Change to Early May Bank Holiday in 2020
Next year’s Early May Bank Holiday is expected to be moved from the first Monday in May to Friday 8th May across all areas of the UK in honour of the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Wondering if your employees are affected by the change? Read on:
• Time off on Bank Holidays is usually covered as part of a employee’s contractual arrangements and set out in their statement of main terms (SMT).
• Employees may assume that they will be entitled to a day off on Friday 8th May 2020; but there is no automatic entitlement for employees to have a Bank Holiday off.
• Employers will have to review the content of the SMT to identify their contractual position on giving employees time off on the moved Bank Holiday.
• Entitlement to Bank Holidays can be expressed in many different ways and the exact wording of the SMT will need to be analysed to determine whether employees have a contractual right to take the Friday off or not.
• Employers are encouraged to plan ahead of time and work out a solution that suits their specific business needs, making sure this is communicated to the workforce as early as possible to prevent any confusion.
Whilst employers are often unable to predict adjustments to Bank Holidays, it is important to confirm their position quickly to ensure this does not have a detrimental impact on the business. For any further advice relating to this change, or general rules around Bank Holiday working, please make sure to contact me.
As a BDM with Peninsula the market leading and award winning consultancy, I visit and support employers by providing employment law, HR, H&S solutions to help them improve and protect their…
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