leading lawyer urges employers to plan in advance for Royal Wedding
25th November 2010
Following the announcement that Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding will be a public holiday in Scotland, a leading lawyer has warned employers to remember their legal commitments and plan for the big day well in advance.
Kim Pattullo, an employment partner at national law firm HBJ Gateley Wareing, has advised that as 29th April will be a public holiday, employers should review their contractual obligations regarding public holidays.
The Working Time Regulations 1998 state that full time employees in Scotland must receive a minimum of 5.6 weeks paid annual leave per annum. There is no entitlement under the Regulations to receive public holidays in addition.
If the contract states that employers are entitled to a certain holiday allowance plus public holidays but don’t specify the number then employers are legally obliged to allow workers to take newly announced days, such as the Royal Wedding.
However, if the contract states that the employee is entitled to 5.6 weeks of annual leave inclusive of public holidays then there is no entitlement to this extra day off.
Certain contracts may specifically state the public holidays included in the holiday allowance, such as Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and 2nd January. In such circumstances, the additional public holiday would not be included in the contractual entitlement.
Kim said: “The announcement of the Royal Wedding should, of course, be celebrated but employers should be aware of their legal obligations and start planning now for how this additional public holiday may affect their business.
“Whether an employee is eligible to take this newly announced public holiday is dependent upon the terms of their contract and both employee and employer should refer to the contract for clarification.
“I would advise employers to let their employees know as soon as possible whether they will be entitled to take the Royal Wedding as a public holiday, preferably before Christmas or early in the New Year.
“For those businesses open on the public holiday, the Royal Wedding could be used as an excellent team building exercise, where arrangements are made for employees to watch the wedding during working hours and make up the time thereafter.
“This arrangement may also significantly decrease the number of staff taking a sick day to watch the wedding as evidenced during the World Cup when employers arranged for certain football matches to be shown during working hours.
“The Royal Wedding is a cause for celebration and by planning well in advance and communicating with employees, this event need not have an adverse impact on employer - employee relations and can in fact be a great team building exercise.”
Kim Pattullo is a partner in the employment department at national law firm HBJ Gateley Wareing.
