Monday 19 September 2022 -Managing employees
12 September 2022
Monday 19 September 2022 has been declared a national Bank Holiday; allowing the United Kingdom to pay their respects to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, as she comes to her final resting place after 70 years of service.
How does this work for employers?
The bank holiday will operate in the same way that others do; meaning there is no statutory entitlement to time off.
In England and Wales, there are typically 8 bank holidays each year which are New Year’s Day; Good Friday and Easter Monday; the Early May, Spring and Summer bank holidays; plus, Christmas day and Boxing Day.
In 2022, as the Queen celebrated her Platinum Jubilee this provided that 3 June was also a bank holiday.
Whether employees are automatically entitled to the additional bank holiday as paid leave will depend on the wording of your Contracts of Employment, and this may not be straightforward.
Employees are entitled to a minimum of 28 days or 5.6 weeks paid holiday per year. There is no automatic right to take Bank Holidays as additional leave, since these are not recognised in the Working Time Regulations provided an employee receives a minimum of 5.6 weeks per year (or pro-rata for part time employees).
What does the contract say?
Below is some common contractual wording and whether the entitlement to the additional day arises in each case:
Example one:
“Your holiday entitlement is 20 days plus bank holidays”
In this example, your employees would automatically be entitled to all bank holidays in the holiday year; including the additional bank holiday because it is not limited to the normal or usual bank holidays observed. This year your employees would receive 30 days holiday (including the usual bank holidays and the two extra).
Example two:
If the contract specifies how many bank holidays they are entitled to, or is silent on bank holidays, then there is no obligation for you to grant an extra days leave. Such as:
“Your holiday entitlement is 28 days per year, including bank holidays”
“Your holiday entitlement is 28 days/ 5.6 weeks per year”
“Your holiday entitlement is 20 days plus the following bank holidays listed”
“Your holiday entitlement is 20 days per year, plus 8 bank holidays”
In this example you would need to be clear that an employee is able to book the day of the Queen’s funeral as paid time off however this would come off their existing holiday entitlement. We would recommend this is clarified to the employee at the time of booking annual leave.
Example three:
“Your holiday entitlement is 20 days per year plus the usual bank/public holidays observed in the England and Wales”
There would be no entitlement in this example since the additional bank holiday is not one which is usually observed in England and Wales.
Considerations
Even if there is no contractual right to the extra Bank Holiday, employers can of course decide to give the extra day as a gesture of goodwill; this bank holiday will be a unique national moment and the Government has stated it expects employers to respond sensitively to any requests from workers who wish to take the day of the funeral off work.
Many employees may assume that they will get the additional Bank Holiday, whilst legally they are not entitled to it. You may wish to consider how previous additional days have been dealt with in the past, such as the Platinum Jubilee and the royal wedding in 2011.
If you are giving the additional day, you should communicate this to employees in good time, and it should apply to all employees regardless of whether they would usually work a Friday or not, whether they are part time, on sick leave / maternity leave etc, to ensure it is fairly applied to all employees.
Alternatively, if there is no contractual right to the extra bank holiday, and you decide to close on Monday 19 September 2022, without giving an extra days holiday then notice of at least two days should be given to employees requiring them to use a day’s holiday to cover the closure for The Queen’s funeral.
If you require assistance on your specific contractual terms, please do not hesitate to get in touch by calling us on 01254 828300 or email us at enquries@backhouses.co.uk.
