May bank holiday change for 2020, says the NHBF

Normally there’s a bank holiday on the Monday of the first weekend in May. Not in 2020!
The government announced only last week that instead of having the bank holiday on Monday 4 May, it would be changed to Friday 8 May to coincide with the 75th anniversary of VE Day. VE stands for Victory in Europe and the Day marks the 75 years since Winston Churchill’s announcement on 8 May 1945 that war in Europe had come to an end following Germany’s surrender the previous day.

It’s only the second time that the first May bank holiday date has been moved. The previous time was in 1995 to mark the 50th anniversary of VE Day. The problem this time is that the government has only given 11 months’ notice, whereas the first time there was 18 months’ notice.

Hilary Hall, NHBF chief executive said: “Check that your software is updated or your appointment books are correct – and get them changed if necessary. Make sure your staff know that the bank holiday is being moved from Monday 4 May to Friday 8 May so it’s a switch, not an extra day’s holiday. There are no plans to change the end of May bank holiday which is set for Monday 25 May 2020.”