How will the additional Bank Holiday impact schools?
In order to commemorate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee anniversary, an extra bank holiday has been confirmed which will take place on Friday 3 June 2022.
How will it impact schools?
The Department of Education has temporarily amended the Education (School Day and School Year) (England) Regulations which has resulted in a slightly shorter school year for maintained schools.
Most schools will be closed on 3 June 2022 due to the half-term, but if not, they should be closed on that date. If the school is on half term when the additional bank holiday has been added, the change to the regulations by the DfE means that it can close at another time in the year to give staff and students the extra day off and staff will be given a day’s paid holiday.
The amendment means that schools will only be required to have pupil contact for the 2021/2022 year for 189 days, instead of the usual 190. Teachers will still need to be available for 5 INSET days, which brings the school year to 194 days, across 1,258.5 hours as opposed to 1,265 hours.
The additional bank holiday means that an additional day of holiday will need to be allocated.
What happens to part-time employees?
Part time employees are entitled to their usual remuneration which should be calculated on a pro-rata basis. The general entitlement to bank holidays should have already been calculated and taken into account in their salary.
The pro-rata amount should be calculated based on 1,265 hours.
Unless stated otherwise in any employment contract, providing the pro-rata salary of part-time staff is calculated as above, the additional bank holiday would have already been included and therefore part-time employees are not entitled to any further remuneration, regardless as to whether or not they usually work on a Friday.
Are there any differences for teachers not employed under STPCD?
If teaching staff are employed on STPCD conditions, the guidance applies equally to them, but for those staff who are not employed on STPCD conditions, the position regarding the extra day will depend on the contract of employment – if it states that staff are entitled to all bank holidays, schools will be bound to grant the additional day.
However, it would be beneficial to treat all staff in the same way and grant the additional day, even if different terms apply.
If you would like any advice on how to deal with any bank holiday queries, please get in touch with a member of the team on 01752 663295.