Workers will be given an extra, one-off bank holiday in 2012 to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, it has emerged.

The special bank holiday will be on Monday 4 June – the Queen’s official birthday – to mark her 60 years on the throne. The traditional late spring bank holiday will also be delayed until Tuesday 5 June to enable a four-day break, the Telegraph has reported.

The plans are expected to be announced by business secretary Peter Mandelson early this year.

England and Wales have eight permanent bank holidays each year.

The legal implications of adding an extra bank holiday

There is no statutory right for employees to have time off on bank holidays. Whether they are entitled to the day off, or to extra pay for working, will depend on the terms of their contracts. The Working Time Regulations 1998 provide that employees have the right to at least 28 days’ holiday a year, and this can include the current eight bank holidays. For a statutory holiday entitlement checklist visit XpertHR.