Do we have to pay people for the extra bank holiday for the coronation of King Charles III in 2023?

It has been announced that Monday 8th May 2023 will be a bank holiday, two days after the coronation of King Charles III which is scheduled for Saturday 6th May. Before your team gets too busy making their plans for holidays, now is the time to plan for your business.

Are employees automatically entitled to the extra bank holiday?

No. There is no statutory right to time off on a bank holiday. Whether they are entitled to the holiday will depend on the wording of your contracts.

Your contracts or holiday policy should explicitly state what entitlement to time off people have. If your contract lists the bank holidays people are entitled to there will be no contractual entitlement to the 8th May bank holiday.

If your contracts are worded differently and simply say “entitlement to bank holidays” without defining the days or a number then your employees will be contractually entitled to the additional bank holiday.

If your contracts state words to the effect “entitlement to 8 bank holidays” you can choose which 8 make up those days.

Normally when there is an entitlement to time off for a bank holiday it is with pay, however, this will also be determined by the contract of employment or holiday policy.

There is, however, an additional consideration in 2023 and that is how you treated the additional bank holidays in 2022. If your contracts listed the 8 bank holidays but you gave the extra two, it’s likely your team will be expecting the 8th May to also be given. Whilst we can debate the contractual entitlement, it’s worth also considering the impact on your team and their motivation if you don’t give it.

We want to close on the bank holiday, do we have to pay employees for this?

Normally when there is an entitlement to time off for a bank holiday it is with pay, however, this will also be determined by the contract of employment or holiday policy.

If there is not a contractual entitlement to the extra bank holiday you have the option to make people take the extra bank holiday out of their holiday entitlement. When you operate on the statutory minimum holiday entitlement of 28 days, normally this is 20 days plus bank holidays - in 2023 it would be 19 days plus bank holidays. You must give employees a minimum of 2 days notice to require them to take 1 day as holiday - I strongly recommend you plan in advance and give people more notice to allow them to plan their holiday.

Alternatively, your employees will appreciate your generosity if you give the extra holiday with pay.

We need people to work on the bank holiday, do we have to pay extra for this?

No, there is no statutory right to additional pay or time off in lieu for working a bank holiday. This will be determined by your contracts of employment, if the contract states working on bank holidays will attract additional pay or time off in lieu, those working will be entitled to this.

Your contracts may limit additional pay or time off in lieu to the 8 normal bank holidays in which case additonal pay or time off in lieu will be optional for you. However, in this situation you may find it easier to get people to work if you honor what is normal for bank holidays in your business.

Conclusion

Our advice, now is the time to check your contracts, be clear what your employees are entitled to. Assuming there is no contractual entitlement to the time off, make a decision that’s right for your business. Let your team know whether or not they will be getting the time off and whether they need to take it out of their holiday entitlement - they will appreciate the ability to make plans in advance.

If you’ve found yourself having to give the extra day as your contracts do not restrict the bank holidays people are entitled to you may want to have your contracts reviewed and updated to ensure you are in control of the choices when they occur in the future.

For help with drafting contracts that protect your business call us today on 01245 910 500.

Article last updated: 6 November 2022