The Queen’s funeral declared a bank holiday.

Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday 19 September has been designated a bank holiday.

Please see below some common questions on how this impacts an employer.

Does the employer have to close and give a holiday to staff?

An employer’s workforce does not automatically have the right to take the day off work. Employers need to look at how they approach the additional bank holiday.

This is determined to some extent by the wording in employees’ contracts of employment. For example, where the contract entitles employees to take leave on “all bank and public holidays”, the employer will be required to grant the extra day as leave.

Even if the employer is not contractually obliged to grant the extra day as leave, it may choose to do so as a goodwill gesture to employees, particularly given the historical significance of the event.

Do you have to pay extra to staff working on bank holidays?

There is no statutory right to extra pay, for example time and a half or double time, when an employee works on a bank holiday. Any right to extra pay depends on the terms of the employee’s contract of employment.

Employers should stipulate the rate of pay for working on a bank holiday in their written terms and conditions of employment. There is no right for employees to be paid a higher rate than normal for working on a bank holiday, unless this is provided for in the contract.

In the absence of anything in writing, written statement, an employee’s rights relating to bank holidays depend either on what has been verbally agreed or on custom and practice. For example, if employees have been paid an enhanced rate for working bank holidays in the past, it may be that this has become a contractual entitlement.

Do part-time employees need special bank holiday arrangements

Because most bank holidays fall on a Monday or Friday, part-time employees who do not work on these days could be entitled to proportionately fewer days off compared with full-time employees, depending on shift patterns and annual leave arrangements within the organisation.

Employers must ensure that all employees have at least the statutory minimum annual leave entitlement and that part-time employees are not treated less favourably than full-time employees. To avoid a complaint of less favourable treatment, many employers provide part-time employees with a pro rated bank holiday entitlement.

While there may be no arrangement that will have entirely fair results for all employees whatever their working pattern, one option is to calculate pro rated bank holiday entitlement according to the number of hours that the part-time employee works, irrespective of whether they work on the days on which bank holidays fall.

Can an employee refuse to work a bank holiday?

If an employee is required to work on bank holidays under the terms of their contract of employment, the employee cannot refuse to work.

However, the employer should refuse holiday requests only where there is a good business reason to do so. If it does not, and treats employees inconsistently, it runs the risk of a discrimination claim, should an employee consider that their holiday request has been refused for reasons connected with a protected characteristic such as age, religion or race.

Employers can refuse holiday requested by giving a counter notice, for example if the timing would cause serious inconvenience because it is an especially busy time a time of year or other employees have already been granted holiday. The counter notice must be at least equivalent to the number of days’ leave that the employee requested. Employers should always fully explain the reason for the refusal to the employee in a considerate way.

If you have any questions about how bank holidays work in your organisation please contact us on answers@qandalaw.co.uk or call 01920 463777.