Anyone planning to do their usual Sunday big shop tomorrow may well find themselves faced with a problem. That's because tomorrow is Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026, and it's one of just two days a year when supermarkets are closed.
Usually, such shops can open for six hours on a Sunday, but trading laws in England and Wales differ for Easter Sunday and Christmas Day and stores over a certain size cannot open. Scotland doesn't have the same restrictions and Northern Ireland operates under different rules, although larger stores must still close on Easter Sunday.
In England and Wales, smaller shops are free to trade at any hour. These are shops up to and including 280sqm.
However, any shop over 280sqm - which means the vast majority of supermarkets - must close on both Easter Sunday and Christmas Day, gov.uk explains. They are also restricted to opening for a maximum of six consecutive hours between 10am and 6pm on normal Sundays.
Exemptions to Easter Sunday closures
Shops exempt from the Sunday trading restrictions for large shops include:
- airport and railway station outlets
- service station outlets
- registered pharmacies selling only medicinal products and medical and surgical appliances
- farms selling mainly their own produce
- outlets wholly or mainly selling motor or bicycle supplies and accessories
- suppliers of goods to aircraft or sea-going vessels on arrival at, or departure from, a port, harbour or airport
- exhibition stands selling goods
Large shops that open when they're not supposed to can be fined. Workers in any shop that opens on a normal Sunday may have special employment rights.
There is no automatic right for workers to have public holidays off, including Christmas Day and Easter Sunday, unless it's in their contract. Extra pay for working public holidays is optional, unless it is stated in an employee's contract.
