Preparing for the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday with BrightHR

2022 marks the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, which means an extra bank holiday on Friday 3rd June. It’s a cause for celebration!

For managers, though, it’s not as simple as just scribbling out a day in the calendar. The changes to the bank holiday calendar mean that the late May bank holiday is now taking place on Thursday 2nd June, bunching it together with the royal bank holiday.

As a result, you might be facing a stack of schedule conflicts. You don’t have long to get those rotas ready and any mistakes can lead to upset staff…

Don’t sweat it (unless you’re expecting a particularly warm Summer)—let us break it down for you:

Are your staff entitled to the extra Bank Holiday?

If your staff’s contracts say they get ‘20 days holiday plus bank holidays’, they’re automatically entitled to the extra bank holiday.

But for staff in England and Wales, if their contract states they get 20 days holiday plus eight bank holidays, and names those eight bank holidays, they’re not entitled to that extra day off.

The same goes for staff in Scotland, but they get an extra bank holiday anyway. So, theirs would read ’20 days plus nine bank holidays’, and then list those holidays.

Employees also don’t get 3rd June off if their contracts state they get 28 days / 5.6 weeks off, including bank holidays.

As for whether to give your employees an extra day’s holiday—that’s up to you! If you do, just make sure everyone gets another day to take off. If not, you could be face claims of unfair treatment from your staff.

What about the Bank Holiday that’s moved to a new date?

If contracts say that employees get the “late May bank holiday” off work, nothing changes. But if contracts say that employees get “the last Monday of May” off work, it’s a little trickier…

Because technically, this gives employees the right to the last Monday of May off work, which they won’t get now the bank holiday has moved. But don’t worry, you can fix this by agreeing to a temporary amendment to the contracts with your employees.

There are also a couple of things to think about when it comes to booking annual leave, too…

Staff may need to amend holidays

If your employees have already requested time off on either the original, new, or shifted bank holiday date, they might need to amend this now that the bank holidays have changed.

For example, if an employee has booked leave for Friday 3rd June, they might need to cancel it if they now get the day off as part of their public holiday entitlement.

Similarly, if an employee hasn’t booked time off on Monday 30th May because they thought it was already a bank holiday, they might wish to book annual leave now that it’s a normal working day.

How our smart software helps you

Our BrightHR software makes managing 2022’s extra bank holiday confusion a doddle. You don’t need to do a thing, because the software automatically corrects the date for you on the system.

It also flags any annual leave booked for either Monday 30th May, Thursday 2nd June, or Friday 3rd June on all fixed employees’ profiles, so they can book or cancel any holiday requests accordingly.

Got a question about the extra bank holiday changes?

If your contracts use wording you’re not quite sure of, or you simply need a second opinion, speak to one of our HR experts today. They’ll give you confidential legal advice on any bank holiday or annual leave issue, and they’re available 24/7.

Call today on 0800 783 2806.