It’s official - we’re getting an extra bank holiday in May 2023 to mark King Charles’s coronation. If your book your annual leave around it, you could seriously maximise your time off.
An extra bank holiday to celebrate King Charles III’s coronation has been confirmed for 2023, and if you plan your time off carefully, you could end up enjoying 10 days off work using just four days of your precious annual leave.
King Charles is set to be crowned at Westminster Abbey on Saturday 6 May 2023, and now Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, has announced that we will get an extra day off on Monday 8 May to mark the event.
“The coronation of a new monarch is a unique moment for our country,” he said. “In recognition of this historic occasion, I am pleased to announce an additional bank holiday for the whole United Kingdom next year.”
The extra day off is great news for those looking to maximise their holiday allowance for 2023. Tradition dictates that the first Monday in May is always a bank holiday in the UK, and with the following Monday now confirmed as a national day off too, a quick glance at the calendar shows that there are just four working days in between [if you follow a typical Monday to Friday working week and your employer closes on weekends and bank holidays].
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So, if you book 2, 3, 4 and 5 May off work, you can enjoy a lengthy 10-day stint away from the office. We’ve broken it down for you clearly below.
1. Saturday 29 April: weekend
2. Sunday 30 April: weekend
3. Monday 1 May: bank holiday
4. Tuesday 2 May: annual leave
5. Wednesday 3 May: annual leave
6. Thursday 4 May: annual leave
7. Friday 5 May: annual leave
8. Saturday 6 May: weekend
9. Sunday 7 May: weekend
10. Monday 8 May: bank holiday
Booking your annual leave strategically to coincide with the bank holidays is a great way of making your holiday allowance work as hard as possible - and May’s not the only time that you can use this hack to your advantage.
The Christmas holidays are, whisper it, just around the corner, and if you haven’t booked your time off already, it’s the perfect time to get organised. With Christmas Day and New Year’s Day falling on a Sunday this holiday season, we will receive two extra bank holidays to make up for this, on Tuesday 27 December and Monday 2 January respectively.
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By booking 28, 29 and 30 December off work, you can enjoy a 10 day break [again, the caveat is that this will only be the case for those who work Monday to Friday week, and whose employers close for weekends and bank holidays]. Here’s how it would pan out.
1. Saturday 24 December: weekend
2. Sunday 25 December: weekend
3. Monday 26 December: bank holiday [Boxing Day]
4. Tuesday 27 December: bank holiday
5. Wednesday 28 December: annual leave
6. Thursday 29 December: annual leave
7. Friday 30 December: annual leave
8. Saturday 31 December: weekend
9. Sunday 1 January: weekend
10. Monday 2 January: bank holiday
When it comes to Easter 2023, you can make use of a similar tactic too, by making the most of the long Easter weekend. If you book off four days from Monday 3 April to Thursday 6 April, you can schedule 10 days away from work too.
1. Saturday 1 April: weekend
2. Sunday 2 April: weekend
3. Monday 3 April: annual leave
4. Tuesday 4 April: annual leave
5. Wednesday 5 April: annual leave
6. Thursday 6 April: annual leave
7. Friday 7 April: bank holiday [Good Friday]
8. Saturday 8 April: weekend
9. Sunday 9 April: weekend
10. Monday 10 April: bank holiday [Easter Monday]
Before you scramble to make a holiday request [to get in there before your colleagues cotton on] it’s worth double-checking your employer’s policy when it comes to annual leave and bank holidays. You can find out more about the holiday you’re entitled to on the government’s website.
Are Employees entitled to the extra bank holiday for the Coronation of King Charles III?
The King’s Coronation is taking place on 6 May 2023 however the bank holiday will fall on 8 May 2023 for England and Wales. This is an additional bank holiday to 1 May 2023.
However, is an employee legally entitled to receive that extra bank holiday?
This is dependent on the wording of the employee’s contract of employment. If the contract is worded that the employee will be entitled to 20 days leave plus bank holidays, then the employee would be entitled to receive the additional paid leave. However, if the contract of employment states that leave is set a specific number of days “inclusive of bank holidays” or indeed “in addition to the usual bank holidays,” then the employee would not necessarily be entitled to paid leave for the additional day of bank holiday. This would be a decision for the employer to make the employee either work that additional bank holiday or offer to have the day off either paid or unpaid. As such, employers should check their contracts of employment and communicate their position to employees in advance of the bank holiday.
Employers need to consider and discuss with their employees sooner rather than later to ensure that everyone is aware and understands the situation.
If you are in of need employment advice or HR support contact Kerseys Solicitors telephone Ipswich 01473 213311 or Colchester 01206 584584 or email [email protected], alternatively Kerseys are only a click away visit our website and click “Call Me Back” and a member of our employment team will be happy to contact you at a time that is convenient to you.