An employer's guide to working Bank Holidays.
Britton and Time Solicitors
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With May holding close to a third of our annual bank holidays it's often asked what 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬' 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 are surrounding asking their staff to work bank holidays.
Our expert employment law team here at Britton and Time have answered some of the most common questions we get from employers regarding their rights surrounding bank holidays.
𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬❓
As an employer, you do not legally have to give your employees time off from working bank holidays. Any time that an employee is allowed to take off will depend on the terms of their contract. If an employee refuses to work on a bank holiday, you can treat this as an unauthorised absence and follow up with your standard disciplinary procedures.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲❓
If your business is closed on a bank holiday, you are not required to give employees paid leave. Instead, you can take this from their holiday entitlement. Importantly, you will need to outline this in their contract of employment.
𝐃𝐨 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬❓
It’s a common myth that working a bank holiday means that employees who are paid on an hourly basis are entitled to extra pay. This is false. Whilst some businesses choose to give their employees extra money on these days, there is no legal obligation to do so. Again, this needs to be stipulated in an employee’s contract of employment.
𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞’𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲❓
Yes – you can. Ultimately, if you require an employee to work on a bank holiday, and it states this in their employment contract, they cannot refuse. However, if you are cancelling pre-approved leave you’ll need a good reason as to why you’re denying the leave request. If an employee raises a grievance about their leave denial, you’ll need to show that your reasoning was in the interests of the business.
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𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞’𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬❓
If an employee’s contract of employment fails to mention bank holidays, their rights will defer back to verbal agreements or past treatment. For example, if you’ve agreed with an employee that they don’t need to work bank holidays, and suddenly you change your mind, the employee may be within their right to claim against this.
If you'd like to talk with one of our #expert employment solicitors call us on 0203 007 5500 or visit 🔻 https://loom.ly/LA-IMgo
Read our full guide for employers on Bank Holidays here 🔻
If you'd like to talk with one of our #expert employment solicitors call us on 0203 007 5500 or visit 🔻