| Month | Pay date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | Wed 25 Nov 2026 | |
| December 2026 | Thu 24 Dec 2026 | moved: Christmas Day |
| January 2027 | Mon 25 Jan 2027 | |
| February 2027 | Thu 25 Feb 2027 | |
| March 2027 | Thu 25 Mar 2027 | |
| April 2027 | Fri 23 Apr 2027 | moved: weekend |
| May 2027 | Tue 25 May 2027 | |
| June 2027 | Fri 25 Jun 2027 | |
| July 2027 | Fri 23 Jul 2027 | moved: weekend |
| August 2027 | Wed 25 Aug 2027 | |
| September 2027 | Fri 24 Sep 2027 | moved: weekend |
| October 2027 | Mon 25 Oct 2027 |
The payday calculator UK-wide uses the bank holidays of the region you select. Christmas 2026 is a typical case: payday on the 25th falls on Friday 25 December, a bank holiday everywhere in the UK, so a salary paid on the working day before would arrive on Thursday 24 December.
What happens when payday falls on a bank holiday?
There is no single rule. Your employment contract or your employer’s payroll policy decides whether pay comes early or late. The calculator starts with the working day before; switch the setting if your employer pays later. If yours pays on the next working day instead, switch the setting.
The timing also depends on how the salary is sent. For employers who pay through Bacs, the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) notes that Bacs only works on standard banking days. A Bacs payment runs on a three-day cycle of input day, processing day and payment day. A bank holiday removes one processing day, so payroll has to submit the file earlier for the money to arrive on time.
Example: paid on the 25th, Christmas 2026 to Christmas 2027
For someone in England and Wales who is usually paid on the 25th, with pay moved to the working day before:
| Usual payday | Day | Paid on | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Dec 2026 | Friday | Thursday 24 Dec | Christmas Day is a bank holiday |
| 25 Apr 2027 | Sunday | Friday 23 Apr | Weekend |
| 25 Jul 2027 | Sunday | Friday 23 Jul | Weekend |
| 25 Sep 2027 | Saturday | Friday 24 Sep | Weekend |
| 25 Dec 2027 | Saturday | Friday 24 Dec | Weekend; the bank holidays move to 27 and 28 Dec |
If you are paid on the last working day of the month, December 2026 still works out normally: Thursday 31 December is a working day in every UK region. New Year’s Day on Friday 1 January 2027 is the next bank holiday.
Early pay and what payroll reports to HMRC
An early payment does not change the pay date that payroll reports. The CIPP says that HMRC has confirmed the Full Payment Submission (FPS) should still show the employee’s normal contractual pay date when staff are paid early. The CIPP adds that this helps protect eligibility for income-based benefits such as Universal Credit, because an early payment could affect entitlements.
If you claim Universal Credit and are paid early before a bank holiday, check with your employer which date they report.
How we calculate
For each of the next 12 months the calculator takes your usual payday. If that day does not exist in a month, such as the 31st in April, it uses the last day of the month. When the date is a Saturday, Sunday or a bank holiday in your region, it steps one day back, or forward if you chose “working day after”, until it reaches a working day. “Last working day” always steps back from the end of the month.
Bank holidays come from the GOV.UK data for your region, including substitute days. The calculator does not know your employer’s own closure days, Bacs cut-off times or your bank’s processing, so treat the result as the expected date, not a guarantee.