Ask Kate: Should my staff be working on the spring bank holiday?

This caller wanted advice on whether they’d be breaching contract by asking their staff to work over the bank holiday. So, they asked Kate Palmer, Peninsula’s HR Advice and Consultancy Director, for expert advice.

Here’s what they had to say…

Hi Kate,

I’ve just started up a business in a popular tourist destination. With the spring bank holiday coming up, we’re bracing ourselves for a busy long weekend and I need people to hold the fort. I’ve only recently hired staff and a few are asking if they have to work the bank holiday because it doesn’t say in their contract. It just says their holiday allowance and they want to know if this includes bank holidays. If it doesn’t say in their contract, can I still ask them to come in?

Thanks,

Anon

Kate’s reply was…

Hi Anon,

Bank holidays can get chaotic for hospitality businesses. So I understand why you’d want all hands on deck.

“I’ve only recently hired staff and a few are asking if they have to work the bank holiday because it doesn’t say in their contract”

Just to mention upfront, it’s up to you to decide if you want to allow your staff to take bank holidays off work.

Both workers and employees are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave (either in full or on a pro-rata basis). And this can either include, exclude, or add on bank holidays.

It’s the contract wording that will tell you if your workers can take the day off.

“I’ve only recently hired staff and a few are asking if they have to work the bank holiday because it doesn’t say in their contract”

Just to mention upfront, it’s up to you to decide if you want to allow your staff to take bank holidays off work.

Both workers and employees are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave (either in full or on a pro-rata basis). And this can either include, exclude, or add on bank holidays.

It’s the contract wording that will tell you if your workers can take the day off.

“It just says their holiday allowance and they want to know if this includes bank holidays”

You mention your worker’s contract only specifies how much holiday they have. So it probably says something along the lines of ‘your annual holiday entitlement is __days’ and that’s it.

If the contract doesn’t mention bank holidays, my advice would be to update your contracts right away. By law, you have to outline your position on bank holidays in your contracts and if you don’t, your workers could bring a legal claim against you. Not having this information can also create confusion (as you now know).

You can make it a requirement for your staff to work bank holidays if you’d prefer, but you’ll need to make this clear in writing. So updating your documents will be the next step.

“If it doesn’t say in their contract, can I still ask them to come in?”

As you’re a brand new business, yes you can ask your staff to work on the spring bank holiday unless it’s approved as holiday or it isn’t a normal working day for them. But you will need to discuss this with them first, so they know what your expectations are. You’ll also need to set out these rules in their contract.

If you wanted to, you could always provide an incentive for staff to work. For example, you could offer double pay on bank holidays. This might encourage your staff to feel more positive about working on those days. It might also deter everyone from trying to book the time off. So you don’t have an inbox full of conflicting requests to deal with.

If you are going to do this though, again you will need to clearly set out this information in your contracts.

I know holiday entitlement is a tricky thing to navigate as is updating your contracts, so if you have any questions or concerns, we do offer free consultations. Just tap below to arrange to speak with an HR expert directly.

Hope this has helped!

All the best,

Kate