Sean Galea-Pace
The Queen's funeral will take place on Monday (September 19) – Credit: PA
The Queen will be laid to rest in a week’s time with millions of mourners set to commemorate her life.
The late monarch’s funeral will take place on Monday, September 19, at Westminster Abbey in London at 11am.
After King Charles III formally declared the day to be a bank holiday, here’s everything you need to know.
Despite the Queen’s funeral being declared by the King as a bank holiday, employers have no legal requirement to give staff the day off.
In an online announcement, the government confirmed the bank holiday would operate in the same way as other bank holidays.
This means that there is no statutory entitlement to time off but employers may include the day as part of a worker’s leave entitlement.
According to the announcement, the government “cannot interfere” in existing contractual arrangements between employers and workers.
This is a matter for discussion between the employer and employee.
Employers could choose to offer staff another day’s holiday but the government has not issued any guidance on this.
Employers may decide to pay staff extra for working on bank holidays but there are currently no statutory rules regarding extra pay on bank holidays.
This is a matter for discussion between the employer and employee.
This bank holiday is official and applies in the same way as all others.
It applies across all parts of the UK.
No, King George VI’s funeral was not a bank holiday, but the government wants to help give as many people as possible the opportunity on the day of the state funeral to mark Her Majesty’s passing and commemorate her reign.
No decision has yet been made. A decision will be made nearer the time.
The government confirmed there are no current plans for an annual holiday.
A monarch’s funeral is not traditionally even a bank holiday but the government has marked the Queen’s funeral as a bank holiday to give as many people as possible the chance to mark Her Majesty’s passing.
Schools will shut their doors on September 19 to allow staff and students to pay their respects to Her Majesty.
The government’s memo states: “We are not asking schools to remain open on the day of the bank holiday.”
Some schools could remain open at a limited capacity but the government does not require this.
Planned strikes by rail and postal workers have been called off as a result of the Queen’s death.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union were due to walk out on September 15 and 17 in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
Its general secretary Mick Lynch said: “RMT joins the whole nation in paying its respects to Queen Elizabeth.
“The planned railway strike action on September 15 and 17 is suspended.
“We express our deepest condolences to her family, friends and the country.”
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