The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – What it means for employers and employees

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – What it means for employers and employees

2022 is a special year for Her Majesty the Queen, as the country look to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee.

The official date of the jubilee is Sunday 6^th February 2022, but the celebration for this has been confirmed to be early June 2022.

The Government have confirmed this year, the Spring Bank holiday, which falls at the end of May will be moved to Thursday 2^nd June 2022, (from Monday 30^th May 2022) and an additional bank holiday will be granted on Friday 2rd June 2022, to create a 4-day long weekend for the celebrations.

What does this mean for employers and employees?

Employers and employees will be questioning what this extra bank holiday means for them as they will want to know whether or not they are entitled to take this extra day off work.

Usually, there are 8 Bank Holidays in a calendar year in England and Wales these are:

• New Year’s Day
• Good Friday
• Easter Monday
• Early May Bank Holiday
• Spring Bank Holiday
• Summer Bank Holiday
• Christmas Day
• Boxing Day

For 2022 the Spring Bank Holiday is to be moved to Thursday 3^rd June and an extra bank holiday is created for Friday 4^th June.

Are Employees Entitled to the extra bank holiday?

It all depends on the wording in an employee’s contract of employment. If the contract:

• lists the bank holidays that employees are entitled to
• states they are entitled to the 8 bank holidays
• or states entitled to the usual or standard bank holidays

there would be no right for an employee to be allowed to have the additional bank holiday given to them as a bank holiday.

If the contract says:

• holiday entitlement includes the bank holidays and does not include a list of which or when the bank holidays are or states the usual or standard bank holidays,

the employee would be entitled to the extra day off as a bank holiday as this extra day is recognised as a bank holiday.

Possible options available for employees if not entitled to the bank holiday

1. If there is no right to the extra day bank holiday, employers can decide to allow employees the extra day off as a gesture of goodwill.
2. Companies can decide to close for the day and request employees to use one of their annual leave days for this day – the same as some do for Christmas shutdowns. This would need to be communicated to employees in advance of them being required to take the time off.
3. Employees could offer a half and half deal, by allowing employees to make up 50% of their daily hours to have the day off and allow them the additional 50% of the time off as paid time off.
4. Employees could use their holiday entitlement if they wished to have the day off (if the Company was to remain open)
5. Employees could have the day as unpaid leave.

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For more information call Clover HR on 0330 175 6601 (or email us at info@cloverhr.co.uk)