How to treat the bank holiday for the Queen’s funeral
On 8th September 2022 the nation received the sad news that Queen Elizabeth II had passed away.
On 10th September 2022 King Charles III announced that the late Queen’s funeral would be held on 19th September and that this would be a bank holiday across the UK.
The Government has since published guidance in respect of this bank holiday, which has left many employers questioning how it should be treated in respect of annual leave entitlement.
A worker has no statutory entitlement to time off on a bank holiday. This bank holiday is no different.
Employers therefore have no obligation to close on 19th September if they do not wish to.
In the UK, employees are entitled to 28 days annual leave, which may include days off on the bank holidays. That amount has not increased on the announcement of this bank holiday for the Queen’s funeral.
Depending on what your contract says will depend on how you should treat this bank holiday with your staff.
If your contract states;
20 days plus 8 days for bank holidays
An employee can request the day off but this should be deducted from their leave entitlement. You should treat any requests with sensitivity.
If your contract states;
20 days plus bank holidays
Then this bank holiday will be an additional day off the employee is entitled to.
If you need further advice or assistance with anything in this article, contact us on 0207 388 1658 or email lawyers@jfhlaw.co.uk and one of our lawyers would be happy to help.
Laura Pearce, Senior Solicitor
Please note that the information contained in this article was correct at the time of writing. There may have been updates to the law since the article was written which may affect the information and advice given therein.
