In our blog earlier this week, we looked at the unusual problem of ‘too many bank holidays’ during the 2026/27 leave year, for employers whose holiday year runs from April to March.

However, employers should not put the issue to bed once they have navigated 2026/27. The following holiday year brings an entirely different challenge.

For employers operating an April to March holiday year, there will be only six bank holidays falling within the 2027/28 leave year. This could create an unexpected annual leave compliance issue for some employers.

Why are there only six bank holidays?

The anomaly arises because Easter falls particularly early in 2027 and particularly late in 2028.

As a result, Good Friday and Easter Monday both fall within the 2026/27 and 2028/29 holiday years, leaving the intervening 2027/28 holiday year with only six bank holidays in England and Wales.

For employers, the legal significance of this will largely depend on how annual leave entitlement is drafted in employment contracts.

The importance of contractual wording

Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, workers are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks’ paid annual leave each year. For a full-time employee working five days per week, this equates to 28 days’ paid leave.

Employers commonly structure annual leave entitlement in one of two ways:

  • A stated number of days plus bank holidays; or
  • A total entitlement that is inclusive of bank holidays.

At first glance, the distinction may appear minor. In 2027/28, however, it could become critically important.

Contracts providing a basic entitlement plus bank holidays

Many employers provide annual leave as a base entitlement together with bank holidays.

A common example is: “Employees are entitled to 20 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays.”

In most years, this arrangement works neatly. Twenty days plus the usual eight bank holidays gives employees a total of 28 days’ paid leave, satisfying the statutory minimum entitlement.

The difficulty arises in 2027/28. If only six bank holidays fall within the relevant holiday year, an employee receiving 20 days plus bank holidays would receive a total entitlement of only 26 days. That is two days short of the statutory minimum entitlement of 28 days for a full-time worker.

Will this affect every employer?

Not necessarily. The issue is most likely to arise where the employee’s overall entitlement would otherwise sit at or close to the statutory minimum.

Employers offering more generous contractual entitlements also have little or no cause for concern. An employee entitled to 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays would still receive a total of 31 days’ leave in the 2027/28 holiday year, comfortably exceeding the statutory minimum entitlement of 28 days.

The practical impact of the six-bank-holiday year will therefore depend not only on how annual leave is drafted, but also on the level of contractual entitlement being provided.

What should employers do?

The good news is that this appears to be a one-off anomaly rather than a long-term issue. For many employers, a practical solution may therefore be preferable to undertaking a wholesale review of contractual documentation.

Options could include:

  • Granting additional leave days

Employers could simply award affected employees two additional days’ annual leave for the 2027/28 holiday year.

This is likely to be the most straightforward approach where employees would otherwise fall below the statutory minimum entitlement.

  • Designating additional closure days

Some employers may choose to nominate two additional fixed leave days during the year, such as around Christmas or New Year, and require employees to take annual leave on those dates. Provided the employee’s overall entitlement reaches the statutory minimum, this can be an effective way of managing operational requirements while maintaining compliance.

Whatever approach is adopted, employers should identify any issue well ahead of the start of the 2027/28 holiday year and communicate any temporary arrangements clearly to employees – making clear that any changes only apply to 2027/28 and have no wider impact.

What if entitlement is inclusive of bank holidays?

Employers whose contracts provide a total annual leave entitlement inclusive of bank holidays are unlikely to face the same difficulty.

For example, an employee entitled to “28 days’ annual leave inclusive of bank holidays” continues to receive 28 days’ leave regardless of how many bank holidays fall within the holiday year.

The only practical difference is that six of those days will be fixed bank holidays rather than the more usual eight. The employee therefore has two additional days available to book at a time of their choosing.

Ironically, in a year with fewer bank holidays, employees whose contracts are structured in this way may enjoy greater flexibility over when they take their leave in 2027/28.

A problem worth checking now

The unusual concentration of bank holidays in 2026/27 has understandably attracted attention. However, employers with April-to-March holiday years should also be looking ahead to 2027/28.

The starting point is to review the wording of your contracts and policies. A simple contractual distinction could determine whether the six-bank-holiday year passes unnoticed or creates an unexpected headache.