Be prepared for Diamond Jubilee, employers told

Employers are being urged to plan ahead for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee holiday in June.

To mark the occasion, the last bank holiday in May has been moved to Monday, 4 June 2012 and there will be an extra bank holiday on Tuesday, 5 June.

Now Acas has reminded employers to plan ahead to avoid last minute leave request clashes or short-term absences.

Acas national helpline manager Stewart Gee said: "With two bank holidays at the beginning of June, employers may receive more requests for time off.

“We're already getting calls to the Acas helpline from employers seeking advice. It's important to be as fair and consistent as possible by having a policy on how to manage time off and leave requests so employees can join in the celebrations and employers can maintain morale at work." Acas says employers need to bear in mind the following points:

• there is no statutory right to bank/public holidays, so the announcement of an extra bank holiday does not increase any entitlement to holiday under the Working Time Regulations.


• whether an employee will benefit from the additional bank holiday will depend on the wording of their contract. For example, a contract that entitles a worker to, 20 days annual leave in addition to all statutory, bank and public holidays, would potentially give the worker an extra day's paid holiday. But if public holidays are listed by name, in a contract, a worker may not be automatically entitled to the extra public holiday.


• there is no legal right to be paid any extra for working a bank holiday. This will depend on the terms of the employment contract.

If you want more information then please contact accountants in Lichfield.  

Link: Diamond Jubilee guidance for businesses