As we enter 2026, knowing the year’s public holidays is critical for managing workflows and ensuring business continuity. Clear foresight helps leaders schedule projects, balance team capacity and avoid unnecessary disruptions. Below, you’ll find a comprehensive list of public holidays for Ireland, Luxembourg, and the UK, along with key details on employee entitlements in each region.
Entitlements
Most employees in Ireland are entitled to benefit from public holidays. Full time workers receive entitlements immediately, while part time employees qualify once they have worked at least 40 hours in the previous five weeks and the holiday falls on a day they normally work.
If an employer cannot offer the public holiday as a day off, an eligible employee is entitled to one of the following:
• A paid day off on the public holiday;
• An additional day of annual leave;
• An additional day’s pay; or
• A paid day off within one month.
Part time employees who do not normally work on the day the public holiday falls are entitled to one fifth of their weekly pay as compensation.
Public Holidays in Luxembourg for 2026
• January 1 – New Year’s Day
• April 21 – Easter Monday
• May 1 – May Day
• May 9 – Europe Day
• May 14 – Ascension Day
• May 25 – Whit Monday
• June 23 – National Day
• August 15 – Assumption Day
• November 1 – All Saints
• December 25 – Christmas Day
• December 26 – Boxing Day
Luxembourg observes 11 public holidays, with eight fixed-date holidays and three variable-date holidays tied to the liturgical calendar.
Entitlements
Public holiday rights are set out clearly in Luxembourg law. Employees are entitled to paid public holidays, and if a holiday falls on a day they do not normally work, they must receive a compensatory paid day off within three months.
With employer approval, employees may replace an official public holiday with a local or sectorspecific holiday. Many financial-sector employees receive additional holidays, such as on Good Friday, based on contract or collective agreement terms.
If a public holiday falls on a weekend, banking sector employees are entitled to a compensatory day off, and some employers may offer additional salary premiums.
Employees required to work on a public holiday are entitled to:
• Their usual pay;
• A 100% wage premium for hours worked; or
• An additional day of leave.
Premiums paid for working on a public holiday are tax-exempt.
Public Holidays in the UK for 2026
• January 1 – New Years Day
• April 6 – Easter Monday
• May 4 – Early May Bank Holiday
• May 25 – Spring Bank Holiday
• August 31 – Summer Bank Holiday
• December 25 – Christmas Day
• December 28 – Boxing Day (Substitute Day)
Entitlements
In the UK, employees do not have an automatic statutory right to paid bank holidays. It is up to employers to decide whether bank holidays form part of an employee’s annual leave entitlement or are offered as unpaid time off, as set out under the Employment Rights Act 1996.
Employers may require staff to work on bank holidays if this is provided for in their employment contract. In such cases, employees are not entitled to refuse.
