A period of National Mourning for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has now started and this will continue until the end of the day of the State Funeral on September 19th.

The Government has issued official guidance for businesses on the National Mourning period. The guidance states that there is no obligation to suspend business during the National Mourning period but there are some considerations that businesses may want to make, including providing an opportunity for colleagues to offer their condolences, either by providing a book of condolence or by directing colleagues to the online book of condolence on the Royal website.

It has been announced that Monday 19th September, the date of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral, will be a national bank holiday. This bank holiday will operate in the same way as other bank holidays, and there is no statutory entitlement to time off. Employers may include bank holidays as part of a worker’s leave entitlement. The full announcement is available here.

Businesses are encouraged to follow updates on the Government website and the Royal website for further information and announcements.