20/09/2022

The Government has now published Guidance for the public and businesses on the period of National Mourning following the demise of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. 

A period of National Mourning for her Majesty has now started and will continue until the end of the day of the State Funeral which will be Monday 19 September 2022. The Guidance recognises that ‘mourning is very personal and organisations may want to mark her passing in their own way.‘

At his Accession Council, King Charles III approved an Order that the day of the Queen’s funeral, 19 September 2022 to be declared a bank holiday for this year. This means that schools will be closed and businesses may decide to close (see below).

The legal position in relation to bank holidays is that there is no legal entitlement to them. The minimum legal holiday entitlement across all the UK is to provide 28 days (5.6 weeks) holidays which are historically derived from:

• 20 days (4 weeks) as required by the EU Working Time Directive and;
• 8 days (1.6 weeks) given by UK legislation.

Therefore, whether a business closes will depend on:

• if it wishes to do so, and as guidance states each business can make its own decision;
• if it is obliged to provide a day off for this additional bank holiday, which will wholly depend on the contractual position i.e. what business has agreed to provide in the employment contracts.

If the employment contract states:
‘You are entitled to 28 days holiday inclusive of bank/ public holiday.’ then there is no right to this extra day and it will be up to the business whether to provide it.

If the employment contract states:
‘You are entitled to [25] days holidays in addition to bank/ public holidays’’ then the Company has contractually agreed to it and there is an entitlement to the additional bank holiday.

Press Release issued by the Government confirms that there is no legal entitlement to the bank holiday, stating that it is ‘matter for discussion between individuals and their employer.’

The Press Release also states:
“The government cannot interfere in existing contractual arrangements between employers and workers. However, we would expect that many workers will be able to take the day off on the bank holiday. We also expect employers to respond sensitively to requests from workers who wish to take the day of the funeral off work.”

Should you have any query in relation to this communication please contact the Legal Team.