Eleanor StoneSt George's Day falls on Thursday 23 April 2026 — England's national day — yet for most workers across the country, it is simply another working Thursday. No statutory bank holiday, no automatic right to time off, no enhanced pay for those who work through it. With the Employment Rights Act 2025 bringing some of the most significant changes to UK working conditions in a generation from 6 April 2026, this year's St George's Day arrives with fresh questions about what workers are actually entitled to.
England's National Day Is Not a Bank Holiday
This fact surprises many people. Scotland celebrates St Andrew's Day on 30 November as a designated public holiday. Northern Ireland marks St Patrick's Day on 17 March. England has no equivalent. St George's Day, despite being England's national day since the 14th century, is a normal working day under UK law.
According to GOV.UK, England and Wales share eight official bank holidays in 2026. St George's Day on 23 April is not among them. There is no statutory entitlement for workers to take the day off.
Politicians have periodically called for St George's Day to become a bank holiday — most recently as part of debates around English devolution and national identity — but as of April 2026, no legislation has been enacted. The Major Events Act 2025 made several changes to public gatherings and event licensing, but bank holiday status for St George's Day was not included.
What Are Your Rights Around Bank Holidays?
This is where the law becomes more nuanced than most workers realise, and where getting specialist advice can genuinely matter.
There is no automatic legal right to take any bank holiday off in England and Wales, whether that is Good Friday, Christmas Day, or the late-May bank holiday. Your entitlement depends entirely on your employment contract.
Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, full-time workers are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave per year — equivalent to 28 days. Employers have two lawful options for how they structure that allowance. They can include bank holidays within the 5.6-week total, meaning that taking a bank holiday uses up part of your statutory entitlement. Alternatively, they can grant bank holidays on top of the 5.6-week minimum as additional leave. Both approaches are legal.
The critical point: if your contract says you are entitled to "20 days plus bank holidays," those bank holidays are contractual, not statutory. If your contract says "28 days inclusive of bank holidays," you have no separate right to those eight public holidays — they are already counted.
The Employment Rights Act 2025: What Changed from April 2026?
The Employment Rights Act 2025 brought a significant wave of new protections into force from 6 April 2026. While the Act does not create new bank holidays, it changes the employment landscape in ways that matter for workers managing leave and sick absences.
The most important changes from 6 April 2026 include the following. Statutory sick pay is now a day-one right — there is no longer a three-day waiting period and no lower earnings threshold for eligibility. This means workers who fall ill can claim statutory sick pay from their first day absent, regardless of how long they have been in their job or how much they earn.
Parental leave and paternity leave are also now day-one rights, removing the previous 26-week qualifying period. Workers returning from parental leave in 2026 have stronger protections than under the previous framework.
Employers are now required to keep records of annual leave and holiday pay from 6 April 2026, which strengthens workers' ability to challenge holiday pay disputes at tribunal.
For workers in sectors where "inclusive" leave contracts are common — retail, hospitality, construction, and gig economy roles — these changes to statutory sick pay and the record-keeping obligations are particularly relevant.
Can You Negotiate St George's Day Leave?
If you would like 23 April off and your contract does not grant it automatically, the practical options are straightforward. You can request annual leave in the normal way, subject to your employer's approval process. Many employers will grant requests made sufficiently in advance, particularly for a single day with no operational peak.
If your employer consistently refuses leave requests around national days, or if you believe your holiday entitlement is being miscalculated — for instance, by applying an "inclusive" bank holiday policy without making this explicit in your contract — these are legitimate grounds to raise a formal grievance. Acas conciliation is available as a step before any employment tribunal claim.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 also established a new Fair Work Agency from April 2026, a single enforcement body that can bring employment tribunal claims on behalf of workers and issue compliance notices. For workers in sectors with a history of underpaid holiday pay, this is a meaningful new avenue.
What an Employment Specialist Can Do for You
Employment law in England and Wales is more nuanced than most workers — and many employers — appreciate. Whether you are trying to understand how your bank holidays are calculated, challenging a holiday pay shortfall, or navigating the new day-one rights introduced in April 2026, a qualified employment law specialist can clarify your position quickly.
St George's Day may not yet be a bank holiday. But this year, more than any in recent memory, workers in England have new legal tools at their disposal. Knowing which ones apply to your situation is the first step.
