Am I entitled to a bank holidays at Christmas?

Each year, the UK has six permanent bank holidays in England and Wales and an additional one in 2012. Christmas Day and Good Friday are public holidays. Contrary to belief, an employee is not however entitled to a day off on these days.

MWR’s employment law expert, Sadiq Vohra comments:

Unfortunately workers don’t have an automatic right to paid leave on bank and public holidays, though many people receive the day off work. Any right to time off or extra pay for working on a bank holiday depends on the terms of your contract of employment.

If for example, your contract states that you are entitled to “28 days holiday plus all bank and public holidays” you should have the contractual right to take the Christmas bank holidays off work, plus any others that are listed for 2012.

But if the wording in your contract differs and instead states that you are entitled to take “Christmas day as bank holiday” the extra public holidays surrounding Christmas may not included, even if Christmas day falls on a weekend.

It is therefore wise for workers to carefully read the wording of their contract before automatically assuming that they are entitled to the day off work.

It is also worth noting that in order to qualify for the right to annual leave you need to be classed as a worker. If you are self-employed, you have no statutory right to paid leave for bank holidays.

For advice on employment law contact Sadiq Vohra on 01772 254201 or visit http://www.mwrlaw.com