News – Bank holidays: five things employers need to know
The UK has 8 permanent bank holidays per year: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day, Spring Bank Holiday, Late Summer, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. However, Scotland and Northern Ireland have omissions and additions in relation to the bank holidays taken in England and Wales.
Bank holidays and annual leave
But how much do you as an employer know about employment law concerning bank holidays? Here are five things you really need to know:
1.There is no statutory right for employees to take bank holidays off work. Any right to time off depends on the terms of the employee’s contract of employment.
2.When an employee works on a bank holiday, there is no statutory right to extra pay – for example time and a half or double time. Any right to extra pay depends on the terms of the employee’s contract of employment.
3.Apart-time worker has the right not to be treated less favourably than a comparable full-time worker. This includes entitlement to bank holidays.
The best practice– and safest– approach to part-time employees is to give them a pro-rated allowance of paid bank holidays, irrespective of whether or not they normally work on the days on which bank holidays fall.
4. If an employee is required to work on bank holidays under the terms oftheir employment contract, the employee cannot refuse to work, even for religious reasons.
However, employers should be aware that a refusal to grant Christian employees time off for any of the bank holidays with religious significance could amount to indirect religious discrimination if it places them at a particular disadvantage when compared with employees of other faiths, or non-religious employees
5.If employers have worded contracts to say that employees are entitled to“statutory entitlement plus bank holidays” this no longer denotes 20 days’ leave plus eight bank holidays.
Following the increase in statutory minimum leave from four to 5.6 weeks in 2009, this will grant 28 days’ holiday with eight bank holidays on top. Check your employment contracts to determine if this could be an issue.
This style of contract wording can also mean employees receiving more bank holidays or fewer bank holidays than are required. This becomes an issue where the employer has a holiday year that runs from April to March and the timing of Easter weekend is such that the employee could receive as many as 10 bank holidays one year or as few as six bank holidays the next year.
If the probationary period expires without the employer taking action to dismiss the employee or to extend the period, the employee will be presumed to be confirmed in the role, and will therefore be entitled to any extended contractual notice period that applies on passing probation.
To discuss this article further please contact Dale Perrett dale.perrett@novoexec.com
