Add Working Days to a Date
Add or subtract working days from a date, skipping weekends and public holidays. Shows the resulting date and every day that was skipped.
Last reviewed: 30 July 2026
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How this calculation works
The calculator steps forward one calendar day at a time from the day after your start date. Each day that is not a weekend and not a public holiday reduces the count by one. When the count reaches zero, that day is the answer — so the result is always a working day.
Why counting starts the following day
“Within five working days” almost always means five days of work after the day the clock started. Counting the start date itself would give you four days of actual work, which is why this calculator begins from the next day. If your rule counts the start date, subtract one from the number you enter.
Starting on a non-working day
If the start date is a weekend or a holiday, it is not counted either way. Adding zero working days is therefore a quick way to answer “what is the next working day?”, and subtracting zero answers “what was the last one?”.
Working backwards from a deadline
Choose Subtract to find the latest date you can start and still meet a deadline. If a report is due on the 30th and needs ten working days, subtracting ten from the 30th gives the day you must begin.
Worked example
Add one working day to Thursday 24 December 2026, England and Wales
- Friday 25 December — Christmas Day, skipped.
- Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th — weekend, skipped.
- Monday 28 December — substitute for Boxing Day, skipped.
- Tuesday 29 December — a working day. This is the answer.
One working day later turns out to be five calendar days later.
Data and limitations
- National holidays only. Holiday calendar last reviewed 30 July 2026.
- Company shutdowns and regional holidays are not included.
- Where a deadline has legal or contractual force, confirm the result against the official calendar that applies to the agreement.
Frequently asked questions
Does counting start on the start date or the day after?
The day after. Adding one working day to a Monday gives Tuesday, and adding one working day to a Friday gives the following Monday. This matches how lead times and turnaround periods are normally written: "within 5 working days" means five days of work after today.
What if my start date is a weekend or a holiday?
It is simply not counted, and the result is still a working day. Adding zero working days to a Saturday rolls forward to the Monday, which is a useful way to find the next available working day.
How do I go backwards?
Enter a negative number of working days, or choose "Subtract" from the direction menu. This is how you work out the latest date you can start in order to hit a deadline.
Which holidays are applied?
National holidays for the country you select, generated from their published rules. Regional and company holidays are not included. Every skipped holiday is listed in the result so you can see exactly what was excluded.
Why is the calendar gap so much bigger than the working days I entered?
Because weekends and holidays fall in between. Ten working days is fourteen calendar days in an ordinary fortnight, and can be more than three weeks over Christmas. The result shows both figures.