Bank Holiday Announced for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral

Monday 19 September, the date of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral, and last day of the period of national mourning, will be a national bank holiday.

This national bank holiday will allow individuals, businesses, and organisations to pay their respect to Her Majesty and commemorate Her reign.

This bank holiday will operate like other bank holidays, such as The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and whilst there is no statutory entitlement to time off, employees may be entitled within their leave entitlement.

Checking contractual entitlement

The entitlement to time off on Bank Holidays is set out in your employee’s contracts, and employers should check these to determine the employee’s entitlement. This will ensure that the contractual entitlements are not breached, give time for planning, and give employee’s clarity on their entitlement.

The examples below may help determine your employee’s entitlement:

The employee is entitled to the bank holiday if the contract states:

• ‘You will be entitled to paid annual leave on all bank and public holidays.”

The employee is not entitled to the bank holiday if the contract states:

• “You will be entitled to paid annual leave on the following bank and public holidays: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Early May Bank Holiday, Spring Bank Holiday, Summer Bank Holiday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day.”
• “You will be entitled to 28 paid holidays, including 8 statutory and bank holidays.”

In addition to the above, the contract may allow for some flexibility, where your employees can be required to work the additional bank holiday, for example:

• “… you may be required to work on bank or public holidays. It is a condition of your employment that you agree to do so when asked by the Company. In this case, the Company will grant you a day off in lieu for each full bank or public holiday worked.”
• “You are entitled to the following Bank Holidays, or alternative days as decided by us:…”

However, even where there is no contractual entitlement to take the additional bank holiday as paid time off, employers should respond sensitively to requests from workers who wish to take the day off. Many employers, in recognition of this, will decide to allow their employees to take the additional bank holiday or if that is not possible for business reasons, to provide time off in lieu.

School closures

Schools will be closed for the bank holiday, and carers who are required to work should make appropriate arrangements for the day such as taking annual leave.

Employee support

Supporting employees through difficult times is important and The Queen’s death may cause associated memories and feelings to re-surface. To support employees, you may have an employee assistance programme (EAP) that can provide counselling. Additionally, you may have trained mental health first aiders who can help identify those struggling with emotional wellbeing and signpost them to helpful resources.