Kings Coronation extra bank holiday

The extra bank holiday for the King’s Coronation is intended to give the nation a chance to celebrate and take part in community celebrations and public events.  The additional bank holiday means that there will be three bank holidays on Mondays in May. 

Whilst there is no legal requirement for bank holidays to be given as additional paid leave, there is scope for potential discord between organisations and their staff over the royal date.  Employers are having to revisit employment contracts for guidance whether staff are seeking the day off, or a business is choosing to close for the day. 

Any entitlement to bank holidays will be subject to individual employment contracts, and there are many different ways contracts may be worded to deal with bank holidays, just as long as the basic requirement for paid holiday is satisfied

An employee working a five-day week must be given 28 days of paid annual leave a year, the equivalent of 5.6 weeks of holiday.  For those working part-time or irregular hours, the calculation is made pro rata.  The 28 days can include the usual eight public holidays, or the bank holidays may be offered on top.  For this year’s additional public holiday, identifying whether or not workers are entitled to the day off as paid leave will depend on precisely how their contract is worded. 

One example is where the contract covers for 20 days of paid leave “plus all public holidays” on top, adding up to 28 days in a usual year.  This year, it would give an automatic right to the extra day of paid leave on top of the employee’s usual holiday entitlement. 

Whereas if the contract allows for 28 days of holiday “including all public/bank holidays,” staff are entitled to take the day off, but they would have to deduct it from their overall holiday allowance. 

However, if the contract specified the usual number of bank holidays, as plus or including “the usual eight public / bank holidays” then taking the additional coronation day would not be a contractual right for the worker, and subject to the usual process for holiday leave requests to the employer. 

And for those businesses who want to close for the day where staff may prefer to work, this may involve asking workers to take enforced leave, using up one of their days of holiday, or by offering an additional day of paid leave.

If you need people to work on the coronation bank holiday, but they are entitled to take the day off according to their contract, then this would require a change to their employment contract, and they would have to give their consent for the change to be made.

In all cases, it is best to be clear about what is in the contract and to communicate clearly with staff about how the extra holiday will be dealt with – and of course regardless of the wording in the contract, employers may decide to allow employees to take an extra day of paid leave in any case.

If you have any questions about Holiday, please contact our Employment team on 01689 887 887.

This is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues.