Working Days by Country: UK, US, Canada, Australia & NZ
The number of working days between two dates is not the same in every country — the weekends match, but the public holidays don’t, so the same start and end date can give you a different count in London, New York, Toronto, Sydney, or Auckland. The Business Days Calculator has built-in holiday presets for each of these, so you pick a country (and a state, where it matters) and it removes the right days automatically. This guide shows which holidays each country actually observes, and the regional traps that catch people in Australia and Canada.
Why the country changes the count
Take a two-week span in late May. In the US it loses Memorial Day; in the UK it loses the Spring bank holiday; in Canada it might lose Victoria Day; in Australia nothing national falls there. Same dates, three different working-day totals. If you quote a client “10 working days” while counting US holidays but they’re in the UK, your deadline is off. That’s the whole reason to set the country before you count.
The one thing that is consistent across these five countries: the weekend is Saturday and Sunday. (That isn’t universal — much of the Middle East runs a Friday–Saturday weekend — but for the countries below, Sat/Sun is the rule.)
United States — 11 federal holidays
| Holiday | When |
|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Jan 1 |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | 3rd Monday in January |
| Presidents’ Day | 3rd Monday in February |
| Memorial Day | Last Monday in May |
| Juneteenth | Jun 19 |
| Independence Day | Jul 4 |
| Labor Day | 1st Monday in September |
| Columbus Day | 2nd Monday in October |
| Veterans Day | Nov 11 |
| Thanksgiving | 4th Thursday in November |
| Christmas Day | Dec 25 |
When a fixed-date holiday lands on a weekend, US federal offices observe it on the nearest weekday (Friday or Monday) — the calculator’s preset accounts for that shift.
United Kingdom — 8 bank holidays (England & Wales)
New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, the Early May bank holiday (1st Monday in May), the Spring bank holiday (last Monday in May), the Summer bank holiday (last Monday in August), Christmas Day, and Boxing Day (Dec 26). Good Friday and Easter Monday move every year with Easter. Scotland and Northern Ireland differ (Scotland adds 2 January and St Andrew’s Day; NI adds St Patrick’s Day and the Twelfth of July), so “UK” usually means England & Wales unless you say otherwise.
Canada — national plus province-by-province
Canada’s nationwide statutory days are New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Canada Day (Jul 1), Labour Day (1st Monday in September), the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (Sep 30, a federal/public-service day), and Christmas Day. But most Canadians also get provincial holidays the federal list doesn’t include:
- Victoria Day — Monday before May 25
- Thanksgiving — 2nd Monday in October
- Family Day — February, in most provinces (not all)
- Civic Holiday — 1st Monday in August, in several provinces
- Boxing Day — statutory in Ontario, optional elsewhere
So a working-day count for Ontario and one for Alberta can differ — pick the province.
Australia — always check the state
Australia is the biggest regional trap. The national holidays are New Year’s Day, Australia Day (Jan 26), Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day (Apr 25), Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. Everything else is set by the state or territory, and they genuinely diverge:
| Holiday | NSW | VIC | QLD | WA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Day | October | March | May | March |
| King’s Birthday | June | June | October | September/October |
That’s why searches like “working days calculator NSW” and ”…WA” exist — the same year has different non-working days in each state. Select the state in the calculator and it loads the matching set.
New Zealand — national plus regional anniversaries
New Zealand observes New Year’s Day and January 2, Waitangi Day (Feb 6), Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day (Apr 25), King’s Birthday (1st Monday in June), Matariki (a movable date in June/July), Labour Day (4th Monday in October), Christmas Day and Boxing Day. On top of that, each region has its own Anniversary Day (Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury and so on), so a precise local count may need the regional day added.
How to count working days for a specific country
- Open the Business Days Calculator and set your Start and End dates.
- Choose your country (and state/province for Australia or Canada) so the right public holidays are excluded automatically — no manual entry.
- Read the working-day total plus the breakdown of weekends and holidays removed.
- Need a deadline instead? Switch to add mode and enter “N working days from today” to get the date back.
For related date math, the Day of Year Calculator and Week Number Calculator handle “what day number is this” and ISO week questions.
FAQ
I’m working across two countries — which holidays apply?
Use the country where the obligation lands. A contract governed by UK law counts UK bank holidays even if you’re sat in New York. When two parties span countries, agree in writing whose calendar the “working days” follow.
Why do Australia and Canada need a state or province?
Because their holidays are mostly set regionally, not nationally. Labour Day alone falls in March, May, or October depending on the Australian state. A national-only count would be wrong for most users, so the calculator lets you narrow it down.
Do the dates of holidays change each year?
Some are fixed (Jul 4, Dec 25); many are floating (anything “Nth Monday”, plus everything tied to Easter or Matariki). The presets recalculate the floating ones for the year you’re counting, so you don’t have to look them up.
Are partial days or “in lieu” days handled?
The calculator counts whole working days. When a fixed holiday falls on a weekend and the country grants a substitute weekday (“in lieu”/observed day), the preset removes the observed weekday so your count stays right.
Quoting a deadline to someone overseas? Set their country in the Business Days Calculator before you count — it’s the difference between a deadline that lands on a working day and one that quietly slips onto a public holiday.