Also on Bank Holidays UK: UK Bank Holidays 2026: Every Date for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — and What Is Left of the Year · Bank Holidays 2027 England: All 8 Dates and Leave Planning · August Bank Holiday 2027: Monday 30 August (Scotland 2 August)
Easter Sunday 2028 is 16 April 2028. Good Friday is Friday 14 April and Easter Monday is Monday 17 April; both are bank holidays, with the usual exception that Scotland does not observe Easter Monday. It is a late Easter — nineteen days later than 2027 — and, for the first time since 2025, Western and Orthodox churches celebrate on the same Sunday.
| Day | Date | Bank holiday? |
|---|---|---|
| Good Friday | Friday 14 April 2028 | Yes — England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland |
| Easter Sunday | Sunday 16 April 2028 | No — a Sunday; large shops closed in England and Wales |
| Easter Monday | Monday 17 April 2028 | Yes — England, Wales, Northern Ireland. Not Scotland |
| Early May bank holiday | Monday 1 May 2028 | Yes — whole UK (two weeks after Easter Monday) |
Eighteen days off for nine days of leave
Because Easter Monday (17 April) and the Early May bank holiday (1 May) are a fortnight apart in 2028, the nine working days between them are the whole of the gap. Book them and you are off from Good Friday to the evening of the May bank holiday.
| Book these days | Leave used | You get off | Days off in a row |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 10 – Thu 13 April | 4 | Sat 8 Apr → Mon 17 Apr | 10 |
| Tue 18 – Fri 21 April | 4 | Fri 14 Apr → Sun 23 Apr | 10 |
| Tue 18 – Fri 28 April (both weeks) | 9 | Fri 14 Apr → Mon 1 May | 18 |
| Mon 10 – Thu 13 + Tue 18 – Fri 21 April | 8 | Sat 8 Apr → Sun 23 Apr | 16 |
| Mon 17 – Fri 21 April (Scotland) | 5 | Fri 14 Apr → Sun 23 Apr | 10 |
If your leave year starts on 1 April, all of these bookings fall in the new year’s allowance — the opposite of 2027, when Easter sat at the end of the old one. Whether bank holidays count inside your 5.6 weeks is explained in bank holiday entitlement.
Easter school holidays 2028
With Easter on 16 April, councils face the opposite choice from 2027: break for the fortnight before Easter (pupils back on Tuesday 18 April, after Easter Monday) or the fortnight starting on Easter Monday. The City of Edinburgh Council has already published 2027/28: spring term ends Friday 31 March 2028, holiday Monday 3 to Monday 17 April inclusive, pupils back Tuesday 18 April — so in Edinburgh the Easter weekend closes the break rather than opening it. Most English, Welsh and Northern Irish calendars for 2027/28 are published during 2027; we will add Birmingham, Kent, Manchester, the Welsh Government and Department of Education dates here as they appear. Background: schools and bank holidays.
Western and Orthodox Easter on the same day
The Gregorian and Julian calculations of Easter diverge most years — in 2027 they are five weeks apart — but every so often they coincide. 16 April 2028 is one of those Sundays, the first since 2025 and the last until 2031. For the UK’s Greek, Russian, Romanian, Serbian and Ukrainian Orthodox communities that means one Easter weekend, one set of bank holidays and, unusually, Orthodox Good Friday falling on the UK bank holiday.
Dates around Easter 2028
| Day | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day) | Tuesday 29 February 2028 | The only Pancake Day on a leap day this century (the next is 2180) |
| Ash Wednesday | Wednesday 1 March 2028 | Also St David’s Day |
| Mothering Sunday | Sunday 26 March 2028 | Same day the clocks go forward (1am) |
| Palm Sunday | Sunday 9 April 2028 | |
| Maundy Thursday | Thursday 13 April 2028 | Last working day before the long weekend |
| Good Friday | Friday 14 April 2028 | Bank holiday — whole UK |
| Easter Sunday | Sunday 16 April 2028 | Also Orthodox Easter |
| Easter Monday | Monday 17 April 2028 | Bank holiday — England, Wales, NI |
| Early May bank holiday | Monday 1 May 2028 | Bank holiday — whole UK |
| Ascension Day | Thursday 25 May 2028 | |
| Whit Sunday | Sunday 4 June 2028 | Spring bank holiday is Monday 29 May |
Clocks, shops and travel
Unlike 2027, the clock change (Sunday 26 March 2028) is three weeks before Easter, so the weekend is fully on British Summer Time with sunset after 8pm in London. Shop rules are the usual ones: large shops in England and Wales must close on Easter Sunday under the Sunday Trading Act 1994 and trade normally on Good Friday and Easter Monday; Scotland has no Easter Sunday restriction. Mid-April is also the start of the main spring travel season — expect engineering works on the railway over the long weekend and the first busy ferry and airport weekend of the year. The service-by-service picture is on shops, trains, banks and Royal Mail.
Easter 2027 to 2031
| 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good Friday | Fri 26 Mar | Fri 14 Apr | Fri 30 Mar | Fri 19 Apr | Fri 11 Apr |
| Easter Sunday | Sun 28 Mar | Sun 16 Apr | Sun 1 Apr | Sun 21 Apr | Sun 13 Apr |
| Easter Monday | Mon 29 Mar | Mon 17 Apr | Mon 2 Apr | Mon 22 Apr | Mon 14 Apr |
| Orthodox Easter | Sun 2 May | Sun 16 Apr | Sun 8 Apr | Sun 28 Apr | Sun 13 Apr |
| Clocks go forward | Sun 28 Mar | Sun 26 Mar | Sun 25 Mar | Sun 31 Mar | Sun 30 Mar |
All 2028 bank holidays, including the New Year substitute on Monday 3 January, are on UK bank holidays 2028; last year’s very early Easter is on Easter 2027. Background: Good Friday, Easter Monday, the Easter bank holiday.
Frequently asked questions
When is Easter 2028?
Easter Sunday 2028 is 16 April 2028. Good Friday is Friday 14 April and Easter Monday is Monday 17 April 2028.
Is Easter Monday 2028 a bank holiday in Scotland?
No. Easter Monday is a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland only. Scotland has Good Friday but works on the Monday unless a council or employer grants a local holiday.
When is Orthodox Easter 2028?
Sunday 16 April 2028 — the same day as Western Easter. The two next coincide in 2031.
When is Pancake Day 2028?
Tuesday 29 February 2028. Shrove Tuesday falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, and a 16 April Easter in a leap year puts it on the leap day itself.
How many days off can I get at Easter 2028?
Four without leave (14–17 April) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Four days of leave either side make 10; nine days of leave from 18 to 28 April make 18, because the Early May bank holiday falls on Monday 1 May.
When are the Easter school holidays 2028?
Not yet published for most of the UK. Edinburgh’s is Monday 3 to Monday 17 April 2028, with pupils back on Tuesday 18 April. English, Welsh and Northern Irish dates will be added here when councils and governments publish their 2027/28 calendars.
When is Easter 2029?
Easter Sunday 2029 is 1 April. Good Friday is Friday 30 March and Easter Monday is Monday 2 April 2029 — see UK bank holidays 2029.