Childcare Counsel: Advice on the bank holiday for King Charles' coronation
Hannah Francis-Hopkins
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Hannah Francis-Hopkins, solicitor at Morgan LaRoche, on calculating holiday entitlements.
The Prime Minister has decided to proclaim an additional bank holiday to mark the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III this year, which will fall on Monday 8 May following the coronation on Saturday 6 May.
But where does this leave your staff? It all depends on the wording contained in your employment contracts.
If your contracts specify that a worker receives 20 days plus all bank holidays, they will be entitled to this bank holiday.
Alternatively, if your contracts say that a worker receives 20 days plus the usual bank holidays, they will not be entitled to this bank holiday. It will then be up to staff whether they wish to request annual leave to cover this day or not.
Finally, if your contracts specify that a worker receives 28 days including bank holidays, it will be the workers’ choice whether to book the extra bank holiday off, as this form of wording entitles them to 20 days leave plus the usual eight bank holidays (which will not include this special bank holiday, as it is not classed as one of the ‘usual’ bank holidays).
If, for example, there are more than eight bank holidays in a calendar year (as is the case for 2023, when there are nine), workers will need to ‘reserve’ nine days from their entitlement to cover the bank holidays, and then use the remainder of their entitlement for annual leave. The overall amount that you will need to pay for will still be 28 days.
If you decide to close your business on the bank holiday, you will still need to ensure that all staff are receiving their normal contractual hours in the rest of the week, or you could pay staff in lieu of this day.
Alternatively, if the business closes and you provide all staff with adequate notice (i.e., double the length of time that you are requiring staff to take as leave) then this annual leave can be deducted from their outstanding entitlement.
- Please contact us if you have any queries regarding the bank holiday and staff entitlement on 01792 776776.
