Easter Bank Holidays
How To Manage Easter Bank Holidays
In England and Wales there are eight recognised bank holidays in every calendar year. Special or ‘extra’ bank holidays are unusual but we have had a few in recent years for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and funeral and then the Kings Coronation. Of the eight recognised days most fall on fixed days each year; but the two Easter Bank Holidays are flexible as the timing of the Easter weekend changes every year. In 2024 the Easter weekend fell in March and in 2025 it falls in April, this means there were only seven bank holidays between the period 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025.
This movement of the Easter Bank Holidays can have an impact on holiday years running from 1 April to 31 March and where the entitlement is limited to the statutory minimum holiday entitlement. As the Easter Bank Holidays can fall early in one holiday year and late in the following holiday year it can affect the total number of bank holidays in any one holiday year.
What Is The Risk?
The statutory minimum holiday entitlement is 5.6 weeks which equates to 28 days for employees who work five days per week. Statutory entitlement can include the eight recognised bank holidays.
When there are no easter bank holidays in one holiday year you risk breaching the Working Time Regulation by given less than the statutory minimum entitlement for that holiday year.
Holiday Year Starting April 2025For the holiday year starting on 1 April 2024 there is one Easter Monday which fell on 1 April 2024. The Good Friday fell on 29 March 2024 (so in the 2023-24 holiday year). Easter in 2025 falls in April (so in the 2025-26 holiday year). As there is no Good Friday in the 2024-25 holiday year the total bank holidays are 7 not 8.
Remedies Available To EmployeesStatutory holiday entitlement is part of the Working Time Regulations. Employees can raise an employment tribunal claim where their employer has:
- refused to permit them to exercise their right to statutory leave under the WTR;
- failed to pay the employee for all or part of any holiday pay due under the WTR; and
- failed to pay the employee all or part of any pay in lieu of untaken holiday due on termination under the WTR.
The Deduction from Wages (Limitation) Regulations 2014 prevents employment tribunals considering claims going back in more than 2 years from the date of the complaint relating to those deductions. But the Government are considering amending that legislation so claims could potentially go back further in the future.
How Does The Movement Of The Easter Bank Holidays Affect The Holiday Year?
If your holiday years starts on 1 April each year then the Easter Bank Holidays will affect your next few holiday years as follows:
| HOLIDAY YEAR START DATE |
| 1 April 2025 | 1 April 2026 | 1 April 2027 | 1 April 2028 | |
| Good Fridays | 18 April 2025 | 3 April 2026 and 26 March 2027 |
None | 14 April 2028 and 30 March 2029 |
| Easter Mondays | 21 April 2025 | 3 April 2026 and 29 March 2027 |
None | 17 April 2028 |
| Total Bank Holidays: | EIGHT | TEN | SIX | NINE |
What Are The Implications Of The Moving Easter Bank Holidays?
The next holiday year starting on 1 April 2025 will have eight bank holidays so there are no implications. However the current holiday year that started on 1 April 2024 had seven recognised bank holidays, the 2027-28 holiday year only has six recognised bank holidays then the 2026-27 and 2028-29 holiday years have ten and nine recognised bank holidays.
But surely the ten bank holidays in 2026-27 holiday year balance out the six in 2027-28 holiday year? Unfortunately no they don’t, you cannot rely on an increase in holiday entitlement from one holiday year been ‘evened up’ by having less than the statutory minimum in the next year.
The working time Regulations provide for an entitlement of 5.6 weeks annual leave which equates to 28 days for an employee working a 5-day week. The entitlement is a statutory minimum which cannot be negotiated out of. This means in the holiday year starting in April 2027 there are only six recognised bank holidays so your employees would be receiving 26 days of holidays entitlement not 28.
Does your holiday year run from 1 April to 31 March?
Are your employees entitled to the statutory holiday entitlement of 5.6 weeks?
If you answered YES to both those questions you might need to adjust the annual entitlement each year to take account of the movement of the Easter Bank Holidays.
My Recommendations For Managing Easter Bank Holidays
How you deal with the Easter Bank Holidays will depend on the wording in your contract of employment. Here are the common phrases with my recommendations for each one:
28 Days Of Holiday Including Bank Holidays
If your contract states that the employee is entitled to 28 days of holiday in each holiday year and that includes bank holidays, then you would need to adjust the number of days of holiday the employee can take at a time of their choosing to account for the number of bank holidays that fall in that holiday year. For instance:
- 2024-25 holiday year: you should have increased the flexible entitlement to 21 days (28 days less 7 bank holidays);
- 2026-27 holiday year: the annual entitlement will be 28 days which would be split into 18 days taken as the employee chooses and 10 bank holidays; and
- 2027-28 holiday year: the annual entitlement will be 28 days which would be split into 22 days taken as the employee chooses and 6 bank holidays.
20 Days Of Holiday Plus Bank Holidays
This could be interpreted as a contractual right to all Bank Holidays, regardless of how many there are in a holiday year. So, similarly to the first example you would need to adjust the total number of days of holiday entitlement to account for the number of bank holidays that fall in that holiday year. For instance:
- 2024-25 holiday year: you should have increased the flexible entitlement to 21 days (28 days less 7 bank holidays);
- 2026-27 holiday year: the annual entitlement will be 30 days which will be split into 20 days taken as the employee chooses and 10 bank holidays; and
- 2027-28 holiday year: the annual entitlement will be 28 days which will be split into 22 days taken as the employee chooses and 6 bank holidays.
20 days plus 8 Bank Holidays
This clause stipulates that a specific number of Bank Holidays are part of the annual leave entitlement and therefore there is no contractual right to the second Good Friday and Easter Monday in the 2026-27 holiday year. But as in the previous situations caution should be applied with the entitlement for the 2024-25 and 2027-28 holiday years.
My advice in this situation is as follows:
- 2024-25 Holiday Year – you should have increased the flexible entitlement to 21 days (28 days less 7 bank holidays);
- 2026-27 Holiday Year – the annual entitlement will be 28 days which will be split into 18 days taken as the employee chooses and 10 bank holidays. You will need to notify employees that as there are more bank holidays than they are entitled to they will need to reserve two days from their flexible (20 days) for the Good Friday and Easter Monday Bank Holidays that fall in March 2027; and
- 2027-28 Holiday Year – the annual entitlement will be 28 days which will be split into 22 days taken as the employee chooses and 6 bank holidays.
20 days plus the following Bank Holidays …..
This clause stipulates that specifically named Bank Holidays are part of the annual leave entitlement and therefore there is a contractual entitlement to the Easter Bank Holidays whenever they fall. As in the previous situations caution should be applied with the entitlement for the 2024-25 and 2027-28 holiday years.
My advice in this situation is as follows:
- 2024-25 Holiday Year – you should have increased the flexible entitlement to 21 days (28 days less 7 bank holidays);
- 2026-27 Holiday Year – the annual entitlement will be 30 days which will be split into 20 days taken as the employee chooses and 10 bank holidays; and
- 2027-28 Holiday Year – the annual entitlement will be 28 days which will be split into 22 days taken as the employee chooses and 6 bank holidays;
How To Correct An Error Made In The 2024-25 Holiday Year
If you haven’t adjusted the flexible entitlement for your employees in the 2024-25 holiday year, you can correct the anomaly by offering employees the opportunity to take a further day of leave before the end of the holiday year i.e. 31 March 2025. Make it clear in your communication that the offer is for the 2024-25 holiday year only to reflect the timing of the easter break and that there will be no requirement to adjust the annual entitlement for the 2025-26 holiday year.As the timescales are tight you may not be able to allow everyone to take a days holiday before 31 March 2025, in which case you could offer the day and allow for it to be carried over to the 2025-26 holiday year but stipulate the day must be used before the 30 April 2025. That way you have corrected the anomaly for the 2024-25 holiday year even though the day will be taken in the 2025-26 holiday year.
If you do nothing employees could raise tribunal claims for unlawful deductions from wages for underpayment of holiday. Remember, you cannot argue that there were nine bank holidays in the 2023-2024 holiday year meaning employees received more than their minimum entitlement. The tribunal will only look at the holiday year in question, so they would fine that you had underpaid.
How To Audit The Risk
- Does your holiday year run from 1 April to 31 March? Check all employees, if some employees have TUPE transferred into your business you could have employees with different holiday years.
- If yes, are any of those employees entitled to the statutory minimum holiday entitlement?
- If yes, how is the entitlement clause expressed in their contracts? Check the wording against my recommendations above.
If you have made an error in the current (2024-25) holiday year, consider whether you are going to go with the low-risk option (giving each impacted employee an extra day off) or the high-risk option (doing nothing and seeing if you are challenged).
The 2025-26 holiday year is normal but the next three holiday years will require some consideration and adjustments.
Change Your Holiday Year
If you do not want to adjust the holiday entitlement each holiday year you can change your holiday year from April to March so you always get one Easter in a holiday year regardless of the exact date it falls on. January to December is a popular alternative.
Changing employees’ contracts is a delicate process that should be planned and navigated very carefully; something I can help you with.
Clear communication is often the most effective way to maintain good employee relations and reduce the risks associated with potential tribunal claims should something go wrong.
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