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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think that Good Friday and a few other days in the uk are bank holidays?

83 replies

NeedsAsockamnesty · 19/04/2014 10:53

Just had the weirdest conversation about bank holidays.

The other person insisted that Good Friday Easter Monday and Christmas days are not 'proper official bank holidays' in the uk and these days it's ok to just decide they are not.

So is this correct or am I being reasonable thinking that they are bank holidays?

OP posts:

Pipbin · 19/04/2014 11:15

^Easter Sunday is the only day in the UK where is is against the law for shops to open.

That's not true-the shop on our road was definitely open lady Easter Sunday as I bought an easter egg there!!^

If it was a small shop, under 280 square metres then it can open. Other that that its against the law.

SetPhasersTaeMalkie · 19/04/2014 11:15

I don't think you can talk about the UK. Possibly it is the case in England but in Scotland it is different.

Pipbin · 19/04/2014 11:17

I don't think you can talk about the UK. Possibly it is the case in England but in Scotland it is different.

Fair point, my englishcentric error.
This is the law in England, according the Government website there are no trading hour restrictions for Scotland. My apologies.

SetPhasersTaeMalkie · 19/04/2014 11:21

No need to apologise. I hope I wasn't being sharp, just making an observation.

Pimpf · 19/04/2014 11:21

Christmas Day isn't an official holiday in Scotland but New Year's Day is and the 2nd jan is

I think!

Pipbin · 19/04/2014 11:23

Bank holidays, including those in Scotland are listed here: www.gov.uk/bank-holidays

unlucky83 · 19/04/2014 11:24

Sunday opening in Scotland is different to England - in Scotland the shops can open 24hrs and not the shorter hours on a Sunday in England.

In Scotland as well the banks are closed on (English) bank holidays but everywhere else is open (we have slightly different 'bank' holidays) and then open when say the schools are off for a bank holiday...
(only different ones I can think of is 2nd Jan - and possibly Easter Mon )
In Scotland the schools off on Good Friday but back on Easter Monday
Mad they were on 'Easter holidays' for two weeks, went back on Mon for 4 days, off Good Friday back on Mon ....
Bank holidays are included in your annual holiday entitlement of 5.6 weeks a year, so employer's don't have to pay you for them if you get the 5.6 weeks anyway....

GiveItALashJack · 19/04/2014 11:24

In ireland, it is a public holiday. Lots of stuff open, cept the pub!

unlucky83 · 19/04/2014 11:25

cross post!!

Rainbowshine · 19/04/2014 11:30

Ok, AFAIK in England and Wales we have Bank Holidays and Public Holidays. The two are treated differently for pay if worked in the NHS. I can't recall which ones are Bank and which Public, sorry. Scotland and NI have different rules and holidays which I have no idea about TBH.

Undercurrent · 19/04/2014 12:22

As mentioned by Unlucky, in Scotland banks and other large uk companies follow the English bank holidays. Others organisations may or may not. So schools shut Good Friday but open Easter Monday. Except the private school we were near yesterday- open both Good Friday and Easter Monday!
It's a pain when your work's holidays don't match up with the school's public holidays.

curiousuze · 19/04/2014 12:34

I think in the context of work, OP, your friend is right - her employer doesn't have to give her bank holidays off. My DH (a journalist) never gets them. But he is given a day in lieu to take another time.

sashh · 19/04/2014 12:42

Pipbin, where do you get that it is illegal for a shop to open on Easter Sunday?

Because until very recently it was. I couldn't find out the exact date it changed but the news report below shows it was still illegal in 2010, only 4 years ago.

www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/7546120/Easter-2010-Garden-centres-test-Sunday-trading-laws.html

Needthesunshine · 19/04/2014 12:57

Undercurrent I'm in South Lanarkshire and our schools are off Easter Monday. I think different council areas have different holidays.

HazeltheMcWitch · 19/04/2014 13:02

sashh - your link backs up what pipbin is saying ref the 280sqm rule - which equated to 3000 sq foot. This is as per the Sunday TRading Act 1994 (England and Wales) - and stores under that size can only open for 6 consecutive hours between 10 and 6pm on Sundays.

There are some exemptions, eg farm shops, airport shops. The regulations were lifted for Sundays over the 2012 Olympics.

TheRealYellowWiggle · 19/04/2014 13:24

Quite a few Scottish regions have schools still closed on Monday. I think this may be really a day carried forward for Good Friday (as most schools are already off that day, they don't get it as a public holiday iykwim)

Weegiemum · 19/04/2014 13:36

We're in Glasgow City Council area, and our dc are off on Monday. It's adding an extra day to the Easter Holidays - if Monday wasn't a public holiday they'd go back on Monday.

As mentioned by Unlucky, in Scotland banks and other large uk companies follow the English bank holidays. Others organisations may or may not

Banks are shut, but large uk companies (Tesco, B&Q etc) are all open.

My dh has to work to cover on-call, but his surgery is closed, no routine appointments.

In Scotland, 2nd January is a public holiday. We need it to sober up!

SetPhasersTaeMalkie · 19/04/2014 13:39

Our schools went back last Monday and came off for Good Friday, back to school on Monday.

RawCoconutMacaroon · 19/04/2014 13:40

In Fife, our school "Easter" hols ended last week, so they were back at school on Monday, but off yesterday (Good Friday)... And are at school as usual on Easter Monday.

and that's great, as DH and I will be able to have a rare day off together on Monday!

Cornettoninja · 19/04/2014 14:01

It depends what your friend has been told OP.

We are all entitled to a minimum statutory annual leave allowance of 28 days including the 8 bank/public holidays.

Your employer can dictate when you take any/all of it if they want to. It's pretty standard for employers to assign 8 of those days to bank holidays leaving the other 20 to be booked on request. It's not as common now, but there are some places - particularly in manufacturing - that will have a standard fortnight shut down in the summer and another over Christmas so you would have no annual leave to assign yourself if you only received the statutory minimum.

Basically, if your friend was told to work Good Friday or any other bank holiday, her employer is well within their rights to do that. As long as she takes the full 28 days ( or part time equivalent) within the annual leave year they're not breaking any employment laws.

rollonthesummer · 19/04/2014 14:40

If you google J Sainsbury images, you'll see old pictures of shop fronts with no s! Fascinating!!

ilovepowerhoop · 19/04/2014 14:48

I am in Scotland and my children dont go back to school until Tuesday. They have been off for 2 weeks already

rollonthesummer · 19/04/2014 15:13

Oops-wrong thread, sorry!

seb1 · 19/04/2014 15:25

Our schools don't go back till Wednesday (Tuesday is in-service day) they have been off since 4th of April.

Original poster

NeedsAsockamnesty · 19/04/2014 16:13

Right I've just spoken to her and the situation is this.

Apparently she gets 4 weeks holiday she pointed out to her employer that the statutory minimum is 5.6 weeks and he said oh that's to allow for bank holidays, she then pointed out that Good Friday and Easter Monday are bank holidays he closes the company on those days but he claimed that no they are not bank holidays so he does not have to pay her and because they are not bank holidays he does not have to call it annual leave so she just loses out the money.

OP posts:

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