BANK HOLIDAYS - 26.01.2023

Automatic day off for the coronation?

Let’s celebrate

In May 2023 we have the usual Early May bank holiday that falls on Monday 1 May 2023 and the Spring bank holiday that falls on Monday 29 May 2023. In addition, an extra UK-wide bank holiday has been granted to celebrate King Charles’ coronation. This will fall on Monday 8 May 2023. As such, May 2023 is likely to be a popular time for holiday requests and we looked at this previously ( yr.24, iss.21, pg.1 , see The next step ).

Extra paid day’s leave?

Another common question employers have is whether employees are automatically entitled to an additional day’s paid leave when an extra bank holiday is granted in the UK. Many employees wrongly believe that this is the case, but it isn’t. Ultimately, what your employees are entitled to (with or without pay), comes down to what’s written in your employment contracts.

Down to the contract

Under the Working Time Regulations 1998 full-time employees who work five days’ per week are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks’ - or 28 days’ - paid holiday every year. This includes all bank holidays. Therefore, if the employment contract provides for “28 days’ holiday per leave year including bank holidays” then employees will have no right to an additional day’s paid leave on 8 May 2023, but you could grant this to all staff at your discretion.

If, on the other hand, the employment contract provides for “20 days’ holiday per leave year plus bank holidays ”, they will have a right to take that day off as paid annual leave.

Bank holidays defined

Some employment contracts specifically define how many bank holidays an employee is entitled to each year. For example, it might say something like “X days’ holiday plus 8 bank holidays” .

As there will be nine bank holidays in England in 2023, employers who have used this wording in their employment contracts must decide whether to grant the additional bank holiday at their discretion.

Part-time workers

Where a part-timer’s employment contract provides for “28 days’ holiday per leave year including bank holidays (pro rata)” , then, like their five day full-time counterparts, the part timer will have no right to an additional day’s paid leave on 8 May 2023.

However, if the part-timer’s contract provides for “20 days’ holiday per leave yearplus bank holidays (pro rata)” , then a part timer who works three days per week will have their paid holiday entitlement increased from 3/5ths of 28 days, i.e. 16.8 days, to 3/5ths of 29 days, i.e. 17.4 days. Tip. To make administration easier here, you can round up annual holiday entitlement for part timers to the nearest whole figure (although this will work in their favour). What you can’t do is round down holiday to the nearest whole figure.

For the previous article about bank holidays and holiday requests, visit https://www.tips-and-advice.co.uk , Download Zone, year 25, issue 3.