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Browse frequently asked questions and answers on key HR issues. Navigate by topic or key word search. View latest additions or suggest a question to the XpertHR editorial team.
What are bank holidays? Can employees be required to work on bank holidays? Are employees who are required to work on bank holidays entitled to pay in lieu of time off, or additional holiday? Are part-time workers entitled to bank holidays? If a part-time or shift-working employee is not scheduled to work on a bank holiday, is he or she entitled to an additional day's holiday? If a part-time employee is contracted to work a half day on a bank holiday, is he or she entitled to an additional half day's holiday to take at another time? If an employer provides for pro rata bank holiday entitlement for part-time employees, how should it calculate this? Can employees be required to take annual leave on bank holidays? Can bank holidays be included in a worker's statutory leave entitlement? Are employees entitled to time off for bank holidays in addition to the statutory minimum annual leave entitlement of 5.6 weeks? What is an employee’s holiday entitlement if an extra bank holiday is granted one year? If an employee’s contract states that his or her holiday entitlement is a certain number of days "plus eight bank holidays" is he or she entitled to an extra bank holiday that is granted one year? Is an employee who is required to work on bank holidays entitled to extra pay? What different types of holiday need to be accounted for in the written statement? How should an employer deal with an employee who refuses to work on a bank holiday? Are employers required to provide pay or time off in lieu of bank holidays that coincide with maternity leave? Where an employee's period of paternity leave coincides with a bank holiday, is the employer under any obligation to provide a compensatory day off or pay in lieu? Can Christian employees refuse to work on the bank holidays that are aligned to a Christian festival such as Easter? Should employees who practise religions other than Christianity be given additional time off in lieu where a bank holiday is aligned to a Christian festival such as Easter? How should an employer deal with an employee who calls in sick on a bank holiday?