The King's Coronation - A right royal holiday clash

The question of holiday pay for the additional bank holiday this year is causing somewhat of a headache for employers across the UK. The extra bank holiday is for the upcoming Coronation on the 6th of May, where people will raise a toast to the King. The long weekend is intended to allow the nation to participate in community celebrations and public events. Still, by falling in the same month as two existing bank holidays, employers are preparing for a month of significant disruption.  

And with there being no legal requirement for bank holidays to be given as additional paid leave, it's creating grounds for potential discord between organisations and their staff over the royal date. 

Employers are having to revisit employment contracts, whether staff are seeking the day off or a business is choosing to close for the day.  

"Holiday pay can be a minefield for employers. Whether it's working out entitlement for part-year workers or deciding whether to include bank holidays as part of a worker's statutory annual leave or offering the days as extras, on top," explained employment law expert Catriona Ralls of Warner Goodman LLP in Hampshire.

"Any entitlement to bank holidays will be subject to individual employment contracts, and there are many different ways they may be worded, just as long as the basic requirement for paid holiday is satisfied."

Someone working a five-day week must be given 28 days of paid annual leave a year, the equivalent of 5.6 weeks of holiday. The calculation is made pro rata for those working part-time or irregular hours.  

Regarding the employment contract, some choose to include the bank holidays within the 28 days, and others may be offered them on top. But for this year's additional public holiday, identifying whether or not workers are entitled to the day off as paid leave will depend on precisely how their contract is worded.  

One example is where the contract covers 20 days of paid leave plus all public holidays, adding up to 28 days in a typical year. This year, it would give an automatic right to the extra day of paid leave on top.  

If the contract stated 28 days of holiday, including all public/bank holidays, again, staff are entitled to take the day off, but they would have to deduct it from their overall holiday allowance.  

However, if the contract specified the usual number of bank holidays, the additional coronation day would not be a contractual right for the worker. It would be subject to the standard process for holiday leave requests to the employer.  

And it's the flipside for those businesses who want to close for the day where staff may prefer to work. It may involve asking workers to take enforced leave, using up one of their holiday days, or offering an additional day of paid leave.  

Catriona added: "A full review of holiday pay each year is a good idea. It will help ensure you keep up to date on curve balls like the coronation holiday and other case law that may affect calculations."  

"In the meantime, if you need people to work on the coronation bank holiday, but they are entitled to take the day off according to their contract, then this would require a change to their employment contract, and they would have to give their consent for the change to be made."

If you need help and assistance with managing or updating your employee's contracts, please get in touch on 023 8063 9311 or email employment@warnergoodman.co.uk. Our employment team will be able to provide you with the advice and guidance you need.