UK Bank Holidays 2028 by Nation
The United Kingdom has no single bank holiday calendar. In 2028 England and Wales get eight days, Scotland nine and Northern Ireland ten. The year opens with a substitute — 1 January falls on a Saturday, so the New Year bank holiday lands on Monday 3 January everywhere, and Scotland adds Tuesday 4 January for 2nd January, stretching its Hogmanay break to four days. The table below is the England and Wales list; Scotland’s and Northern Ireland’s dates follow underneath.
Dates in 2028
| Date | Day | Holiday | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 3, 2028 | Monday | New Year's Day (substitute day)New Year’s Day (Jan 1) falls on a Saturday, so the bank holiday moves to Monday Jan 3.Substitute holiday | Substitute holiday |
| April 14, 2028 | Friday | Good FridayPublic holiday | Public holiday |
| April 17, 2028 | Monday | Easter MondayNot a bank holiday in Scotland.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| May 1, 2028 | Monday | Early May bank holidayFirst Monday of May — unusually early in 2028, just two weeks after Easter Monday.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| May 29, 2028 | Monday | Spring bank holidayLast Monday of May.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| August 28, 2028 | Monday | Summer bank holidayLast Monday of August in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland takes its summer bank holiday on the first Monday of August (Aug 7 in 2028).Public holiday | Public holiday |
| December 25, 2028 | Monday | Christmas DayFalls on a Monday in 2028, so no substitute day is needed.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| December 26, 2028 | Tuesday | Boxing DayFalls on a Tuesday in 2028, so no substitute day is needed.Public holiday | Public holiday |
Scotland: nine bank holidays in 2028
Scotland’s 2028 list runs: the New Year’s Day substitute (Mon Jan 3), the 2nd January substitute (Tue Jan 4), Good Friday (Fri Apr 14), Early May (Mon May 1), Spring (Mon May 29), Summer (Mon Aug 7), St Andrew’s Day (Thu Nov 30), Christmas Day (Mon Dec 25) and Boxing Day (Tue Dec 26).
The double New Year substitute is Scotland at its most distinctive. Because 1 and 2 January both fall at the weekend in 2028, the two bank holidays move to Monday 3 and Tuesday 4 January, giving Scotland a four-day Hogmanay break while England and Wales take a single day. St Andrew’s Day (30 November) lands on a Thursday, so no substitute is needed there.
Scotland takes its summer bank holiday on the first Monday of August (7 August 2028) rather than the last (28 August in England and Wales), which pulls Scottish school and business calendars out of step with England for most of the month. Easter Monday (17 April) remains absent from the Scottish list.
Northern Ireland: the two extra days
Northern Ireland follows the England and Wales pattern and then adds two days of its own: St Patrick’s Day (Fri Mar 17, 2028) and the Battle of the Boyne, also known as Orangemen’s Day. The Boyne anniversary is 12 July, which is a Wednesday in 2028, so no substitute is needed — the holiday stays on the day itself.
Unlike Scotland, Northern Ireland does keep Easter Monday (Mon Apr 17) and takes the summer bank holiday on the last Monday of August (Mon Aug 28), in step with England and Wales. Its full 2028 list is ten days: the New Year substitute, St Patrick’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Early May, Spring, the Battle of the Boyne, Summer, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
What a bank holiday does — and does not — give you
A bank holiday is not a statutory right to paid leave anywhere in the UK. Whether you are paid, and whether you get the day at all, is set by your employment contract. Many contracts fold bank holidays into the statutory 28 days of annual leave rather than adding to them, which is why two people on the same salary can end up with very different numbers of days off.
This matters most when a contract crosses a border. A clause promising “all UK bank holidays” is genuinely ambiguous — a Glasgow employee and a Manchester employee reading the same words would take different days. Employers with staff in more than one nation normally name the nation whose list applies.
When a fixed-date bank holiday lands on a weekend, a substitute weekday is created, normally the following Monday. Substitutes are the main reason the three lists occasionally realign at the end of December even when they differ all year.
Official sources & data
Frequently asked questions
How many bank holidays does each UK nation get in 2028?
England and Wales have eight, Scotland has nine and Northern Ireland has ten. Scotland’s count comes from the two New Year dates, offset by dropping Easter Monday; Northern Ireland’s comes from St Patrick’s Day and the Battle of the Boyne.
Why does the 2028 bank holiday year start on 3 January?
Because 1 January 2028 falls on a Saturday. Every UK nation moves the New Year’s Day bank holiday to the substitute Monday, 3 January — and Scotland, whose 2nd January holiday also falls at the weekend, adds Tuesday 4 January, giving it a four-day New Year break.
When is the Battle of the Boyne bank holiday in 2028?
Wednesday 12 July 2028. The anniversary itself falls midweek, so Northern Ireland takes the bank holiday on the day with no substitute needed — unlike 2025, when 12 July was a Saturday and the holiday moved to Monday 14 July.
Are there any Christmas substitute days in 2028?
No. Christmas Day falls on Monday 25 December and Boxing Day on Tuesday 26 December, so every nation takes both days as they stand — a sharp contrast with 2027, when both fell at the weekend and a double substitute ran on 27 and 28 December.
When is Easter 2028 in the UK?
Good Friday is 14 April 2028 and Easter Monday is 17 April 2028. Both are bank holidays in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland observes only Good Friday, so its Easter break is a three-day weekend.
Why is Scotland’s summer bank holiday in early August?
Scotland fixes it to the first Monday of August (Aug 7 in 2028), while England, Wales and Northern Ireland use the last Monday (Aug 28). It is a long-standing divergence that also shows up in school terms — Scottish schools return in mid-August, weeks before English ones.