Following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, The Government has announced that an additional one-off bank holiday will take place on Monday 19th September 2022 for The Queen’s State Funeral.
The Government has confirmed that schools will be closed on Monday 19th September, whilst public transport such as trains and buses should continue as usual, although they may be subject to changes to timetables and availability.
Guidance provided by The Government states that this bank holiday should be treated the same as any other bank holiday. Employers will be familiar with the preparations made for the one-off Jubilee bank holiday in June earlier this year and can follow a similar procedure as they did then.
There is no statutory right to time off for bank holidays, so employers will need to review their contracts of employment to determine whether their staff are entitled to time off on this additional bank holiday.
Examples of common wording used in employment contracts and their implications for the additional bank holiday:
- Contracts which state employees have a right to 20 days’ annual leave plus time off on 8 public/bank holidays, where the bank holidays are listed and there is no extra flexibility in the wording, will not have an automatic right to time off.
- Contracts which give a right to 20 days’ annual leave plus 8 public/bank holidays but do not list the bank holidays gives the employer some flexibility to move leave around. For example, the employer could give staff this extra day off but require them to work on another public/bank holiday.
- Employees who have a contractual right to all public/bank holidays will be entitled to the extra day off.
- Employees whose contracts give them 28 days’ annual leave including all public/bank holidays have a right to the extra day’s leave, but it will be deductedfrom their 28 days’ annual leave so effectively they will have fewer days on which to ‘choose’ to take leave.
Employers must check their contracts carefully for any flexibility in the wording such as “8 public/bank holidays as listed, or other days as determined by us” which may allow the employer to give staff the extra day off but require them to work on another public/bank holiday.
Depending on when your holiday year runs until, it’s worth noting the other remaining bank holidays for 2022:
- Monday 26th December – Boxing Day
- Tuesday 27th December – Christmas Day (substitute day)
Where contracts do not include an automatic right to time off, employers can choose to give their employees an additional day of paid leave, or staff can make an annual leave request in the usual way.
For employees who are required to work on the day of the funeral, there are no statutory rule regarding extra pay on bank holidays. This will depend on the wording of the employee’s contract and any custom and practice that has been set at the workplace on previous bank holidays.
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