As the New Year approaches, many of us may be getting organised and wondering what bank holidays we can look forward to in 2025. The Government has confirmed the dates for all of the bank holidays in 2025, with many falling on different dates than 2024
The first of these holidays was on New Year’s Day, which fell on Wednesday, 1 January 2025, a time to ring in the new year with celebrations.
St Brigid’s Day is up next, falling on Monday, 3 February 2025, marking the feast day of Ireland’s patroness. Following that is Saint Patrick’s Day, set to be celebrated on Monday, 17 March 2025 – a day dedicated to honouring Ireland’s patron saint with parades, festivities and a vibrant display of Irish culture.
Easter Monday falls on 21 April and provides another public holiday for religious observances. The first Monday in May, 5 May, will be the next bank holiday in Ireland, and the first of two summer bank holidays. The next follows shortly thereafter. The June Bank Holiday, scheduled for Monday, 2 June. Monday, August 4, marks the August Bank Holiday, a final summer holiday for many before the back-to-school season kicks off.
The October Bank Holiday will offer the public another break on Monday, 27 October, as the country transitions into the cooler months. Christmas Day, will be the next public holiday following that, and will fall on Thursday, 25 December, in 2025.
Finally, the last public holiday of the year is St Stephen’s Day, and this will be observed on Friday, 26 December. When a fixed date public holiday falls on a weekend, there’s no legal requirement for the next working day to be a holiday. In such cases, workers are entitled to a paid day off within the same month, an extra day of annual leave, or an additional day’s pay.
Part-time workers who’ve worked 40 hours per week for the five weeks preceding the bank holiday are entitled to a day’s pay if the holiday falls on a day they usually work.
If you’re required to work on that day, you’re entitled to an extra day’s pay. If you haven’t worked 40 hours, your day’s pay or a fifth of your weekly pay is calculated based on the average over the 13 weeks you worked prior to the public holiday.
Those in Northern Ireland might be in for an additional Bank Holiday in 2025 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Reports suggest that a four-day weekend could be planned to mark this significant moment in history.
The festivities are expected to take place around May 8 next year, honouring Victory in Europe Day – the day Germany surrendered to the Allies in 1945. It will also pay tribute to August 15, the day Japan admitted defeat.
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