As you may be aware, it has been announced that there will be an additional Bank Holiday on Monday 8th May 2023 to mark the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday 6th May 2023.
Although there is no requirement to do so, it is expected that many businesses will close on Monday 8th May 2023 and allow their teams the day away from work to join the national celebrations.
Entitlement to Bank Holidays
As you will be aware, the minimum holiday entitlement within the UK, under the Working Time Regulations, is 5.6 weeks which includes Bank Holidays, of which there are ordinarily eight in a normal year. 2023 (like 2022) is an exception to this as an additional Bank Holiday in May has been announced and most businesses will give an additional paid day off on the day, or on an alternative day, if the business is open.
What about part-time employees?
Part-time employees are entitled to pro-rata holidays based on the number of days/hours they work. Therefore, strictly speaking they are entitled to a pro-rata of the additional day. The easiest way to do this is to express annual holidays in terms of weeks including Bank Holidays. In a normal year, statutory entitlement is 5.6 weeks, and this is multiplied by the number of days/hours worked in a week to calculate annual entitlement. In 2023 the entitlement will be to 5.8 weeks (rather than 5.6) so multiply this by the number of days/hours worked to calculate the annual entitlement then you or the employee books 8th May 2023 (or an alternative day if they don’t normally work on Mondays or are required to work) as a holiday day which will then be deducted from the annual entitlement. Of course, should you wish to simply grant your part-time employees a whole additional day that’s at your discretion – and no, it cannot give rise to an unfair claim from full-time employees! There’s a handy chart below to help with this.
So, what does this mean for our business?
The Bottom Line
The standard enlightenHR contract templates states the holiday entitlement in weeks (5.6 or more) and that this includes Bank Holidays; therefore, there is no legal obligation on you to grant an additional day off (nor pay) for this extra Bank Holiday. However, you need to check the actual wording of the contract as you may have stated the entitlement differently (e.g. 5 weeks holiday plus Bank Holidays) and therefore be obliged to grant an additional paid day off. We are happy to discuss and advise you on this, so if you have any queries please call your enlightenHR Business Partner.
What’s the legal position?
Do we have to give 8th May 2023 as a day off?
No, there is no legal obligation to give employees/workers the specific day as a Bank Holiday day off. However, you may be obligated to give them an alternative day off depending on the wording of their contract – see above.
Do we have to pay for a Bank Holiday?
There is no obligation to pay for a Bank Holiday, just days (including Bank Holidays) which fall within the contractual holiday entitlement. However, as this has been declared a Bank Holiday it is very likely that your team members will expect to have that day off (or an alternative day if they are required to work), in addition to their standard holiday entitlement, and to be paid for it.
What should we do?
Our advice is that if the business is open and operating on 8th May 2023, you will need people to work and your normal Bank Holiday practices will apply. Giving people plenty of notice is always a good idea so that they can plan ahead. Whether you close on 8th May 2023 is a business decision, as is whether you pay your team members for that day in addition to their contractual holiday entitlement; we strongly advise that you think carefully about this and about the expectations of your team members. You have a reputation as an employer, just as you do as a business, and protecting that amongst your team members is vital to morale.
What is enlightenHR doing?
enlightenHR will be operating in the same way as on any other Bank Holidays; we will be available for anything urgent but otherwise our team members are not expected to work, employees will be paid in addition to their normal holiday entitlement.
Our Support and Advice
We are always happy to debate the pros/cons, dos/don’ts with you so please do talk to us if we can help in any way, we are here to support you.
Please note, this briefing is accurate at the time of writing, it is not intended to replace advice so please do call us if you have any queries.
