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How to manage bank holidays

Managing bank holidays requires clear contractual provisions and consistent policies, particularly where employees work irregular hours or different working patterns. This guide explains how employers can manage bank holiday entitlement, requests and pay arrangements fairly and lawfully.

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By Katherine Shaw and Lewis Silkin | Brightmine Editor: Susie Munro

There are normally eight bank and public holidays a year in England and Wales and nine in Scotland.

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  • Establishing the contractual entitlement in relation to bank holidays
  • Drafting provisions to reflect business needs
  • Does the total holiday entitlement include bank holidays?
  • Additional bank holidays
  • Requiring employees to take annual leave on bank holidays
  • Requiring employees to work on bank holidays
    • Competing leave requests
    • Pay and time off in lieu
  • Part-time workers
  • Workers with irregular working patterns
  • Bank holidays that fall during family leave
  • Sickness absence

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Latest updates

Improved throughout to focus on practical guidance for HR and updated to reflect the new accrual method for calculating holiday entitlement for irregular hours and part-year workers, for leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024.

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About the author

Katherine Shaw

Katherine Shaw is an associate in the Lewis Silkin employment, reward and immigration department, advising employers and employees on a wide range of employment issues. She provides day-to-day advice on: managing sickness absence, disciplinaries and grievances, recruitment and redundancies and other types of dismissals. Katherine also advises on, and drafts, employment documentation such as policies, employment contracts, secondment agreements, consultancy agreements and compromise agreements. She has experience of High Court litigation and her contentious work includes bringing and defending employment tribunal claims and assisting in settlement negotiations.

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