News
Employment Law Update (January 2010)
Hooray, Hooray – Mandelson announces another holiday!
The Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, took the opportunity of
the New Year gloom – and many employees' first days back at work
after the Christmas break – to announce an additional public
holiday in 2012.
According to the announcement, in 2012 the late May "Spring Bank
Holiday" will be moved to Monday 4th June, and be
followed by an additional "bank holiday" on Tuesday 5th
June. This will form part of a "Diamond Jubilee Weekend" in
commemoration of the 60th year since the Queen's
coronation. The changes will apply for one year only. The
announcement applies to England and Wales but it is expected that
the Scottish Government will follow suit.
The early announcement means that employers have ample time to
plan how to deal with the additional holiday. Many will simply
allow the extra day as paid leave, but there is no legal
requirement to allow staff the time off, and employers are entitled
to ask employees who wish to take the day off to use a day of their
annual holiday entitlement.