Platinum Jubilee bank holiday

Platinum Jubilee bank holiday

Following the New Year, employers are now thinking about the year ahead. As well as having to continue to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic on top of the usual concerns of running a business, there is the additional bank holiday to consider this year and we have already had questions about this.

The additional bank holiday has been declared on Friday 3 June in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and the Spring Bank holiday which would normally have fallen on Monday 30 May has been moved to Thursday 2 June. The last time an additional bank holiday was given was in 2012 for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and the last time the Spring Bank holiday was moved was in 1995 for the 50^th anniversary of VE Day.

There is no automatic entitlement to paid time off for bank holidays. Whether an employee is entitled to the additional day, and to be paid for that day, will depend on the wording of their contract of employment. If the contract says that the holiday entitlement is 20 days plus bank holidays, employees will be entitled to the additional bank holiday and to be paid for it. Whereas if the contract says holiday entitlement is 28 days holiday, or 20 days plus the usual eight bank holidays, there will be no entitlement.

If employees do not have a contractual entitlement to the additional bank holiday, it will be a business decision whether to give the day off and whether it will be paid, although it would be sensible to consider how the additional bank holiday in 2012 was treated. For businesses already struggling with the effects of the pandemic who may be hesitant about the additional day, they do have the option to give at least two days’ notice to require employees to take the day out of their usual holiday entitlement.

If you have any employment law related questions, please contact Trula Brunsdon on 01242250039 or at trula@sherborneslaw.co.uk.