Do we have to give employees extra holiday for the King’s coronation?

Extra Bank Holiday 2023

The King’s coronation will take place on 6^th May 2023 however, as this falls on a Saturday, the following Monday, 8^th May 2023 has been confirmed as a bank holiday.

What is the position on the extra bank holiday for staff working?

As with all other bank holidays, there is no statutory entitlement to take that particular day off and therefore employers are free, subject to the contract terms, to remain open and require staff to work.

What if we close on the extra bank holiday?

Again, depending on what your contracts say, you could stipulate that this day be taken from their ordinary holiday entitlement, so a designated days of holiday from their annual leave.

You can grant it as an additional day of paid leave, which if you do you would need to ensure that part-time staff who may not work on Mondays also receive a pro-rata extra entitlement.

If your contracts allow you can stipulate that it is a day of unpaid leave.

Are we obliged to give an additional day of paid leave?

The wording of your employment contracts and/or holiday policy is critical to the answer.

Some contracts specifically state that an employee or worker is entitled to the standard or normal bank holidays or states 8 bank holidays per year in which case any additional bank holidays are not included in the entitlement.

By contrast, some contracts may state that an employee or worker is entitled to the all the bank holidays in a leave year thereby including any extra bank holidays that may occur.

If your contracts do not include extra bank holidays within the entitlement, then you can of course apply your discretion to allow your employees or workers the day off as paid leave.

If you have any questions about this or would like to discuss how this affects you, please do get in touch with us.