In the early hours of Sunday 14 June 2026, the Scotland Men’s National Team will play its first World Cup Finals match since elimination from France 98 by Morocco 28 years ago.
To mark the occasion, the Scottish Government (via His Majesty, The King) has declared Monday 15 June 2026 as a public holiday so that “people, businesses and other organisations in Scotland [can] celebrate after the team’s opening game against Haiti”. Whilst many employees will no doubt have been delighted at the prospect of an additional day off, the reaction of Scottish employers has been somewhat lukewarm due to its disturbance/pressure on the working week.
Holidays – the legal framework
Employees and workers in the UK are entitled to 5.6 weeks of annual leave per year, pro-rated as appropriate for part time and fixed term staff. Holiday is broadly derived from 3 sources:
- Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR), Regulation 13 – This provides for 4 weeks’ holiday and has its origins in EU law, with the EU Working Time Directive requiring Member States to guarantee 4 weeks of paid leave for full time staff. The UK did not change this 4 week entitlement following Brexit.
- WTR, Regulation 13A – The UK ultimately decided to “gold plate” the EU requirements and go further than the minimum 4 week period of leave. Regulation 13A provides for an additional 1.6 weeks paid leave (or 8 days for a full time individual).
- Contract – Employers can, and many do, offer additional contractual holidays over and above the minimum requirement provided by the WTR.
Do Bank/Public Holidays have any special status?
Generally speaking, no. Although the 1.6 weeks (8 days) afforded by Reg 13A ties in neatly with the number of public holidays in England, Reg 13A does not grant a specific right for employees to be absent from work on public holidays. Employers can choose whether or not to grant employees specific public holidays off, or whether holiday entitlement forms an overall “pot” without a specific entitlement to be absent on public holidays. Many professional service firms and traditional office-based roles tend to give specific public holidays off; with retail, rural and hospitality businesses favouring the latter approach for operational reasons.
One rare exception to the general principle of public holidays having no special status is contained in the Agricultural Wages (Scotland) Order. Agricultural employees are entitled to Christmas Day and New Years’ Day as special category holidays, with the Order containing detailed provisions around additional pay should employees be required to work on those days.
Are Employers obliged to give employees the additional World Cup holiday?
The announcement from the Scottish Government recognises that there is no blanket right for individuals to be given an extra day’s holiday. The First Minister stated:
“I encourage employers around the country to work with staff to put in place suitable arrangements that will allow as many of them as possible to join in the celebrations.”
The announcement then goes on to clearly explain that:
“As is the case with other bank holidays in Scotland, there is no law requiring banks or any other businesses to close. Employer policy regarding bank holidays will be set out in contracts of employment.”
It has been widely reported in the media that a number of public sector bodies – including various local councils – have decided not to grant staff the additional day’s holiday.
Common contractual wording
As far as entitlement to the additional day’s holiday goes, employment contract wording will be key. Some contracts will include provision for a set number of holidays, plus all public holidays. In such circumstances, the contract wording would likely require 15 June 2026 to be granted as a holiday.
There are other common contractual provisions that would most likely not require the day to be granted. These include provision for:
- A set number of holidays, plus the “usual” public holidays in Scotland;
- A set number of holidays, plus a specific number of public holidays (assuming the public holidays are already accounted for in full);
- A set number of holidays, plus specific public holidays off (as 15 June will almost inevitably not have been accounted for at the point of drafting); and
- An overall “pot” of holiday, inclusive of an individual’s public holiday entitlement.
Might employers want to grant the day anyway?
Even if the letter of individuals’ contracts does not require the day to be granted as an additional holiday, there may be compelling reasons for granting the day to staff – especially for reasons of staff morale in hospitality businesses that are likely to be extremely busy in the run up to the opening match.
If granting 15 June 2026 as a specific day is not workable, then staff could alternatively be granted an additional day to use in line with usual holiday request procedures.
It may also be reasonable to grant the day as an extra holiday across the board if, for example, some contracts require the day to be granted and others do not. This would reduce the risk of perceived inconsistent treatment of staff.
Even if the day is not granted as an additional holiday, staff can of course request the day as an “ordinary” holiday and it will be up to employers to deal with requests in line with usual holiday procedures.
Top tips for employers
- Communicate clearly with staff – Employers should cut through the headlines and perceptions to ensure that the organisation’s position is clearly explained.
- Don’t leave it to the very last minute – It might be easy to get caught up in the emotion of a possible Scotland victory in the wee small hours of 14 June 2026 and grant the 15th off at the last minute. Staff might appreciate the short notice day off, but the practicalities will be much smoother if they know the position at an early stage.
- Consider part time-staff – If 15 June 2026 is being granted as an additional day, consider and communicate the position for part time staff – especially those who do not work on Mondays.
- Have a system for holiday requests – If the day will not be granted automatically, implement a system to deal with a potentially significant number of holiday requests to ensure that sufficient staff are available. This might be similar to systems used at other peak holiday times, such as Christmas and school breaks.
- Fair treatment across the board – There are 48 nations competing at the World Cup and many matches have inconvenient kick off times in the UK. Accepting leave requests from Scotland supporters to watch matches – but refusing requests for time off from supporters of other nations without good reason – has the potential to be problematic and create discrimination risks.
Ultimately, while the additional holiday presents a welcome opportunity to celebrate a historic moment for Scottish football, the legal position remains clear: how it is observed will depend largely on employer discretion and the terms of individual contracts.
If you would like advice on how this applies to your organisation or assistance reviewing your holiday policies and contracts, please get in touch with our employment team.
