How business days are counted

By Dexaloop · Updated 27 October 2026 · Checked against the sources listed below

To count business days, list every calendar day in the range, remove the weekend days, then remove public holidays that fall on what would have been a working day. What is left is the number of working days. The three things that change the answer are which days are the weekend where you are, which holidays apply, and whether the first and last dates are counted. Get those three right and the sum is simple.

This guide is general information. Weekend and holiday rules were checked on 27 October 2026 for the countries named.

Step 1: which days are the weekend?

Not every country rests on Saturday and Sunday. The weekend is set by law or government decision, and it can change. The UAE federal government moved to a Saturday and Sunday weekend in 2022.

The Bahrain National Portal lists "Weekly holidays: Friday and Saturday" and gives government working hours as Sunday to Thursday. The UAE portal says the federal government "has adopted a four and a half-day working week," effective 1 January 2022, with Friday ending at noon, and that the "Official weekend in Sharjah is for three days: Friday, Saturday and Sunday."

Two lessons follow. First, a working day count for Bahrain and one for the US can give the same total for a month but on different days. Second, the government week is not always the private sector week. A company can set its own days. Use the working pattern of whoever has to do the work.

Step 2: which holidays apply?

Only holidays that land on a working day reduce the count. A holiday on a weekend usually does nothing, unless a substitute day is given.

• United States: OPM sets the federal holiday list. For most federal employees, a holiday on a Saturday is observed on the Friday before, and one on a Sunday on the Monday after. In 2027, Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, so the federal holiday is Friday, December 24. Private employers and states may observe different days.
• United Kingdom: GOV.UK states: "If a bank holiday is on a weekend, a 'substitute' weekday becomes a bank holiday, normally the following Monday." England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have different lists.
• Gulf states: some holidays, such as the Eids, follow the Hijri calendar and are confirmed close to the date. Plan with expected dates and recheck when they are announced.

Step 3: inclusive or exclusive?

This is where most disagreements start. There are two common ways to count.

Counting a range (inclusive)

"How many working days from Monday, November 2 to Monday, November 30?" usually means both dates count. Someone working the whole stretch works on both Mondays.

Counting a deadline (exclusive of the start)

"Reply within 10 business days of the notice" usually means day 1 is the first business day after the notice. US federal court rules show the pattern clearly. Rule 6(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure says to "exclude the day of the event that triggers the period," to count every day, and to "include the last day of the period." If that last day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the period "continues to run until the end of the next day" that is not one. That rule counts calendar days, but the start and end logic is the same one most business day deadlines use.

When the wording is unclear, ask, or count the stricter way so that you are early rather than late.

Worked example 1: November 2026 in the US

Count the working days from Monday, November 2 to Monday, November 30, 2026, both dates included, for a US federal office.

1. Calendar days: 29.
2. Weekend days (4 Saturdays, 4 Sundays): 8. Weekdays left: 21.
3. Federal holidays on weekdays: Veterans Day (Wednesday, November 11) and Thanksgiving (Thursday, November 26). Take away 2.

Result: 19 working days. If the start date is excluded, as for a deadline counted from November 2, the answer is 18.

The same dates with a Friday and Saturday weekend, as in Bahrain, also give 21 days before holidays, because the range holds 4 Fridays and 4 Saturdays. The days differ but the total happens to match. Bahrain's own public holidays would then be taken away instead of the US ones.

Worked example 2: a deadline over the holidays

A notice arrives on Friday, December 18, 2026. The reply is due within 10 business days, in England and Wales. The bank holidays in range are Christmas Day (Friday, December 25), the Boxing Day substitute day (Monday, December 28) and New Year's Day (Friday, January 1, 2027).

The deadline is Wednesday, January 6, 2027. Ten business days took 19 calendar days, almost twice the usual two weeks.

Common mistakes

• Assuming a Saturday and Sunday weekend everywhere. In Bahrain the weekly holidays are Friday and Saturday.
• Forgetting observed or substitute holidays. A holiday on a weekend often moves to a weekday.
• Taking away a holiday that falls on a weekend. It was never a working day, so do not take it away twice.
• Counting the trigger day. For "within X business days", day 1 is usually the next business day.
• Using the wrong region's holidays. UK nations differ, and US states and employers can add or swap days.
• Ignoring the other side's calendar. A deal between a Sunday to Thursday office and a Monday to Friday office has only four shared working days a week.

Questions

Sources

• U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Federal holidays
• GOV.UK: UK bank holidays
• Bahrain National Portal: About Bahrain
• UAE Government Portal: Working hours in the public sector
• Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 6 (Cornell LII)

This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change; check the official source for your own case. Found a mistake? Email support@dexaloop.com.

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• Days between dates
• PTO calculator
• 2027 Bahrain calendar with public holidays
• 2027 UAE calendar with public holidays

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