Wake Smith & Tofields are forewarning employers to clarify company policy surrounding holiday entitlement in the run up to the royal wedding Bank Holiday on 29 April.
But as millions look forward to a long weekend, Mark Serby, head of the employment law team at Wake Smith & Tofields, is advising clients to check their terms of employment as many businesses may not be legally obliged to honour the holiday despite the common assumption of it being an extra day's holiday for all.
Mark is urging businesses to confirm arrangements with staff well in advance to avoid upsetting the workforce, many of whom believe it to be an inevitable benefit: "Employees do not have an automatic right to paid leave on bank holidays. Although employers often do close on such days, they are not legally required to do so. The only legal obligation on an employer is to allow workers a minimum annual leave as stipulated in the Working Time Regulations 1998 - 28 days for a full time worker."
For an employee to be entitled to the royal wedding bank holiday in addition to the usual eight bank holidays, it will be necessary for their employment contract to state that the employee is entitled to '20 days holiday per year plus bank holidays'. Clearly then the day of the royal wedding will be added as one of the bank holidays.
The alternative is that the employment contract states that the employee is entitled to '5.6 weeks holiday per year including bank holidays' or '28 days holiday per year including bank holidays'. In this case the employer is entitled to require employees to take the day of the royal wedding out of their holiday allowance.
Mark adds: "The best approach may be to allow employees to have the day off in addition to any contractual holidays to maintain good will - in any case, making the workforce clear of the details well in advance of the big day itself is just as important."
For information and advice on the legal obligations surrounding the royal Bank Holiday or any other employment issue please contact Mark Serby on 0114 266 6660 or email [email protected].
