Employment & Pensions Blog: With only 7 bank holidays in the annual leave year 2024/2025 – do your workers need to be given an extra day off?

Easter fell in March last year, and this year it isn’t until mid-April 2025. The effect of this is that there will only be 7 bank holidays between the period 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. 

If your holiday year runs from 1 April – 31 March and your workers are only entitled to the statutory minimum amount of annual leave, there is a possibility that your workers may need to be given an extra day of annual leave.

What does the contract say?

Full-time workers are entitled to a statutory minimum of at least 28 days of annual leave per holiday year. The Working Time Regulations 1998 doesn't give workers the express right to have bank holidays off, and therefore the statutory minimum 28 days of annual leave includes any bank holidays.  Where a full-time worker is given less than the statutory 28 days, for example because there are only 7 bank holidays in a particular holiday year, they could bring a claim for breach of the Working Time Regulations 1998. 

The question of whether your workers are entitled to a further day of annual leave during this holiday year will depend on how their contracts are worded. If their contracts state:

1. They are entitled to 21 days (or more) of annual leave, plus bank holidays – The workers do not need to be given an extra day of annual leave. Even in an annual leave year like this one with only seven bank holidays, they are still receiving at least the statutory minimum 28 days of annual leave.  
    
2. They are entitled to 28 days of annual leave, which includes bank holidays – The workers do not need to be given an extra day of annual leave, because their contractual 28-day entitlement meets the statutory minimum requirements under the Working Time Regulations 1998.   
    
3. They are entitled to 20 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays – In this instance, the workers need to be given an extra day of annual leave. As there are only 7 bank holidays during the leave year 2024/2025, the workers will have only been given 27 days of annual leave which is less than the statutory minimum 28 days under the Working Time Regulations 1998. 

Comment

With the date for Easter changing every year, there will always be holiday leave years like this one, where there are only 7 bank holidays. The flip side of that is there will always be annual leave years, like in 2023/2024, where there are 9 bank holidays. 

If your holiday year runs from 1 April – 31 March, and your workers are only entitled to 28 days of annual leave, employers should review their contracts to establish which of the above three categories the wording falls into.  

If the wording falls into category c) (above), the temptation can be to do nothing on the basis that with 7 bank holidays some years, and 9 in others, over time it averages out at 8 bank holidays a year. However, that approach carries a risk because Employment Tribunals do not average it out like that, and a worker can bring a claim in any leave year where they have only been afforded 27 days of annual leave. In these circumstances, to avoid any risks, employers should give their workers an extra day of annual leave.    

If you require any assistance regarding annual leave or holiday pay, or any other employment related matters, please contact a member of the Employment Team.