Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday – will you give your employees an extra day off?

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Home > Knowledge Hub > Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday – will you give your employees an extra day off?

This year there will be an extra bank holiday to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, meaning there will be 9 rather than 8 bank holidays in 2022.  The late May bank holiday has been moved to Thursday 2 June 2022 and the additional Platinum Jubilee bank holiday will be on Friday 3 June 2022.  This is to create a special long weekend to enable the nation to celebrate the event.

Many employers have queried whether this means employees are automatically entitled to additional time off in 2022.

Are employee’s automatically entitled to an additional bank holiday in 2022?

There is no statutory right to the additional bank holiday and the position will depend on the wording of the employee’s employment contract.

If you are considering advising your staff that they will not be entitled to the additional bank holiday, you will need to check the wording of the contract carefully to ensure that you are behaving in accordance with its terms.  The contract may or may not specify that entitlement to bank holidays is limited to the 8 usual bank holidays.  For example:

  1. If the employment contract states that the employee is entitled to ”X days holiday plus bank holidays” this means that the employee will be entitled to the extra day of holiday. The contractual wording will include all bank holidays, not just the usual 8.
  1. If the employment contract states that the employee is entitled to ”X days holiday plus the usual bank holidays” this means that the employee will not be automatically entitled to the extra day of holiday as the additional bank holiday for the Jubilee is unlikely to regarded as a “usual” bank holiday.
  1. If the employment contract states that the employee is entitled to ”X days holiday plus 8 bank holidays” this means that the employee will not be entitled to the extra day of holiday.  The contract clearly states that the entitlement is limited to 8 bank holidays.
  1. If the employment contract says that the employee is entitled to X days holiday inclusive of bank holidays, this is unlikely to give rise to automatic right to an extra day of holiday entitlement because the total number of days is clearly stated in the contract, inclusive of all bank holidays.

Where the employee is not automatically entitled to an additional bank holiday, employers can still exercise their discretion to award the additional day to employees.

Other points to consider

Working on bank holidays – even where an employee may be entitled to an additional bank holiday based on the wording of their contract, this does not necessarily mean that the employee is entitled to be off work on 2 and 3 June 2022.  In many industries such as retail and hospitality, bank holidays are their busiest times and it is common for staff to work on bank holidays.  In these circumstances, employers may need to enable staff to take a day off in lieu at another time.  Alternatively, as the additional bank holiday is in excess of statutory minimum holiday entitlement under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR), consideration could be given to making a payment to staff in respect of the additional day.

Pay for working on bank holidays – If the employee is entitled to the extra bank holiday under their employment contract, it is likely that if they work on these days, any enhanced rate of pay for working on bank holidays would also apply.  If there is no automatic entitlement to the extra bank holiday, the employer may have discretion about whether enhanced rates for bank holiday working apply.  Careful consideration will need to be given to the relevant contractual provisions.

Part time employees – the position in relation to whether a part time employee is entitled to the additional bank holiday is the same as for full time employees save that any entitlement can usually be calculated on a pro rata basis.  Employees who do not work on Fridays should not be deprived of the additional day just because of their normal pattern of work, this may fall foul of legislation protecting part time employees and the entitlement should still be calculated on a pro rata basis.

What should employers do now?

Many employees, especially those who do not usually work bank holidays, may assume that they are automatically entitled to take an additional day off this year.  It is therefore important for employers to decide their approach and communicate this to staff as early as possible to avoid complaints regarding disrupted plans.

For employers who intend to inform staff that they are not entitled to the additional bank holiday consideration should be given to how this will affect staff morale.  At a time when many businesses are struggling to recruit and retain staff, a decision not to award the additional day may be more costly than envisaged.

Some employers may notify staff that they are not entitled to an additional bank holiday but that the business will still be closed on 3 June 2022.  If this is the case, employers will need to give staff adequate notice of the requirement to take a day of their ordinary holiday entitlement on this day.  Under the WTR, at least 2 days’ notice must be given to take 1 day of holiday.  However, the employment contract may provide for a longer period and it would be best practice to give as much notice as possible.  This is similar to what many employers do over Christmas shutdown periods, where clear communication in advance is vital.

For employers who will enable staff to take the additional bank holiday, even though the employment contract does not provide for this, it would be a good opportunity to express to staff that they have been given an additional benefit at the discretion of the employer.

If you have any queries relating to this matter, please contact the Taylor Walton Employment Team by email or call 01582 731161.

Disclaimer: General Information Provided Only
Please note that the contents of this article are intended solely for general information purposes and should not be considered as legal advice. We cannot be held responsible for any loss resulting from actions or inactions taken based on this article.

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