2023 has seen an additional bank holiday added to the calendar for the King’s coronation. While the coronation itself is taking place on Saturday 6th May, the additional bank holiday has been announced for Monday 8th May to allow for a long weekend of celebrations.

As with previous additional bank holidays, there has been confusion from some employers and their employees as to their legal rights and responsibilities.

Two of the main questions we are asked surrounding bank holidays are:

  1. Are employees automatically entitled to the additional bank holiday for the King’s coronation?

  2. Do employers have to pay employees on the 8th May King’s coronation bank holiday?

The answers to both of these questions cover most instances of bank holidays.

Do employees automatically get the King’s coronation off?

An employer’s obligation regarding additional bank holidays will usually come down to what is stated in their employees’ contracts of employment. If it is stated that an employee is entitled to bank holidays off, then they will be entitled to the extra day off.

If you, as an employer, have a genuine business reason for requiring your employees to work on this bank holiday, you will need to either have provisions in your employment contracts for this, or you will need to seek written consent from your employees agreeing to work the additional bank holiday.

Do employees have to be paid for an additional bank holiday?

There is no legal obligation to pay an employee for an extra bank holiday; however, employers are subject to their employee’s contracts of employment so if it is stated within that that an employee will be paid in full for a bank holiday, an employer must abide by this.

If it is not stated in an employee’s contract, an employer is free to choose whether to pay their employee and at what rate. We do find that the large majority of employers will handle this sensitively and put plans in place to pay their employees.

If you are in an employment dispute and are looking for legal advice, our employment law specialists are on hand to advise both employers and employees on a range of aspects of employment law, including contracts of employment, policies and procedures, discrimination in the workplace, grievances, employment tribunals and more. Get in touch with the team today on 0845 287 0939 or complete our online contact form and we will get in touch with you.