In a normal year England & Wales normally have 8 bank holidays, however 2022 has been slightly different year. We have had the celebration of the Queens Jubilee and then the Queens state funeral.
It has caused some confusion for employers as to whether the bank holidays should be paid. There is no statutory right for employees to take bank holidays off work and any right to time off depends on the terms of the employee’s contract of employment.
The first thing an employer would need to do is check the holiday clause in an employee’s contract of employment and any existing holiday policy. Here are a few examples:
- ’20 days plus bank/public holidays’ You are including all bank holidays without stipulating how many there are. You would need to pay for the extra bank holidays.
- ’20 days plus 8 days bank/public holiday’ You are stipulating that the employee is only entitled to 8 bank holidays. The employee is not necessarily entitled to extra bank holidays paid.
- ’28 days holiday’ This is the same scenario as 20 days plus bank holidays. The employee will be expected to use their entitlement to time off.
The above are examples only and should you be in doubt we would always suggest contacting a HR expert or ACAS.