Is the Post Office open on August Bank Holiday Monday? Opening and closing hours

THE August bank holiday is here, so many Brits using the time do some life admin or catch up with their loved ones.

Here are the opening times for the Post Office, to ensure you get your post sent and delivered on time.

Getty – Contributor

Is the Post Office open on bank holiday Monday?

Usually, the Post Office closes its doors on bank holidays.

Selected local branches inside convenience stores may be open, however.

Most branches will be open over the weekend between the hours of 8am and 7pm.

We’d recommend checking your local branch’s opening times to be sure – you can find your local Post Office branch here.

Will my local store be open and will I be able to receive packages on the bank holiday?

Opening times do vary from store to store.

Before you head off, check the Branch Finder on the Post Office website.

The Royal Mail says on its website that it does not do collections or deliveries on bank holidays.

Ordinarily, the Royal Mail sends and delivers packages and letters from Monday through to Saturday.

How many more bank holidays are there in 2019?

August bank holiday falls on the last Monday in August.

If you work in England or Wales, there are eight bank holidays in total over the course of the year.

The next working day off will be Christmas Day, followed closely by Boxing Day, and then New Year’s.

Many countries in Europe have more public holidays than the UK.

Recent years have seen calls for extra holidays to be introduced recognising patron saints days in all constituent countries of the UK, as St Patrick’s Day is recognised in Northern Ireland.

When did bank holidays start?

The practice of having a few working days off each year began in 1871 with Liberal MP John Lubbock.

He tabled the Bank Holidays Act, saying he wanted to lessen the pressure on workers by securing them additional days off.

Under the act, no person was compelled to make any payment or to do any act on a bank holiday which he or she would not be compelled to do or make on Christmas Day or Good Friday.

The holidays proved so popular that for a while they were referred to as St Lubbock’s Days.

The August bank holiday was introduced in 1965 to help people to make the most of the British summer.

Each year’s date was at one time announced by Parliament on an ad-hoc basis, to the despair of the calendar and diary-publishing trade.

Source link