The bank holiday payment shifter
The DWP publishes no calendar, only a rule and a list of bank holidays. This applies the one to the other for your own payment day, and shows every date that moves between now and the end of 2028, Christmas included.
Worked out on your device. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Where the dates come from
The bank holidays are GOV.UK's published list for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, stored with the date we fetched it; the tool refuses to build when that list is about to run out. The rule is from GOV.UK's guide to how benefits are paid, and for Universal Credit from its own page, which states the rule without "usually". The State Pension weekday is GOV.UK's table by National Insurance number. Our payment dates page carries the same rule as a table for every benefit.
What it will not do
It does not know your four-weekly cycle, so for weekday-paid benefits it lists every holiday on your weekday and tells you only some apply. It does not guess what happens to a Universal Credit date the month does not have. And it does not decide whether a Scottish or Northern Irish holiday moves a DWP payment, because GOV.UK does not say.
It also cannot know what DWP announces each Christmas. In 2024 DWP brought forward some payments due on an ordinary working day between Christmas and New Year, which the rule alone would not move. Our Christmas 2026 section says what is known so far.
Common questions
How does it know which dates move?
From GOV.UK's own bank holiday list and its one rule: a payment due on a weekend or bank holiday is usually paid on the working day before. The tool applies the rule to every holiday that falls on your payment day, or to every Universal Credit date that lands on a weekend or holiday.
I am paid every four weeks. Will all of these apply to me?
No, only some. The tool cannot know where your four-weekly cycle falls, so it lists every bank holiday on your weekday and says so. Your award letter and bank statement show your actual dates; the ones on this list that match are the ones that move. Weekly claimants are affected by all of them.
What if my Universal Credit date is the 29th, 30th or 31st?
GOV.UK says you are paid on the same date every month, and that a date on a weekend or bank holiday is paid on the working day before. It does not say what happens in a month with fewer days, so the tool lists those months without a date rather than guessing. The Universal Credit helpline is where to ask.
Does it work for Scotland and Northern Ireland?
With a caveat the tool states. GOV.UK's rule says "a bank holiday" without naming which nation's list applies. Dates that are holidays in Scotland or Northern Ireland but not in England and Wales are shown and marked, and whether they move a DWP payment is not something GOV.UK says.