Citizens Advice: Working on bank holidays

​​I recently started a new job where my boss has told me I’ll have to work bank holidays. This wasn’t the case in my old job – can my employer really make me work on a public holiday, and should I get paid extra if I do?
By Jane Chippindale
Published 10th Jan 2024, 15:08 BST
If your contract says you get bank holidays off you shouldn’t be asked to work. Photo: AdobeStockIf your contract says you get bank holidays off you shouldn’t be asked to work. Photo: AdobeStock
If your contract says you get bank holidays off you shouldn’t be asked to work. Photo: AdobeStock

By Kirklees Citizens Advice & Law Centre chief executive Nick Whittingham

Unfortunately, when it comes to bank holidays, whether staff have to work is up to their employer, and you don’t have to be paid more if you do.

The situation varies and may depend on factors like whether your place of work is open on bank holidays, your hours of work and crucially, what your contract says.

Look at your contract, if you have one, to find out your situation.

It might say you always get bank holidays off, but could say you may sometimes be required to work them, or will always be required to work.

If your place of work is normally open on a bank holiday, you’ll probably be asked to work at least some. But if your contract says you get bank holidays off you shouldn’t be asked to work.

Your contract might say: “In addition to bank and public holidays, your annual entitlement to holidays is X days”. This means you get public holidays off in addition to your annual leave entitlement but may not mean you’re entitled to take the specific days off. You may be required to work a bank holiday; in which case you should get another day off instead.

Alternatively, it might say something like: “Your annual holiday entitlement (inclusive of bank and public holidays) is X days” – this means you have to take bank holidays as part of your annual leave entitlement. Bank holidays will either be deducted from your annual leave allowance (so you’ll have to book all bank holidays as paid time off) or as additional holiday days.

A common misunderstanding around bank holidays is that employers have to pay you extra, but this isn’t the case. Unless your contract says you’ll be paid extra, you’ll be paid your normal amount. If your contract says you’re entitled to bank holidays, but you’re asked to work, you should be able to take a different day off in lieu. Your employer has to follow what’s set out in your contract, if they don’t, you should raise this with them.

If you don’t have a contract, the legal default position is that your employer can tell you when you can or can’t take time off. If you’d like to request a bank holiday off, use the normal method for requesting time off for your organisation.

If you need to resolve an issue with your employer, first ask for an informal chat, where you can raise your concerns. If this doesn’t get you anywhere, you may need to raise a formal grievance, and your organisation will have specific policies and procedures for how to do this.

If you would like to speak to Kirklees Citizens Advice and Law Centre for help relating to this, you can call us on 0808 278 7896 (Freephone), contact via our web enquiry form, or visit us at one of our contact centres, where we help thousands of people each year. You may be coming to us for the first time, but we can help with issues such as housing, employment, debt, benefits, energy and more. See our website at www.kcalc.org.uk for more information, opening times and self-help information.