The Queen has served the Country tirelessly for 60 years as our Monarch which has led to a year of celebrations across the UK, which will peak in June, with the late May bank holiday being moved to Monday 4th June and an extra bank holiday given on Tuesday 5th June.
But the age old question continues to rumble on, do you, as an employer have to honour the additional bank holiday?
The answer is maybe not … depending on the wording within the Contract of Employment issued to your employees throughout your organisation. It could be that you have the choice as to whether the holiday is granted to employees or not.
If the wording in your Contracts of Employment simply confirms that, “you are entitled to all bank and public holidays” then as an employer, you will need to allocate an additional day’s leave in order to mark the celebrations.
However, if the wording is, “you are entitled to the following bank and public holidays”, followed by a list of days or “you are entitled to eight bank and public holidays” the decision to grant the leave is at your own discretion.
So, if the latter reflects your Contract of Employment, you will have a decision to make. Businesses need to balance the very tangible cost of the leave against that indefinable cost of employee morale (by not offering the leave). Therefore the choices for employers are:
1. To not to grant the holiday;
2. To grant the holiday;
3. To grant the holiday but at a later date (i.e. an additional day at Christmas, when your business is traditionally quieter);
Only you as an employer can make the decision, however, think carefully to the options open to you, if you need additional advice regarding bank holidays, please contact us.
Additionally if you require help maximising the commerciality of your Contracts of Employment, please contact our Consultancy Team on 01455 852089.