Bank holidays
May bank holidays
Two Mondays in May are bank holidays everywhere in the UK. The countdown aims at the next early May holiday.
Early May bank holiday, 2027
Monday, 3 May 2027
Rule: first Monday in May.
| 2026 | Monday, 4 May 2026 |
| 2027 | Monday, 3 May 2027 |
| 2028 | Monday, 1 May 2028 |
| 2029 | Monday, 7 May 2029 |
| 2030 | Monday, 6 May 2030 |
| 2031 | Monday, 5 May 2031 |
Next Early May bank holiday
3 May 2027
Monday,
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187 days from today (28 October 2026).
Counting from the day this page was built. Worked out on this device from your entries and its clock: nothing is sent, nothing is stored.
Add 2026 to 2035 to my calendarThe UK has two bank holidays in May, and both are Mondays in all four nations. The early May bank holiday is the first Monday of the month: Monday, 3 May 2027 in 2027 and Monday, 1 May 2028 in 2028. The spring bank holiday is the last Monday: Monday, 31 May 2027 in 2027 and Monday, 29 May 2028 in 2028. The spring holiday is written into the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and replaced Whit Monday, which moved with Easter. The early May holiday was added in 1978 and is appointed each year by royal proclamation, which is how it has occasionally been moved: to Friday 8 May in 2020 for the 75th anniversary of VE Day, for example. The spring holiday was also moved, to Thursday 2 June 2022, for the Platinum Jubilee. Both are back on their usual Mondays for 2026 to 2028.
Days off from a few days of annual leave
Days off in a row
10
| From | 26 March 2027 |
| To | 4 April 2027 |
| Leave used | 4 days |
Book 30 March 2027, 31 March 2027, 1 April 2027, 2 April 2027.
Rules and dates checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The two May Mondays to 2035
| Year | Early May | Spring | Weeks between |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 May 2026 | 25 May 2026 | 3 |
| 2027 | 3 May 2027 | 31 May 2027 | 4 |
| 2028 | 1 May 2028 | 29 May 2028 | 4 |
| 2029 | 7 May 2029 | 28 May 2029 | 3 |
| 2030 | 6 May 2030 | 27 May 2030 | 3 |
| 2031 | 5 May 2031 | 26 May 2031 | 3 |
| 2032 | 3 May 2032 | 31 May 2032 | 4 |
| 2033 | 2 May 2033 | 30 May 2033 | 4 |
| 2034 | 1 May 2034 | 29 May 2034 | 4 |
| 2035 | 7 May 2035 | 28 May 2035 | 3 |
The gap between them is three or four weeks. It is four weeks when 1 May falls on a Monday, Saturday or Sunday, because the month then has five Mondays.
One in the Act, one by proclamation
The two holidays have different legal bases. The last Monday in May is named in Schedule 1 to the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The early May Monday is not: it is appointed each year under section 1(3) of the Act, which lets the Crown appoint additional days. The 2027 proclamation names it together with New Year's Day and the second Christmas substitute. In Scotland the positions are reversed: the first Monday in May is in the Act and the late May holiday is appointed.
The difference matters only when a government wants to move a holiday. Moving an appointed day needs nothing more than a new proclamation, and this is how the early May holiday was shifted for VE Day in 1995 and 2020. Moving a day named in the Act needs a proclamation that cancels it and appoints another, which is what happened to the spring holiday in 2002, 2012 and 2022 for the Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilees.
Making the most of May
With both holidays on Mondays, May gives two long weekends and a short month of working days: 19 in 2026 and 2027, 21 in 2028, in England and Wales. Four days of leave after either Monday give nine days off. The simulator under the summary finds the longest break for a number of leave days around either May holiday, for the nation you pick. For a week in late May, school half term in England usually falls in the week after the spring bank holiday, which makes that week popular and expensive for travel; term dates are set locally and are not covered here.
What is open
Shops, pubs and attractions mostly open as on a Sunday or a Saturday. Banks close their branches, Royal Mail does not deliver letters, and public offices close. Payments due on the day usually go out on the next working day. The working days calculator skips both Mondays automatically when you count a deadline across May, and the August bank holiday page covers the summer holiday that follows.