8 bank holidays in England and Wales, 9 in Scotland and 10 in Northern Ireland.
First in 2028Mon 3 JanuaryNew Year’s Day (substitute day)Source: GOV.UK · checked 4 November 2026The bank holidays 2028 calendar opens with a substitute day: New Year’s Day is a Saturday, so the first bank holiday of the year is Monday 3 January 2028 in every UK region. GOV.UK has confirmed all 2028 dates, and the last two are Christmas Day on Monday 25 December and Boxing Day on Tuesday 26 December.
Which bank holidays 2028 apply where you live?
The table lists every date and ticks the regions where it is a bank holiday. England and Wales share one list; Scotland and Northern Ireland each have their own.
| Date | Bank holiday | England & Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 3 Jan | New Year’s Day | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | substitute day |
| Tue 4 Jan | 2nd January | – | ✓ | – | substitute day |
| Fri 17 Mar | St Patrick’s Day | – | – | ✓ | |
| Fri 14 Apr | Good Friday | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Mon 17 Apr | Easter Monday | ✓ | – | ✓ | |
| Mon 1 May | Early May bank holiday | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Mon 29 May | Spring bank holiday | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Wed 12 Jul | Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day) | – | – | ✓ | |
| Mon 7 Aug | Summer bank holiday | – | ✓ | – | |
| Mon 28 Aug | Summer bank holiday | ✓ | – | ✓ | |
| Thu 30 Nov | St Andrew’s Day | – | ✓ | – | |
| Mon 25 Dec | Christmas Day | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Tue 26 Dec | Boxing Day | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Source: GOV.UK bank holidays data, checked 4 November 2026.
2028 at a glance
All twelve months on one screen. A red day is a bank holiday in at least one region; open a month to see which.
What’s different in 2028
The year starts with substitute days. 1 January 2028 is a Saturday, so New Year’s Day moves to Monday 3 January in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Scotland’s extra 2 January holiday lands on a Sunday and moves to Tuesday 4 January, which gives Scotland a four-day weekend from Saturday 1 to Tuesday 4 January.
Easter is back in April. Good Friday is on 14 April and Easter Monday on 17 April 2028. After an April without any bank holiday in 2027, April 2028 has two in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland gets Good Friday only, because Easter Monday is not a Scottish bank holiday.
The early May bank holiday falls on 1 May. The first Monday in May 2028 is 1 May itself. The spring bank holiday follows on Monday 29 May.
St Patrick’s Day makes a long weekend. In Northern Ireland, 17 March 2028 is a Friday, so the bank holiday joins the weekend without a substitute day.
The Battle of the Boyne is midweek. Northern Ireland’s 12 July holiday falls on a Wednesday in 2028.
Scotland and the rest of the UK split in August. Scotland’s summer bank holiday is on Monday 7 August 2028; England, Wales and Northern Ireland have theirs on Monday 28 August.
St Andrew’s Day stays on 30 November. It is a Thursday in 2028, so Scotland gets no substitute day.
No substitute days at Christmas. Christmas Day is a Monday and Boxing Day a Tuesday, so both bank holidays keep their own dates. In 2026 and 2027 at least one of them moved.
Turning the 2028 bank holidays into longer breaks
The planner shows how long each break is on its own and how many days of annual leave stretch it. Switch the region to see Scotland or Northern Ireland.
| Bank holiday | Without leave | Bridge the gap | Whole weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | 3 days | – | Book 4 days → 9 days off (Sat 1 Jan – Sun 9 Jan) |
| Good Friday + Easter Monday | 4 days | – | Book 8 days → 16 days off (Sat 8 Apr – Sun 23 Apr) |
| Early May bank holiday | 3 days | – | Book 4 days → 9 days off (Sat 29 Apr – Sun 7 May) |
| Spring bank holiday | 3 days | – | Book 4 days → 9 days off (Sat 27 May – Sun 4 Jun) |
| Summer bank holiday | 3 days | – | Book 4 days → 9 days off (Sat 26 Aug – Sun 3 Sep) |
| Christmas Day + Boxing Day | 4 days | – | Book 3 days → 10 days off (Sat 23 Dec – Mon 1 Jan) |
| Bank holiday | Without leave | Bridge the gap | Whole weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day + 2nd January | 4 days | – | Book 3 days → 9 days off (Sat 1 Jan – Sun 9 Jan) |
| Good Friday | 3 days | – | Book 4 days → 9 days off (Sat 8 Apr – Sun 16 Apr) |
| Early May bank holiday | 3 days | – | Book 4 days → 9 days off (Sat 29 Apr – Sun 7 May) |
| Spring bank holiday | 3 days | – | Book 4 days → 9 days off (Sat 27 May – Sun 4 Jun) |
| Summer bank holiday | 3 days | – | Book 4 days → 9 days off (Sat 5 Aug – Sun 13 Aug) |
| St Andrew’s Day | 1 days | – | Book 4 days → 9 days off (Sat 25 Nov – Sun 3 Dec) |
| Christmas Day + Boxing Day | 4 days | – | Book 3 days → 11 days off (Sat 23 Dec – Tue 2 Jan) |
| Bank holiday | Without leave | Bridge the gap | Whole weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | 3 days | – | Book 4 days → 9 days off (Sat 1 Jan – Sun 9 Jan) |
| St Patrick’s Day | 3 days | – | Book 4 days → 9 days off (Sat 11 Mar – Sun 19 Mar) |
| Good Friday + Easter Monday | 4 days | – | Book 8 days → 16 days off (Sat 8 Apr – Sun 23 Apr) |
| Early May bank holiday | 3 days | – | Book 4 days → 9 days off (Sat 29 Apr – Sun 7 May) |
| Spring bank holiday | 3 days | – | Book 4 days → 9 days off (Sat 27 May – Sun 4 Jun) |
| Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day) | 1 days | – | Book 4 days → 9 days off (Sat 8 Jul – Sun 16 Jul) |
| Summer bank holiday | 3 days | – | Book 4 days → 9 days off (Sat 26 Aug – Sun 3 Sep) |
| Christmas Day + Boxing Day | 4 days | – | Book 3 days → 10 days off (Sat 23 Dec – Mon 1 Jan) |
Assumes a Monday-to-Friday working week. Leave days are counted on working days only; check your own contract and shift pattern.
Easter is again the strongest option in England and Wales. Eight days of leave, Monday 10 to Thursday 13 April and Tuesday 18 to Friday 21 April, give 16 days off in a row, from Saturday 8 to Sunday 23 April 2028. At Christmas, three days of leave from Wednesday 27 to Friday 29 December add up to nine days off, from Saturday 23 to Sunday 31 December.
Bank holidays do not automatically mean a paid day off. GOV.UK states that employers do not have to give paid leave on bank holidays and can count them towards the statutory 5.6 weeks of annual leave. Your contract decides.
Frequently asked questions about 2028
Are the 2028 bank holiday dates final?
Yes, GOV.UK lists all 2028 dates as confirmed. A one-off extra day can still be added by royal proclamation, as Scotland’s World Cup bank holiday was in 2026. If that happens, the table above changes when GOV.UK publishes it.
Is Easter Monday 2028 a bank holiday in Scotland?
No. Scotland has Good Friday on 14 April 2028 but not Easter Monday. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Monday 17 April is a bank holiday.
How many different bank holiday dates are there in 2028?
Thirteen dates are a bank holiday somewhere in the UK. Six of them, from New Year’s Day to Boxing Day, are shared by all three regions; the rest belong to one or two regions only.
Sources: GOV.UK bank holidays data and Privy Council proclamations. Checked 4 November 2026.