Bank Holiday Entitlement: Platinum Jubilee

Friday 27 November 2020

In celebration of the Queen’s 70 year reign, the Government have announced that the late May Spring Bank Holiday which was due to fall on Monday 31 May 2022 will be moved to Thursday the 2nd of June 2022 together with the addition of an extra Bank Holiday on Friday 3rd of June 2022. A nice four-day weekend, for some.

Check your contract

There is no statutory right for employees to take bank holidays off work and any such right will depend on the terms of the employees’ contract of employment. An employer only has to ensure they provide employees with a minimum of 5.6 weeks of annual leave per year (28 days for a full-time employee).

Moreover, there is no statutory right for an employer to pay extra (time and a half, double pay etc.) when an employee works on a bank holiday, again any right to extra pay will depend on the terms of the employee’s contract of employment.

Furlough

Employers should be aware that if bank holidays are included in holiday entitlement in an employee’s contract of employment, employers should either pay the employee in full for the bank holiday that falls whilst the employee is on furlough, or the employer can substitute it with a day’s annual leave to be taken at a later date.

In circumstances where an employee’s contract of employment does not provide that they can take bank holidays off work, a bank holiday will have no effect on their pay.

Part time work

Moving the bank holiday from Monday to Thursday poses a real headache for employers and part-time workers and those with irregular working patterns, especially when bank holidays are treated as part of their annual leave.

Part time workers who would not normally work on Thursday will benefit however, those workers who would not normally work on Monday but work on Thursday will see a notional decrease in their holiday entitlement.

Remember, part time employees (and those working irregular hours) are entitled to accrue holiday on a pro-rata basis and must receive a pro-rata entitlement of the bank-holiday at the correct rate.

If you have any queries in relation to how the move and addition of bank holidays affect you or your business, please email or call our Employment Law team today on 0113 207 0000.