Questions and Answers

Our business is desk-based and non customer-facing. With restrictions lifting, will we still need to provide hand sanitiser in the workplace?

Who is entitled to paid annual leave?

I need staff to come into work over the May bank holiday. I do not recognise a trade union so there is no collective agreement to this effect. Can I force the staff to work on any bank holiday?

My staff do not have the entitlement to leave on bank holidays written into their contracts.  This year I wish the business to close for a week over a bank holiday period.  How should I go about this?

Do bank holidays count towards overall annual holiday entitlement?

A number of my employees are practising Muslims. They have complained that they consider themselves to be forced to take time off over Christmas (because we have a one week shut down) and yet they have to use up their holiday entitlement if they want to take time off over Ramadan, which lasts for a month. They believe this amounts to religious discrimination. What can we do?

One of the essential workers on my night shift is a follower of the Islamic faith, and has come to me to talk about Ramadan. With so many of the workforce off sick, we cannot allow her to take annual leave over this period as she usually does. What provisions should we put in place to allow her to consume food and drink and take part in prayers through the night?

What happens to Bank Holidays when on furlough?

We are encouraging all our employees to have the Covid-19 vaccination. If an employee declines the vaccination and we become aware of this are we obliged to assess whether they are safe to continue working?

We have furloughed staff using the Job Retention Scheme. How much can we claim?