How Many Business Days in a Month

When planning schedules, calculating salaries, managing invoices or forecasting workloads, it’s useful to know how many business days are in a given month. Business days, also known as working days, usually refer to Monday through Friday, excluding weekends and public holidays.

In the UK, the number of business days in a month can vary depending on the length of the month, how weekends fall, and whether there are any bank holidays. There is no fixed number of business days per month, so it’s important to consider these factors if you are working out deadlines or financial calculations.

Average number of business days

Most months in the UK contain between 20 and 23 business days. This assumes a five-day working week and no public holidays.

• A 30-day month with four full weekends has 22 business days

• A 31-day month usually has 21 to 23 business days

• February typically has 20 business days in non-leap years and 21 in leap years

The exact number changes from year to year because weekends and bank holidays fall on different dates.

Public holidays and their impact

UK public holidays, also known as bank holidays, reduce the number of business days in a month. For example, if a bank holiday falls on a Monday, that month will have one fewer business day.

In England and Wales, there are usually eight bank holidays each year. Scotland and Northern Ireland have slightly different holiday schedules. These days are not considered business days unless specifically agreed otherwise in a contract.

Common UK bank holidays include:

• New Year’s Day (1 January or next working day)

• Good Friday and Easter Monday (March or April)

• Early May Bank Holiday

• Spring Bank Holiday (late May)

• Summer Bank Holiday (August)

• Christmas Day and Boxing Day (25 and 26 December or next working days)

When planning projects, payroll, deliveries or deadlines, these holidays should be factored in. Some months, such as May and December, often have more than one bank holiday, reducing the number of business days.

Why it matters

Knowing how many business days are in a month is important for many reasons. Employers may use business days to calculate pro-rata salaries or holiday entitlements. Businesses use working days to determine payment terms, delivery windows or contract deadlines. Financial forecasting and productivity planning also rely on accurate counts of working days.

For example, a company with net 30 payment terms may need to consider whether a client will have enough business days to process an invoice within the month. Likewise, payroll departments may adjust for months with fewer business days, especially if staff are paid by the day.

In legal and regulatory matters, many notices or responses must be delivered within a set number of business days. Miscalculating this can lead to missed deadlines or penalties.

Using calendars and tools

To calculate the number of business days in a specific month, you can use online working day calculators, spreadsheets with custom formulas or even printed calendars marked with UK holidays. Some payroll and accounting software tools automatically adjust for weekends and holidays based on UK business days.

If you are working internationally, remember that definitions of business days may differ. For example, in some countries the work week runs from Sunday to Thursday, and holidays may not align with those in the UK.

Final thoughts

There is no single answer to how many business days are in a month, as it varies depending on the calendar year, weekends and public holidays. Most months have between 20 and 23 business days, but it is always worth checking a current calendar to be sure.

Taking the time to understand and count business days accurately helps with smoother planning, better time management and fewer errors when setting deadlines or processing payments. Whether you are running a business, managing a team or organising a project, being aware of how the working calendar affects your plans can make a big difference.