Can anyone explain bank holidays/term dates in Scotland

[randomsabreuse]

Especially bank holidays because they seem not to be consistent across the entire country!

How do they work generally?

Are there half terms in all terms? East Dunbartonshire seems to have long weekends/half weeks other than Autumn term?

DH works in a university so has oddball holidays but how do bank holidays work with public sector and private sector jobs - will I hit a whole new level of childcare complexity when I get back to work.

I can deal with my child's holiday dates as they're published but really confused.

Is it just Glasgow that's weird?

Thanks!

there's is no rhyme or reason. local.councils set them I think.. it maybe I'm thinking of school holidays... no rhyme or reason there either

Half termsare generally just long weekend except for the October week (or two weeks as it is in Perth and Kinross, the kids are supposed to harvest potatoes or something!).
There are local holidays that are not bank holidays but they usually match up with school long weekends as long as your school is in the same county as your work i suppose. There are a lot of variables in your question!

Totally varies from council to council. We get two weeks off in October from today. Going back to school later this month is classed as a new term.

It's the random weekends that get me. We've just had September Weekend and I had no idea that the Monday might have been considered a bank holiday until I saw on Facebook about opening times - I assumed it was just a part of breaking up the very long term!

England was so uniform - all bank holidays standard across England, terms more or less the same over large areas of the country with maybe a week difference in some areas. I'd only really taken in that there was an extra bank holiday on or in lieu of 2nd January before we moved...

Guess it makes taking advantage of long weekends easier and cheaper big it's not the whole country off at once!

Also, a lot of employers use the English bank holidays so it means parents being off work while the kids are in school and then struggling for childcare when the kids are off at other times.

A friend had English holidays, her younger son in school in one council a different time and her elder son at catchment high school but in another council had different again.

We recently "got a row" in local papers etc for poor parking over the september weekend but we don't actually have a september weekend....soooo...

Presumably the September weekend stuff was people coming from areas with a September weekend to take advantage that you were not!

So looks like an anarchic minefield then!

I assume they are less of a thing than in England then - so hopefully less traffic chaos. Obviously haven't experienced a "proper" bank holiday in Scotland thanks to Covid to compare.

Holidays across Scotland vary.
Everything from Glasgow Fair, Edinburgh Trades, September weekends, October weeks / fortnight's, Summer is a week later in the north. Spring break may or may not be related to Easter.

From what I can work out the consistent ones are, Christmas & Boxing Day, 1st and 2nd January and Good Friday everything else is varies. You need to look up the councils you are actually looking at.

Many companies accept staff taking the one most appropriate to them. Which also helps with not closing on some holidays instead having a skeleton staff in.

It's weird how many differences there are between Scotland and England that no one really realises without living in both!

I had no idea of practical things like Sunday shop opening times and bank holidays but always knew about the separate legal system and different school qualifications system.

There's also the Friday half school days that some councils have and some not. To add another layer of childcare issues!

I think most Scots are aware of the differences.

No rhyme or reason to it. Its a bugger if you work, live or school in different councils with different holidays.

My employer just gives us 10 public holidays (pro rata for part timers) on top of our annual leave. We can choose to use them when we like. It works for us, but it wont work for all businesses.

And most Scots are aware of the differences with England.

Agree that some of the local holidays are really confusing.

Last Monday the kids were off school - September weekend. But for everyone else it was a normal day, as much as it can be in Covid-land. Banks open, shops open, trains running a standard service. But my GP surgery was closed for hte local holiday. They do the same in mid-July for the totally antiquated idea of the "fair fortnight" - the idea of closing down an entire industry/factory for two weeks in July so everyone gets their holidays at the same time is 75 years out of date.

Also agree that lots of large employers stick to the English holidays - DH's employer does that.

Things are different across Scotland because we have a much more spread out population. Yes, there are relatively dense areas like Glasgow and Edinburgh (and the central belt) but otherwise the small population is spread over a massive area and divided by geographical/landscape related boundaries. Highland alone is the size of Holland. So you get pockets of different traditions and customs, evolving into different holidays etc. You just have to go to your local authority website and download the school term dates timetable for your area. It’s actually all easier in Glasgow, because the rest of the current suffers from the media etc assuming that the way it is in Glasgow is how it is everywhere.

Rest of the country...

I knew the big picture stuff (back to school in August, 2nd January being a Bank Holiday, Standard Grades and Highers rather than GCSEs/A Levels) just not practical details like bank holiday dates, half terms, Sunday opening (very pleasant surprise that was!) and not being able to by any alcohol if you went shopping too early in the morning (9am!))

It's almost as if it's a different country

Nat 4 and 5s. We don't do standard grades anymore

Standard Grades were the equivalent to GCSEs when I did them - and I was aware of them at that point. I didn't pick up exactly when they changed to Nat 4s and 5s though.

I'm well aware that Scotland is a country, I hadn't realised that licensing hours were a devolved matter, the healthcare system is largely the same from the point of view of an average user of the system (except paying for prescriptions for adults), vaccination programme seems the same although health is devolved. University system is fully compatible (although funding is different). We all drive on the same side of the road...

Bank holidays being so random was a surprise because everywhere else I've lived has had much more fixed holidays - French bank holidays are fixed by date regardless of day of the week and school holidays are organised by zone (about 1/3 of the country)

Bank holidays are consistent across Scotland (but are now usually aligned with the English ones).

Public holidays vary across Scotland.

So, for example, 1 and 2 January, 25 and 26 December, Easter (but only Easter Monday, or is it Good Friday?), one of the May holidays and one of the August holidays are (I think ) Scotland wide, but the other May holiday and the September weekend tend to vary (and may even be in October ).

Water's not privatised here so we don't pay extra charges. Also eye tests free and free personal care ( just incase you weren't aware).

We get the English fixed holidays which are 1st Jan, Good Friday and Easter Monday, First and last Mondays in May, Last Monday in August and Christmas Day and Boxing Day. We used to be able to take the late May and August holidays as floating days as they didn't coincide with any Scottish public or school holidays. Now we have to take them as fixed holidays. Doesn't bother me so much now but was a pain when DC were at school.

I haven't had the 2nd of January as a fixed holiday since the mid 90s. DH doesn't get any of his public holidays fixed as standard and has to request those days as normal if he wants them off, that includes Christmas Day and Jan 1st.

It's all a bit random and fair play for not rising to the messages with the snidey undercurrent.

It's presumably also a pain for Scottish kids who do UK wide sports - plenty of fixtures are set using English bank holidays and term times, including some 'compulsory' training camps!

I just got so used to avoiding bank holiday travel when I lived in England because the roads always fell over completely and there was usually major engineering works to add to the fun!

Don't have anyone in that bracket, but they might be used to it as they possibly have to negotiate different holidays even for things wholly in Scotland.

Doesn't happen a lot, but I have been caught out with local holidays before now. I've learned to check before turning up somewhere outwith the local area or indeed in my own area when I'm not off.

I do a compressed fortnight at work so often have a Monday off which is the most likely day for local holidays.

It was/is indeed a pain for UK wide sports for kids - but they're all geared around English schools and holidays anyway.

Ds used to cycle competitively and one of the big events was the North West Youth Tour, a 3 day event held over the Late May Bank Holiday.

But what it didn't take into account was that the SQA exams were still going on (no English exams on the bank holiday) were still going on, including on the Monday. It wasn't a big deal for ds as he wasn't yet old enough for Nat 5s or Highers, but other team mates had to either not enter or just forego the last event (iirc, one of the years it was Physics Nat 5 and Higher exams on the Monday).

Plus there were other events that were held late August, when the Scottish schools were back and the English ones were still off.

Fortunately, Scottish schools are usually more relaxed about authorising absence We had to ask for an authorised absence in order for ds to go to the Isle of Man Youth Tour (1st May Bank Holiday weekend - but to get there we had to leave Friday morning).