You can keep your business open on that date and require staff to work where their agreed terms allow it. But adding a shift, paying the usual rate and deducting a day’s holiday are separate decisions, each with different consequences.
The contractual terms matter more than the date on the calendar. Start with what you’ve agreed, then make sure the rota, leave records and payroll follow it.
Key takeaways
- These dates don’t automatically give staff a paid day off.
- Extra pay and replacement leave depend on the applicable terms.
- Working a bank holiday doesn’t remove someone’s statutory paid holiday entitlement.
When you can require bank holiday working
Read the terms before issuing the rota
An employee whose agreed working pattern includes those dates can generally be required to work them. There’s no automatic exemption because the business normally operates Monday to Friday.
As Citizens Advice’s bank holiday guidance explains, the employment terms determine whether someone must work. Those terms may include incorporated policies, collective agreements and established arrangements.
Our guide to employment contract terms explains how to record working hours and holiday rights clearly.
Don’t use a rota to change the contract
If staff have a contractual right to bank holidays off, publishing a new rota won’t remove it. You generally need agreement unless a valid contractual clause permits the particular change and is used reasonably.
Our guidance on changing contractual working hours covers that distinction. Before treating a refusal as misconduct, consider the agreed obligation, any religious or disability-related issues and the employee’s explanation.
A staffing shortage doesn’t settle those questions.
What staff receive when they work
Paid holiday still has to be available
Most workers receive 5.6 weeks’ paid annual leave, capped at 28 days. That’s 28 days for a regular five-day week and 16.8 days for a regular three-day week.
Employers can include those dates within that allowance, as Acas’s holiday entitlement guidance explains. Working on one of those dates doesn’t reduce the statutory leave that must remain available.
“Inclusive of bank holidays” means relevant bank holidays taken as leave count towards the stated total. “Exclusive of bank holidays” means they sit outside it, according to the contract’s wording.
Enhanced pay and replacement days aren’t automatic
There’s no general statutory right to double pay, time-and-a-half or a replacement day simply for working a bank holiday. An employment contract or applicable agreement may provide those benefits.
HR and payroll need the same instructions: the rate payable, any replacement leave and how it’s recorded. Don’t deduct annual leave for hours someone actually worked. And don’t assume an enhanced hourly rate replaces their right to paid annual leave.
Which days are excluded from LPP deadlines?
The employment question is separate from the definition used for certain HMRC deadlines.
Under the LPP Dispute Resolution Regulations (SI 2009/1916), a working day excludes weekends, Christmas Day, Good Friday and bank holidays under section 1 of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971.
HMRC’s working day definition applies to that dispute resolution process. All dates recognized under the Act are excluded when calculating its deadline dates, including regional holidays. This definition applies only to the dispute resolution process, not to employee attendance, pay or leave deductions.
The Act provides different dates for England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Check the relevant regional calendar when calculating deadline dates, especially for Northern Ireland. HMRC’s reference list includes:
- 1 January, Good Friday, Easter Monday, the first Monday in May, the last Monday in May, the last Monday in August, Christmas Day and 26 December.
- 2 January for Scotland only.
- 17 March and 12 July for Northern Ireland only.
Weekend bank holidays have a substitute day. HMRC expressly identifies substitutes when 2 January, 17 March, 12 July, Christmas Day or 26 December falls on a Saturday or Sunday.
That displayed list isn’t a complete regional calendar. Scotland also has St Andrew’s Day, which the list omits, and its summer bank holiday normally falls on the first Monday in August.
Listed dates are non-working days for this LPP calculation, but are not working days within that procedural definition. They may still be contractual working days for employees.
Use the relevant employment terms to decide when staff must attend and how holiday deductions apply.
Questions that arise when setting the rota
Can we require annual leave when we’re closed?
Yes, employers can generally require workers to take annual leave during a closure. Unless a relevant agreement changes the notice rule, give at least twice as much notice as the leave required.
Your human resources policy should explain planned closures so managers don’t make different promises to different teams. Record the leave against each worker’s entitlement.
Can zero-hours staff refuse a bank holiday shift?
Genuine zero-hours arrangements generally don’t require workers to accept offered shifts. An accepted shift is a different question, and the contract label alone doesn’t determine the obligations.
Minimum wage and statutory paid holiday protections still apply. Working on one of these dates doesn’t create a separate category of casual worker with fewer rights.
Settle the terms before the next bank holiday
The practical protection comes from keeping agreed terms, staffing decisions and pay records consistent. Resolve objections before the shift, rather than leaving payroll to untangle them afterwards.
We’re employment law specialists, and our employment protection solution was created by award-winning lawyers. It combines HR consultancy, software, learning and insurance-backed tribunal cover up to £250,000, subject to policy terms and following our advice.
Book an intro call to discuss support with these arrangements before the next rota goes live.