GCSE History · key term

Bank holiday

Definition

A legally designated holiday on which banks close. Recognition as a bank holiday is distinct from a worker’s entitlement to paid leave.

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Component 2

Sir John Lubbock, MP for Maidstone and a former banker, introduced the measure that became the Bank Holiday Act of 1871. He wanted to ease pressure on workers by establishing additional holidays. In England and Wales, the Act designated Easter Monday, Whit Monday, the first Monday in August and Boxing Day.
Revise: Holidays and Travel
A designated holiday on which banks close. The Bank Holidays Act of 1871 introduced four additional bank holidays in England and Wales; this was not a universal entitlement to paid annual leave.
Revise: Scarborough, 1626 to 1939

1
Distinguish a recognised bank holiday from paid annual leave. Time away from work and money to afford a holiday are separate factors.
2
Use 1871 for the Bank Holidays Act. It introduced four additional bank holidays in England and Wales, not a universal right to paid annual leave.

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