The Misconception at the Heart of Bank Holiday Law
Ask most people whether employees are entitled to bank holidays, and they will say yes without hesitation. The reality is considerably more complicated. Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, full-time workers in the UK are entitled to a statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks' paid annual leave per year — but the legislation is silent on whether any of that leave must fall on a bank holiday. The 5.6 weeks simply represents a total entitlement; how it is distributed is a matter for the contract of employment.
For household employers, this distinction matters enormously. A personal assistant who works Monday to Friday in a private home does not have an automatic legal right to take Christmas Day or Easter Monday off as paid leave. That right exists only if the contract explicitly grants it. Employers who have never considered this point carefully may find their arrangements are either more generous than intended — or, conversely, less compliant than they believed.
How Contracts Create (or Remove) Bank Holiday Rights
The key document is always the written statement of particulars — the employment contract. There are broadly three ways bank holidays tend to be dealt with in contracts for personal assistants:
Bank holidays included within annual leave allowance. Here, the employer states that the total leave entitlement — say, 28 days — includes all eight bank holidays in England and Wales. The PA takes bank holidays as part of that overall pot. If a bank holiday falls on a working day and the PA takes it off, it is deducted from their leave balance accordingly.
Bank holidays granted in addition to annual leave. Some contracts offer 20 days' holiday plus bank holidays. This is a more generous arrangement, and it means the PA has a contractual right to take each bank holiday as a paid day off on top of their standard entitlement.
No specific bank holiday provision. In some — particularly older or poorly drafted — contracts, the matter is not addressed at all. This creates ambiguity and the potential for dispute. If a pattern of allowing paid bank holidays has developed over time, it may have become an implied term through custom and practice, which is legally significant.
Before making any assumptions, employers should locate their PA's contract and read the holiday clause carefully. If there is any doubt about what was intended, it is worth seeking professional guidance before a dispute arises.
When Your PA Must Work on a Public Holiday
Many personal assistants work in roles where continuity of care or household support is essential. Employers of individuals who provide personal care, for instance, may have a genuine operational need for their PA to work on bank holidays. This is entirely lawful, provided the contract makes clear that the employee may be required to work on public holidays.
If the contract is silent on this point, requiring a PA to work on a bank holiday to which they have a contractual entitlement would be a breach of contract. Employers in this situation should not simply instruct the PA to work; they should seek agreement and consider what compensatory arrangement is appropriate.
Where a PA does work on a public holiday, there are two common approaches to compensation:
- Enhanced pay. Some employers choose to pay a higher rate — often time-and-a-half or double time — for hours worked on bank holidays. There is no statutory requirement to do this, but it is a recognised and widely used practice that reflects the inconvenience of working on a public holiday.
- Time off in lieu (TOIL). Alternatively, the employer may agree that the PA takes an equivalent day off at another time. This should be agreed in writing and taken within a reasonable period, typically within the same leave year.
Whichever approach is used, the arrangement must be documented. A verbal agreement about TOIL or enhanced pay is difficult to enforce or defend if a dispute later arises.
Part-Time PAs and the Proportionality Principle
Household employers who employ a PA on a part-time basis must be particularly careful when it comes to bank holidays. Under the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000, part-time employees must not be treated less favourably than comparable full-time workers.
In practice, this means that if a full-time PA receives eight paid bank holidays per year, a part-time PA working three days per week should receive a proportionate entitlement — in this case, 3/5 of eight days, which equates to 4.8 days. Rounding down consistently, or simply granting no bank holiday entitlement to part-time staff, may constitute unlawful treatment.
The complication arises when a bank holiday consistently falls on a day the part-time PA does not work. In this scenario, the PA does not automatically receive a day off in lieu — unless the contract provides for it. Employers should consider how their contract addresses this scenario and whether the current arrangement is fair and legally defensible.
Common Contractual Pitfalls to Avoid
Several recurring errors appear in the bank holiday clauses of household employment contracts. The most common include:
- Failing to specify which bank holidays apply. England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland each have slightly different public holiday schedules. A contract should specify which jurisdiction's bank holidays apply, particularly if the employer or PA has connections across borders.
- Referring to 'all bank holidays' without qualification. This phrasing can create an obligation to grant paid leave for every public holiday, including any additional ones proclaimed by royal proclamation — such as those held for coronations or national days of mourning.
- Overlooking the interaction between bank holidays and sick leave. If a PA falls ill immediately before or after a bank holiday, employers should understand whether the holiday is treated as taken or whether it is preserved. The contract should address this scenario.
- Not reviewing the contract when duties or hours change. If a PA moves from a five-day to a four-day working week, the bank holiday provisions should be revisited to ensure proportionality.
A Practical Recommendation
For most private employers, the clearest and most manageable approach is to include bank holidays within the total annual leave entitlement, and to specify in the contract whether the PA may be required to work on them and what compensation applies if they do. This provides transparency for both parties and removes the ambiguity that so often leads to disputes.
If your current contract does not address bank holidays with sufficient clarity, now is the time to review it. Changes to contractual terms should always be made with the PA's written agreement, and any proposed amendments should be communicated with reasonable notice. Handling this proactively — rather than waiting until a disagreement arises on Christmas morning — is the hallmark of a well-managed employment relationship.
