Towards the end of last year, an additional Bank Holiday was announced to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III. The actual ceremony takes place on Saturday 6th May, with the Bank Holiday falling on Monday 8th May.
This will mean there are now 3 Bank Holidays in May and of course many clients are asking if they have to allow the extra Bank Holiday.
Just like the Platinum Jubilee & The Queens Funeral Bank Holidays in 2022, in many cases the answer will be no. Your contract of employment will dictate whether legally you must grant this Bank Holiday to your employees, or whether it will be down to your discretion.
Most contracts will say:
- you are entitled to XX days holiday plus 8 public bank holidays OR
- you are entitled to XX days holiday per year inclusive of 8 public bank holidays (some contracts will also specifically name the 8 bank holidays)
If that is the case, employees remain entitled to the usual 8 paid Statutory Bank Holidays and no more. You are not compelled to allow the extra Bank Holiday. Many employers will still choose to grant the extra day and of course your decision may be influenced by whether your own business will remain open on 8th May.
Where you are not contractually bound to allow a further paid Bank Holiday you have the following options:
- provide an extra paid day off (in which case ensure your staff know that you are granting this for them but didn’t have to!)
- if your business will be closed on the day, give employees advance notice of this and that a day will be deducted from their annual leave entitlement (just like a Christmas shutdown), employees will have to be notified at least 2 days before for 1 day of leave
- if your business will remain open, give employees the option of booking the day off as a standard annual leave day (requests granted subject to adequate staffing arrangements). If they don’t have sufficient annual leave you could also allow them to take a day of unpaid leave at your discretion.
Where a contract says that “you are entitled to XX days holiday plus (all) Statutory Bank Holidays (not specifying 8)” you will be contractually bound to allow the extra paid day.
Having heard the announcement of an extra Bank Holiday to celebrate the Kings’ Coronation, many employees will believe they will automatically get the extra day off and will be paid for it! If this isn’t going to be the case, we recommend you communicate this as soon as possible to avoid confusion.
For more information or to talk through your specific holiday arrangements please contact us on 01302 341 344.
By Angela Stancer ACII – HR Manager & Consultant