Working Days in a Month Calculator
Business days for any UK month in 2026/27 – weekends and bank holidays removed
Last updated: June 2026
Working Days in a Month Calculator
Pick a month, year and UK nation to see the exact number of working (business) days, after removing weekends and weekday bank holidays.
How many working days are in a month?
This working days in a month calculator tells you the exact number of business days in any UK month for 2026 and 2027. It starts from the total calendar days, removes every Saturday and Sunday, then removes any weekday bank holidays that fall in that month for your nation. The result is the number of days most UK employees are actually expected to work — useful for payroll proration, freelance day-rate invoicing, project planning, holiday accrual and timesheet checks.
Because bank holidays differ across the UK, the calculator lets you choose England & Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. For example, Scotland has a one-off World Cup bank holiday on Monday 15 June 2026 and its own 2nd January and St Andrew’s Day holidays, while Northern Ireland adds St Patrick’s Day and the Battle of the Boyne. All dates come straight from the official gov.uk bank holidays feed, so the figures stay accurate as the calendar changes.
How it works
The calculation is straightforward and fully transparent:
- Total calendar days — the real length of the chosen month (28, 30 or 31 days).
- Minus weekend days — every Saturday and Sunday is removed.
- Minus weekday bank holidays — only bank holidays that land on a Monday to Friday reduce your working days (a bank holiday on a weekend does not, although employers may give a substitute day).
- = Net working days — the business days remaining.
Add an optional annual salary and the tool also shows your approximate daily pay for that month (annual salary divided by that month’s net working days) — handy for unpaid leave deductions or new-starter part-month pay.
Worked example
Take May 2026 in England & Wales. May has 31 calendar days. There are 10 weekend days (5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays), leaving 21 weekdays. Two of those weekdays are bank holidays — the Early May bank holiday on Monday 4 May and the Spring bank holiday on Monday 25 May. So the net working days are 21 − 2 = 19 working days. On a £35,000 salary that month, a single working day is worth roughly £35,000 ÷ 19 = £1,842.11.
Working days per month in 2026 (England & Wales)
The table below shows every month of 2026 for England & Wales. Switch the nation in the calculator above for Scotland or Northern Ireland figures.
| Month | Total days | Weekdays | Weekend | Bank hols | Working days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2026 | 31 | 22 | 9 | 1 | 21 |
| February 2026 | 28 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 20 |
| March 2026 | 31 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 22 |
| April 2026 | 30 | 22 | 8 | 2 | 20 |
| May 2026 | 31 | 21 | 10 | 2 | 19 |
| June 2026 | 30 | 22 | 8 | 0 | 22 |
| July 2026 | 31 | 23 | 8 | 0 | 23 |
| August 2026 | 31 | 21 | 10 | 1 | 20 |
| September 2026 | 30 | 22 | 8 | 0 | 22 |
| October 2026 | 31 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 22 |
| November 2026 | 30 | 21 | 9 | 0 | 21 |
| December 2026 | 31 | 23 | 8 | 2 | 21 |
| 2026 total | 365 | 261 | 104 | 8 | 253 |
There are 253 working days in 2026 for England & Wales, 251 for Scotland and 251 for Northern Ireland (more weekday bank holidays reduce the total).
Frequently asked questions
How many working days are in May 2026?
May 2026 has 19 working days in England & Wales and Northern Ireland, and 19 in Scotland too — all three nations share the Early May (4 May) and Spring (25 May) bank holidays, leaving 21 weekdays minus 2 = 19 net working days.
Do bank holidays on a weekend reduce working days?
No. Only bank holidays that fall on a Monday to Friday are subtracted, because weekends are already removed. If a bank holiday lands on a Saturday or Sunday, gov.uk usually grants a substitute weekday off instead — this calculator counts the official substitute day shown in the gov.uk feed.
Why are Scotland and Northern Ireland different?
Each UK nation sets its own bank holidays. Scotland has 2nd January, St Andrew’s Day, a different summer holiday date and a one-off World Cup holiday on 15 June 2026, while Northern Ireland adds St Patrick’s Day (17 March) and the Battle of the Boyne (12–13 July). These extra weekday holidays can change the working-day count for a given month.
How is the daily pay figure worked out?
The optional proration divides your annual salary by the net working days in the selected month. It is a simple month-specific day rate, useful for unpaid leave or part-month starters; your employer may instead use a fixed 260/261-day annual basis, so always check your contract or payslip method.
Source: bank holiday dates verified against the official gov.uk UK bank holidays calendar (England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, 2026 and 2027).