2025 bank holiday dates that will affect your benefit payments

We all love a bank holiday weekend and there’s plenty coming up in 2025.  

But, as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HMRC don’t typically pay out benefits on bank holidays, the long weekends can disrupt your usual payment schedule.  

The good news is that instead of making payments after the bank holiday, DWP typically issues them before. So, if there’s a change to your payment date, you’ll receive the funds sooner rather than later. 

Whether your payments will be affected by bank holidays, depends on when they are due.  

Universal credit, for example, is paid on the same day each month. Tax credits, on the other hand, are usually paid every four weeks on a Monday or Tuesday.  

Carer’s allowance is normally paid on a Monday.  

Do you need to do anything?  

No, if your payment date does change due to a bank holiday, there’s nothing you need to do.  

Unless your circumstances change, you’ll receive the same amount of money as usual.  

To help you stay on top of your payments, we’ve listed the bank holiday dates for 2025. 

Bank holidays in England and Wales 

• Wednesday, 1 January – New Year’s Day 

• Friday, 18 April – Good Friday 

• Monday, 21 April – Easter Monday 

• Monday, 5 May – early May bank holiday 

• Monday, 26 May – spring bank holiday 

• Monday, 25 August – summer bank holiday 

• Thursday, 25 December – Christmas Day 

• Friday, 26 December – Boxing Day 

Bank holidays in Scotland 

• Wednesday, 1 January – New Year’s Day 

• Thursday, 2 January – January 2 

• Friday, 18 April – Good Friday 

• Monday, 5 May Early May bank holiday 

• Monday, 26 May– – spring bank holiday 

• Monday, 4 August– – summer bank holiday 

• Monday, 1 December – St Andrew’s Day 

• Thursday, 25 December – Christmas Day 

• Friday, 26 December – Boxing Day 

Bank holidays in Northern Ireland 

• Wednesday, 1 January – New Year’s Day 

• Monday, 17 March – St Patrick’s Day 

• Friday, 18 April – Good Friday 

• Monday, 21 April – Easter Monday 

• Monday, 5 May – early May bank holiday 

• Monday, 26 May – spring bank holiday 

• Monday, 14 July – Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day) 

• Monday, 25 August – summer bank holiday 

• Thursday, 25 December – Christmas Day 

• Friday, 26 December – Boxing Day 

Transition to universal credit 

Remember, the government is gradually replacing older benefits, like tax credits, with universal credit.  

If you’ve haven’t yet made the transition, keep an eye out for a ‘migration notice’ in the post. This will provide you with a three-month deadline to begin claiming universal credit.  

Find out more about the move from ‘legacy’ benefits to universal credit here.  

You can also check key dates for benefit changes in 2025.  

Are you missing out on benefits?  

If you think you might be missing out on benefits, it’s a good idea to check if you’re claiming everything you’re entitled to.  

You can get in touch or use our benefits calculator.