Bank Holidays

It’s important for an employer not only to know when the next bank holiday is but also an organisation or business’s obligations to employees on such days.

One of the most important areas for both employers and employees to consider is what the employment contract says. Some contracts specify whether bank holidays count as annual leave for an employee whereas others do not. Therefore unless an employment contract states that employees are entitled to bank holidays as paid leave, as well as normal paid leave, it is to an employer’s discretion what you provide employees.

It’s therefore important for an employer to tell an employee whether bank holidays count toward their annual leave or not. However, not all workers have a contract. If you don’t have a contract as an employee, it is important to ask an employer what the rules are around bank holidays and any impact on your paid leave.

When thinking about bank holidays, employers need to think about the ramifications of rules set out in contracts for their employees. For employers, it is wise to balance the potential cost savings of including bank holidays in paid holiday entitlements versus the adverse affect on staff morale.

For instance, informing workers that bank holidays are included in their annual holiday and that you are closing for business that day. One key consideration to bear in mind though is that you must give workers two days notice if you wish to close for business on a bank holiday and make workers take it as annual leave.