There will be an extra bank holiday on 3rd June 2022 to celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee. The late May bank holiday has been moved to 2nd June to give some workers a four-day weekend. We are already receiving a few questions from businesses asking if employees are entitled to the extra bank holiday this year.
As with all bank holidays, this can be added onto your employees leave entitlement and taken at a later date if this is how you currently operate. The additional bank holiday should be treated and used in the same way as existing bank holidays.
Are my employees entitled to the extra bank holiday for the Queens’s Platinum Jubilee?
Whether your employees are entitled to the extra bank holiday depends on the wording in their contracts of employment. For example, if the employee contracts state that they are entitled to their normal annual leave plus bank holidays, you are required to give them this extra day.
If the employment contract doesn’t recognise bank holidays, you do not need to give employees the extra bank holiday. For example, if this wording, or similar is in the contact of employment, you do not need to give the additional bank holiday:
“Bank/Public holidays are included in your annual holiday entitlement and the Company reserves the right to……”
If the employment contract does refer to bank holidays, for example “your employees are entitled to 20 days annual leave plus the usual/normal bank holidays”, given that the extra bank holiday is not usual or normal, then the employee would not be automatically entitled to this extra day.
In the circumstances where you do not recognise these and do not have to give the extra day, it’s entirely your choice whether you wish to do so or not.
You should check your contracts to find out whether your staff have the right to have paid time off at this time. If you’re still unsure, please get in touch or you can discuss at the upcoming meetings with a member of our team.
Staff who don’t have bank holidays in their contracts
Many employees won’t have bank holidays as part of their holiday entitlement. As a gesture of good will, you can offer your team paid time off on this day. This can be a great way to boost morale and show your team how much you appreciate them. If it’s not possible to give all staff time off on this day, you can suggest they take it as an extra holiday to take off at another time. However, this is completely down to your discretion to do so.
Are employees entitled to more pay if they work the extra bank holiday?
If staff work on this day, you are only required to pay them their normal rate of pay unless it states in their contract that they’re entitled to a premium rate for working bank holidays.
However, offering a higher rate of pay for the day can be a good incentive to encourage members of your team to cover shifts. You can also offer your team TOIL, or time and a half to encourage them to work for the day.
It’s important you plan this in advance so your staff know what your plans and expectations are.
If you have any further questions on the extra bank holiday or would like any support updating your employee contracts, feel free to contact us on 01383 668 178 or info@thehrbooth.co.uk.
