In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the summer bank holiday is on the last Monday of August, whereas, in Scotland it is on the first Monday of the month.
The summer bank holiday was introduced in the Bank Holidays Act 1871 and first observed in that year. It was originally intended to give bank employees the opportunity to participate and attend cricket matches.
Exactly one hundred years later, the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 moved the bank holiday to the last Monday in August for England, Wales and Northern Ireland only, following a trial period from 1965 to 1970 of the new date.
The average full-time worker in the UK gets 25 days leave plus 8 bank holidays but payment can vary for weekly-paid workers or agency staff. There are also a number of ‘urban myths’ surrounding Bank Holidays, which often arise from custom and practice.
For example, there is no statutory right for employees to have paid leave on bank holidays, although individual employment contracts may allow this. Also, there is no statutory right to extra pay if an employee works on a bank holiday. Any right to extra pay depends on the terms of their employment contract.
Part-time employees should receive a pro-rata allowance of paid bank holidays to ensure that they are dealt with fairly, even if they do not normally work on the days the bank holidays fall.
Where a bank holiday is aligned to a Christian festival, such as Easter, there is no requirement to allow additional time off on other dates for employees who practise other religions.
And finally, if an employee is on any statutory leave such as Paternity or Adoption during a bank holiday, he or she is entitled to a compensatory day off, which is often called pay in lieu.