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XpertHR's head of content Jo Stubbs and senior employment law editor Clio Springer discuss employees' rights in relation to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee bank holiday.
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The questions in
full:
There will be an extra bank holiday in 2012 and this will be on 5 June. However, this is not the only change is it? What other changes will there be to bank holidays this year?
The Government has announced an additional bank holiday for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. This is Tuesday 5 June. It has also moved the spring bank holiday from the end of May to Monday 4 June, meaning that there will be an extended bank holiday weekend in the same way that we had for the royal wedding in 2011.
Does this mean that all employees will be getting another day off work during 2012?
No, not all employees will get another day off work. Contrary to popular belief there is no statutory right to have bank holidays as leave, although there is an exception for employees covered by the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971.
Don't the Working Time Regulations 1998 entitle employees to bank holidays?
No. The Regulations give employees a statutory right to 5.6 weeks' leave per year, but they do not specify when that leave must be taken. It will be down to agreement between the employer and its employees whether or not that leave falls on bank holidays.
How will employers be able to tell if their employees are entitled to the extra day for 2012?
This will be down to the wording of the contract. Employers need to check their contracts to see if their employees are entitled to the extra day.
How will the contract wording determine whether or not employees are entitled to take the additional jubilee bank holiday as a day of leave?
As an example, if the contract says that employees are entitled to a specified number of days or weeks of annual leave "plus bank holidays" (for example 20 days' holiday plus bank holidays) they will be entitled to take the Diamond Jubilee bank holiday as leave.
What about if the contract specifies the bank holidays that the employee is entitled to take as leave, for example it says "the usual bank holidays" or "eight bank holidays" or it lists the bank holidays by name?
In this situation there will be no contractual entitlement for employees to take the Diamond Jubilee bank holiday as leave as it is not one of the usual or eight bank holidays.
Of course, depending on its business, in this and other situations where employees are not contractually entitled to the additional bank holiday off work, the employer may decide to grant the additional bank holiday off anyway, regardless of what the contract says, as a gesture of goodwill.
That will be feasible for some employers, but many will want or need to remain open, for example employers in the retail, catering or care industries. Will those employers have to pay their employees more if they work on the extra bank holiday?
There is no statutory right for employees to receive a higher rate of pay on a bank holiday. In the absence of a contractual provision to the contrary, employees will be entitled to receive their usual salary for working on the Diamond Jubilee bank holiday. If there is no written contractual term on this issue, the employer should look at its custom and practice in respect of previous bank holidays.
One of the problems for employers that do not grant the extra bank holiday is that more employees could phone in sick or take unauthorised absence. Are there any steps that they can take to help prevent this?
It should help if employers clearly communicate the position with regard to the extended bank holiday weekend to employees well in advance. They should also make clear to staff how they will deal with absence over this period, for example that they will be taking steps to monitor it and that employees will be expected to account for their absence. This should act as a deterrent to employees who are considering taking unauthorised absence or reporting absence as sick leave when this is not genuine.
To sum up, employers should be looking at their employment contracts well in advance of the Diamond Jubilee bank holiday weekend to work out if their workers are entitled to the additional bank holiday off work. If they are going to be obliged to work, employers also need to ascertain if workers will be entitled to a higher rate of pay.
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Articles on the Queen's Diamond Jubilee bank holiday
Queen's Diamond Jubilee holiday: overview An overview of employees' rights to time off on the Diamond Jubilee bank holiday.
Queen's Diamond Jubilee holiday: checklist A checklist to help employers prepare for the Diamond Jubilee holiday.
Queen's Diamond Jubilee holiday: case study 1 A case study that looks at a situation in which an employer needs its employees to work over the Diamond Jubilee holiday period.
Queen's Diamond Jubilee holiday: case study 2 A second case study, which looks at a situation in which an employer wants to stay open for business on the Queen's Diamond Jubilee bank holiday but some of its employees have the contractual right to take the additional bank holiday as leave.
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Holiday and bank holiday rights
The Holiday and holiday pay section of the XpertHR employment law manual explains the law relating to employees' holiday rights.
The XpertHR Quick reference section lists:
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More resources on this topic from XpertHR
The questions in full
There will be an extra bank holiday in 2012 and this will be on 5 June. However, this is not the only change is it? What other changes will there be to bank holidays this year?
The Government has announced an additional bank holiday for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. This is Tuesday 5 June. It has also moved the spring bank holiday from the end of May to Monday 4 June, meaning that there will be an extended bank holiday weekend in the same way that we had for the royal wedding in 2011.
Does this mean that all employees will be getting another day off work during 2012?
No, not all employees will get another day off work. Contrary to popular belief there is no statutory right to have bank holidays as leave, although there is an exception for employees covered by the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971.
Don't the Working Time Regulations 1998 entitle employees to bank holidays?
No. The Regulations give employees a statutory right to 5.6 weeks' leave per year, but they do not specify when that leave must be taken. It will be down to agreement between the employer and its employees whether or not that leave falls on bank holidays.
How will employers be able to tell if their employees are entitled to the extra day for 2012?
This will be down to the wording of the contract. Employers need to check their contracts to see if their employees are entitled to the extra day.
How will the contract wording determine whether or not employees are entitled to take the additional jubilee bank holiday as a day of leave?
As an example, if the contract says that employees are entitled to a specified number of days or weeks of annual leave "plus bank holidays" (for example 20 days' holiday plus bank holidays) they will be entitled to take the Diamond Jubilee bank holiday as leave.
What about if the contract specifies the bank holidays that the employee is entitled to take as leave, for example it says "the usual bank holidays" or "eight bank holidays" or it lists the bank holidays by name?
In this situation there will be no contractual entitlement for employees to take the Diamond Jubilee bank holiday as leave as it is not one of the usual or eight bank holidays.
Of course, depending on its business, in this and other situations where employees are not contractually entitled to the additional bank holiday off work, the employer may decide to grant the additional bank holiday off anyway, regardless of what the contract says, as a gesture of goodwill.
That will be feasible for some employers, but many will want or need to remain open, for example employers in the retail, catering or care industries. Will those employers have to pay their employees more if they work on the extra bank holiday?
There is no statutory right for employees to receive a higher rate of pay on a bank holiday. In the absence of a contractual provision to the contrary, employees will be entitled to receive their usual salary for working on the Diamond Jubilee bank holiday. If there is no written contractual term on this issue, the employer should look at its custom and practice in respect of previous bank holidays.
One of the problems for employers that do not grant the extra bank holiday is that more employees could phone in sick or take unauthorised absence. Are there any steps that they can take to help prevent this?
It should help if employers clearly communicate the position with regard to the extended bank holiday weekend to employees well in advance. They should also make clear to staff how they will deal with absence over this period, for example that they will be taking steps to monitor it and that employees will be expected to account for their absence. This should act as a deterrent to employees who are considering taking unauthorised absence or reporting absence as sick leave when this is not genuine.
To sum up, employers should be looking at their employment contracts well in advance of the Diamond Jubilee bank holiday weekend to work out if their workers are entitled to the additional bank holiday off work. If they are going to be obliged to work, employers also need to ascertain if workers will be entitled to a higher rate of pay.
Articles on the Queen's Diamond Jubilee bank holiday
Queen's Diamond Jubilee holiday: overview An overview of employees' rights to time off on the Diamond Jubilee bank holiday.
Queen's Diamond Jubilee holiday: checklist A checklist to help employers prepare for the Diamond Jubilee holiday.
Queen's Diamond Jubilee holiday: case study 1 A case study that looks at a situation in which an employer needs its employees to work over the Diamond Jubilee holiday period.
Queen's Diamond Jubilee holiday: case study 2 A second case study, which looks at a situation in which an employer wants to stay open for business on the Queen's Diamond Jubilee bank holiday but some of its employees have the contractual right to take the additional bank holiday as leave.
Holiday and bank holiday rights
The Holiday and holiday pay section of the XpertHR employment law manual explains the law relating to employees' holiday rights.
The XpertHR Quick reference section lists:
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