Bank holiday rates for contractors

What the rules say

GOV.UK states that an employer doesn't have to give paid leave on bank or public holidays, and statutory holiday rights belong to workers and employees, not to the genuinely self-employed. So as a sole trader or limited company contractor:

• there's no automatic premium for working on a bank holiday;
• there's no pay for a bank holiday you don't work; and
• any enhanced rate comes from your contract, rate card or agency terms.

If you're paid through an umbrella company, you're its employee, so your holiday rights come through it, not through your invoice.

Agree the rate before the day

Many clients will pay more for bank holiday working, especially in construction shutdowns, events, logistics and care. Common arrangements are time and a half (×1.5) or double time (×2). Put it in writing, for example: "Bank holidays in England and Wales charged at ×1.5 of the hourly rate." Also agree what happens if the site is closed: usually you just don't invoice that day.

Worked example: a bank holiday week

A contractor on £210.00 a day for 8 hours (£26.25 an hour) works the week of Monday 31 May 2027, which is the spring bank holiday in England and Wales. The bank holiday is agreed at double time.

Label the bank holiday line clearly, with the date and the multiplier, so whoever approves it can see why it's higher.

With an awkward hourly rate, keep full precision until the end of each line. At £187.50 a day (£23.4375 an hour) and ×1.5, the bank holiday hourly rate is £35.15625. For 8 hours that's £281.25 exactly. For 6.5 hours it's £228.515625, which rounds to £228.52. Rounding the hourly rate first (£35.16 × 6.5 = £228.54) would overcharge by 2p. Our overtime guide explains this in more detail.

Pricing the days you don't work

Because nobody pays you for bank holidays off, a short week means a smaller invoice: a 4-day week at £210 is £840 rather than £1,050. England and Wales have 8 bank holidays in a normal year, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have different ones (Scotland has 2 January and St Andrew's Day, for example, and Northern Ireland has St Patrick's Day and 12 July). If you're comparing a day rate with an employed salary, remember the bank holidays and annual leave you won't be paid for. Our day rate guide covers the arithmetic.

Dates to plan around

From GOV.UK, the next bank holidays in England and Wales are:

• Friday 25 December 2026 (Christmas Day) and Monday 28 December 2026 (Boxing Day, substitute day)
• Friday 1 January 2027 (New Year's Day)
• Friday 26 March 2027 (Good Friday) and Monday 29 March 2027 (Easter Monday)
• Monday 3 May, Monday 31 May and Monday 30 August 2027
• Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December 2027 (substitute days)

Christmas weeks also often move clients' payment runs, so check when your invoice will actually be paid. Our payment terms guide explains what to do if it's late.

Tips

• Say which nation's bank holidays apply if you work across borders.
• Confirm whether a substitute day (e.g. 28 December 2026) attracts the premium, or only the holiday itself.
• Get bank holiday hours approved on the timesheet like any other hours.

Worked example: bank holiday overtime

Ryan's day rate is £200 for 8 hours (£25 an hour) and his agreed bank holiday rate is ×1.5. On a bank holiday Monday he works 10 hours:

• 8 hours at bank holiday rate: 8 × £37.50 = £300.00
• 2 extra hours: if they're paid at the higher of overtime or bank holiday rate, that's 2 × £37.50 = £75.00. If his agreement says overtime is ×1.25 and multipliers don't stack, it's 2 × £31.25 = £62.50.

This is exactly the kind of detail to settle in writing beforehand: do multipliers stack, and which one wins? Most agreements say the single highest rate applies to each hour, never one multiplied by another.

How to show it on the invoice

Name the day: "Mon 31 Aug 2026 (bank holiday): 8 h at £37.50". Clients and agency payroll teams check bank holiday lines more closely than others, so a clear label avoids queries. England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have different bank holidays, so check the GOV.UK list for the nation where the work is done.

Working through an agency

Agencies usually set bank holiday rates in the assignment schedule or Key Information Document. Check it before the date, record bank holiday hours on a separate timesheet line, and make sure your invoice matches the approved timesheet exactly, or it may be held back.

If you're self-employed, there's no legal right to a bank holiday premium or paid bank holidays. Any extra rate exists only because you and the client agreed it, so keep that agreement somewhere you can find it when the invoice is queried.