Working Days in a Year 2026

Working Days in a Year Calculator for 2026, 2027 and 2028

The number of working days in a year for 2026 is 253 in England and Wales, 251 in Scotland, 251 in Northern Ireland and 250 in the United States, counting Monday to Friday and taking off public holidays. Pick your country, year and working week below to get your own figure, month by month.

Working days between dates

Count the working days between two dates, for example for a notice period, a project or a contract. Both dates are included. The count uses the country and working week chosen above.

How many working days in 2026, 2027 and 2028

This table shows how many working days in a year there are for each country, for a Monday to Friday week with every public holiday taken off.

2028 is a leap year with 366 days. It starts on a Saturday, so it has 260 weekdays and not 261.

How the working days in a year are counted

The calculator goes through every date in the year. A date counts as a working day when it falls on a day you work and it is not a public holiday you have left ticked. Annual leave is then taken off the total. Working hours are the working days multiplied by your hours a day.

For the UK, the page uses the bank holidays published by GOV.UK for each nation, so the working days in a year for the UK differ between England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. When a bank holiday falls on a weekend, GOV.UK lists a substitute weekday, and that substitute day is the one taken off. For the United States, the page uses the federal holidays published by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). When a federal holiday falls on a Saturday, OPM shows it as observed on the Friday before. When it falls on a Sunday, it is observed on the Monday after.

Public holidays that fall on a day you do not work are not taken off, because that day was never counted. This matters for part-time weeks. Your employer may handle holiday entitlement for part-time staff in a different way, so check your contract or staff handbook.

Worked example

Someone in England and Wales works Monday to Thursday, 7.5 hours a day, and has 20 days of annual leave in 2027. There are 208 Mondays to Thursdays in 2027. 6 bank holidays fall on those days (Easter Monday, the three Monday bank holidays in May and August, and the Christmas Day and Boxing Day substitute days on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December). That leaves 202 working days. Taking off 20 days of leave gives 182 working days, which is 1,365 working hours.

This page gives general information. UK bank holidays and US federal holidays are shown as published. Employers, US states and local areas can observe different days, so check which holidays apply to you.

Holiday dates used

These are the dates the calculator takes off. UK dates come from GOV.UK bank holidays. US dates come from the OPM federal holidays schedule. Both sources were checked on 8 October 2026.

Bank holidays in England and Wales, 2026 to 2028

Bank holidays in Scotland, 2026 to 2028

Bank holidays in Northern Ireland, 2026 to 2028

Federal holidays in the United States, 2026 to 2028

New Year’s Day 2028 falls on a Saturday. OPM lists it as observed on Friday 31 December 2027, so it is counted in 2027 and the United States has 10 federal holidays on weekdays in 2028.

Questions about working days in a year

How many working days in a year are there?

A Monday to Friday week gives 260 or 261 weekdays in a year, before public holidays. Taking off public holidays that fall on a weekday, 2026 has 253 working days in England and Wales, 251 in Scotland, 251 in Northern Ireland and 250 in the United States.

How many working days in a year in the UK?

It depends on the nation, because each has its own bank holidays. In 2026 there are 253 working days in England and Wales, 251 in Scotland and 251 in Northern Ireland. In 2027 the figures are 253, 252 and 251. These figures assume a Monday to Friday week with every bank holiday taken off.

How many working days in 2026 and 2027 in the United States?

With every federal holiday taken off, 2026 has 250 working days and 2027 has 249. 2027 has 12 federal holiday dates on weekdays instead of the usual 11, because New Year’s Day 2028 falls on a Saturday and federal employees observe it on Friday 31 December 2027. Private employers choose which holidays they give, so your own figure can be higher.

How many working hours are in a year?

Multiply working days by the hours in your day. At 8 hours a day, 2026 has 2,024 working hours in England and Wales (253 days) and 2,000 in the United States (250 days). Before any holidays are taken off, 261 weekdays at 8 hours is 2,088 hours. Change the hours a day in the calculator to match your contract.

How many working days in a year on a 4-day week?

For a Monday to Thursday week in England and Wales, 2026 has 203 working days. That is 209 Mondays to Thursdays less the 6 bank holidays that fall on those days. The answer changes with the days you work, because most bank holidays fall on a Monday or a Friday. Tick your own working days in the calculator to see your figure.

Do working days include bank holidays or federal holidays?

The usual convention is no. A working day or business day is a weekday that is not a public holiday, and the figures on this page follow that convention. If you work on some public holidays, untick them in the calculator and they are counted as working days.