Public holidays

After a flurry of public and bankholidays andthe wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton,thegovernment has announced that Tuesday 5 June 2012 will be a bank holiday, to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The late May bank holiday will be moved to Monday 4 June, to allow for a four-day weekend of celebrations. As an employer, remember that despite the increase, there is still no statutory right to time off (paid or otherwise) on any public holiday. Whether a worker can be required to work on a public holiday is a matter for the contract or, in some cases, simply the employer’s managerial prerogative. In many industries or occupations (such as retail, travel or emergency services) working on public holidays is a commercial or operational necessity. We would be interested toknow what effect the recent additional publicholiday has had on your business and how you have dealt with this. Derby date and holidays mark Queen’s Silver Jubilee