us. So looking into travel insurance policies before booking anything is a financially savvy move to make.
