It is “appropriate” for construction employers to offer their workers the day off on 19 September, the date of the Queen’s State Funeral, although they are not obliged to do so.
That’s the judgement of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) which has issued a raft of update guidance related to the National Mourning period and the State Funeral.
The day of the State Funeral will be a bank holiday, according to an official announcement at the weekend (10 September). It will operate in the same way as other bank holidays, with no statutory entitlement to time off. The bank holiday takes place across the UK and employers may include it as part of a worker’s leave entitlement.
But in its latest guidance, the CLC said: “The CLC believe that it is appropriate, where possible, for all UK employers in the industry to offer their employees a day off to pay their respects and take part in any local or national memorial or commemorative events.
“Obviously, projects may have urgent or safety critical work taking place and it may be impossible to shut down certain sites at short notice. However, organisations should do what they can to ensure that employees are offered the opportunity to take a day off.”
National Mourning period
Government guidance issued immediately after the Queen’s death on 8 September stated that there is no obligation on organisations to suspend business during the National Mourning period.
But the CLC has urged construction companies to “carefully consider” whether to continue work that could disturb the National Mourning period.
Its guidance applies particularly to sites operating near specific areas (for example, in central London) where large crowds could gather to pay their respects to the Queen.
It said it was aware that several construction sites are within the area of road closures implemented to enable the Queen’s lying-in-state. Local authorities have told companies not to carry out noisy works or freight deliveries until 20 September (the day after the State Funeral).
Essential works
The CLC said it was aware that some parts of the industry would not easily be able to stop work. Or be able to stop at all where they are involved in the delivery of essential services. The CLC added that it recognised this creates a “reputational risk” for construction if the public perceives the industry is behaving inappropriately.
It is working with the government to consider providing a formal statement ahead of the State Funeral to recognise the need for some essential services to continue.
Advice to businesses is to ensure that planned work over the next two weeks, particularly in central London, is reviewed to take account of the mourning period and State Funeral.
To view the CLC’s full guidance, click here.
London
Meanwhile, the CLC has issued separate guidance for construction operations in London.
It warned there was an increased risk of delays to journeys on London transport and roads networks, until 20 September.
It called for a common-sense approach to ensure companies are operating respectfully during the period. And it asked companies to consider staggering the start and end times of work on site to ensure that staff can travel outside of peak hours, and to minimise road movements of freight over the next week.
For the full guidance, click here.
As a mark of respect, CM will not be sending out any newsletter emails or promotional emails until the National Mourning period has ended. It has also postponed the Digital Construction Summit, which was due to take place this week.
