Do we have to pay people for the extra bank holiday for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022?

The late May bank holiday weekend will be a little different in 2022 with the normal Monday bank holiday being moved to Thursday 2nd June and an additional bank holiday on Friday 3rd June creating a 4 day weekend. Before your team gets too busy making their plans for the long weekend, 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 and that list includes the late May bank holiday then your employees will be entitled to this day as normal. The only difference for 2022 will be that this day will fall on Thursday 2nd June, not the usual Monday. There will be no contractual entitlement to the Friday 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.

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 2022 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.

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: 30 October 2021