Published 1 January 2025 · 4 min read

What Is a Business Day? Definition, Examples & Exceptions

A business day — also called a working day — is any day when most businesses, banks, and government offices are open for normal operations. In most Western countries, this means Monday through Friday, excluding nationally recognised public holidays.

The standard definition

In the UK, US, Canada, Australia, and most of Europe, a business day is any weekday (Monday to Friday) that does not fall on a public or bank holiday. Saturdays and Sundays are not considered business days, even if some businesses choose to open on those days.

How it varies by country

Not every country follows the Monday-to-Friday pattern:

• Middle Eastern countries (UAE, Saudi Arabia, etc.) — the working week often runs Sunday to Thursday, with Friday and Saturday as the weekend.
• Some South Asian countries — may observe Friday and Saturday or just Sunday as the weekend.
• Israel — the working week is Sunday to Thursday, with Friday and Saturday off.

This means that a "business day" in Dubai is different from a "business day" in London — something to keep in mind for international contracts and communications.

Industry exceptions

Even within countries that follow a standard Monday-to-Friday schedule, some industries operate differently:

• Banking — banks typically follow the strictest definition, closing on all public holidays and weekends.
• Retail — many shops open seven days a week, so their internal "business days" may differ from the legal definition.
• Healthcare — hospitals operate 24/7, but administrative departments usually follow standard business days.
• Shipping and logistics — courier services may operate on Saturdays but still exclude Sundays and holidays from delivery estimates.

Real-world examples

Here's how business days work in practice:

• A contract states "payment within 5 business days" — if you submit an invoice on Thursday, the clock starts Friday and runs Monday through Thursday of the following week (5 working days).
• A bank transfer is processed "within 3 business days" — if you initiate it on Friday, it could arrive by Wednesday (skipping Saturday and Sunday).
• An SLA promises "response within 2 business days" — a ticket submitted at 4pm on Friday would be due by end of day Tuesday.

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