Additional Bank Holiday - Call-In Report
North Ayrshire Council · 14 April 2026
Back to Audit and Scrutiny Committee — 14 April 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 14 April 2026 Audit and Scrutiny Committee Title: Call In: Additional Bank Holiday Purpose: To allow the Committee to consider a call-in request in respect of the decision taken by Cabinet at its meeting on 17 March 2026 to approve the additional bank holiday for all employees on Monday 15 June 2026 and authorise the Head of Education to write to the Scottish Government to obtain approval for one less teaching day. Recommendation: That the Committee considers the terms of the call-in and agrees, or otherwise, to make a recommendation to Cabinet. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 In terms of the Scheme of Administration (Section 5), the Audit and Scrutiny Committee has a remit to consider call-in requests and invite at least one of the Members who has requested the reference to call-in to attend the Committee to explain the request. 1.2 This report sets out the background to a call-in request in respect of the decision taken by Cabinet at its meeting on 17 March 2026 in relation to the report on the approval of an additional bank holiday for all employees on Monday 15 June 2026. 2. Background 2.1 The Cabinet, at its meeting on 17 March 2026, considered a report on the approval of an additional bank holiday for all employees on Monday 15 June 2026. 2.2 A request was received in terms of the call-in procedure set out in the Council's Scheme of Administration and Standing Orders, that the Audit and Scrutiny Committee examine the decision taken by the Cabinet. 2.3 The call-in request, which was signed by Councillors Stalker, Gallacher and Murdoch is in the following terms: - Reason for call-in “The cost: the report highlights that the cost of the bank holiday to the Council will be £73,000 in overtime which could potentially rise if staff take the bank holiday at another time which would require a backfill. Furthermore, productivity costings show that the bank holiday will cost the council £1.2m in loss of productivity from
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staff not working. At a time when we are asking residents in North Ayrshire to pay more council tax (8.5% rise for 26/27) we should be prioritising spending money on services to do those jobs, not a bank holiday that is not necessary. The necessity of the holiday: The game will kick off at 2am on the 14th of June which is a Sunday morning. This gives staff members ample time to have all day to rest and be ready for work on the Monday morning. This shows that the bank holiday is not necessary for staff to enjoy the game with family, when this can be done the day before Monday.” Desired Outcome “For the bank holiday not to go ahead.” 2.4 A copy of the original report presented to Cabinet on 17 March 2026 is attached as Appendix 1 to this report. A briefing note has been provided by the Head of Service People & ICT and is attached at Appendix 2. 2.5 The call-in request is valid for consideration by the Committee. The request was received within the appropriate timescale, it was requested by three Elected Members and details were provided on both the reason for the call-in and the desired outcome. 2.6 The Elected Members who have submitted the call-in will be invited to address the Committee to explain the respective call-in request. The appropriate Cabinet Member will then be invited to clarify the reasons for the decision. The relevant senior officer will also be present to provide information on the report presented to Cabinet and on issues raised by the call-in received. The Committee will have an opportunity to ask questions of both parties and of those officers in attendance. 2.7 The Committee will then debate the call-in request and decide whether or not it agrees with the decision of the Cabinet. 2.8 The Audit and Scrutiny Committee:- i) decides if it agrees or not with the decision of the Cabinet; and ii) if it does not agree with the decision, considers what alternative action the Committee would recommend to the Cabinet. 2.9 If the Committee supports the decision of Cabinet and does not accept the call-in, the original decision of Cabinet remains in effect and no further procedure is required. 2.10 If the Committee accepts the call-in, the matter is referred to Cabinet with a recommendation. When the matter is considered by the Cabinet, the Chairperson or another member of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee will have the right to attend the Cabinet and speak in support of any recommendation. 2.11 In the event that Cabinet declines to accept the recommendation from the Audit and Scrutiny Committee, the matter will be referred to Council for determination. The decision of the Council will be final.
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3. Proposals 3.1 It is proposed that the Committee considers the call-in request. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 The financial implications are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday report attached at Appendix 1. Human Resources 4.2 The human resource implications are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday report attached at Appendix 1. Legal 4.3 The legal implications are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday report attached at Appendix 1. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 The equality/social-economic implications are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday report attached at Appendix 1. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 The climate change and carbon implications are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday report attached at Appendix 1. Key Priorities 4.6 The key priorities are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday report attached at Appendix 1. Community Wealth Building 4.7 Any community wealth building implications are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday report attached at Appendix 1. Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) 4.8 Any ICIA implications are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday report attached at Appendix 1. United Nations Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 4.9 Any UNCRC implications are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday report attached at Appendix 1.
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Consumer Duty 4.10 Any consumer duty implications are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday report attached at Appendix 1. 5. Consultation 5.1 None concerning this report. Craig Hatton Chief Executive For further information please contact Shannon Wilson, Committee Services Officer, on shannonwilson@north-ayrshire.gov.uk. Background Papers N/A
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NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 17 March 2026 Cabinet Title: Additional Bank Holiday Purpose: To provide information on the additional bank holiday proposed by Scottish Government and approved by royal proclamation for the World Cup. Recommendation: That Cabinet approves the additional bank holiday for all employees on Monday 15 June 2026 and authorises the Head of Education to write to the Scottish Government to obtain approval for one less teaching day. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 The Scottish Government has announced that Monday 15th June 2026 will be an additional bank holiday to mark Scotland’s participation in the men’s football World Cup. His Majesty King Charles has approved this by Royal Proclamation. 2. Background 2.1 North Ayrshire Council has already agreed the local holidays and school term time calendar for 2026. To amend the school term time calendar, permission must be sought from Scottish Government as one less teaching day will be provided in the school term 2025/26. 2.2 The provision of an additional bank holiday will result in additional costs for services which are required to operate on Monday 15th June 2026. 2.3 Similar to previously agreed additional bank holidays (e.g. the Coronation) where employees are required to work on this day, costs for additional overtime/backfill costs will be required to be paid from service revenue budgets. Based on overtime paid on the Coronation holiday it is anticipated that the costs across the Council for overtime will be around £73,000, this does not include backfill costs associated with employees taking the compensatory day at another time. 2.4 The indirect cost is that the Council will continue to pay salaries to employees who are not at work. This will have an impact on the overall efficiency of the Council and may result in an increase in wait times as teams will have workload to catch up on from an additional day off.
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2.5 It is anticipated that the additional day off will have a positive impact on morale and allow families to enjoy the celebrations associated with the World Cup. 3. Proposals 3.1 That Cabinet: a) Approves the additional bank holiday for all employees on Monday 15th June 2026. b) Authorises the Head of Service (Education) to write to the Scottish Government to obtain approval for one less teaching day. c) Acknowledges that if the additional bank holiday is agreed, the main Council buildings and Schools will be closed and where employees are required to work on the day, enhanced rates will be received as per our Terms and Conditions of Employment. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 It is anticipated that the additional bank holiday would cost approximately £73,000. These indicative costs are based on the enhanced overtime rates on the Coronation holiday in 2023. Human Resources 4.2 Communications to employees will be issued to ensure that there is awareness of the additional bank holiday and the change to the Term time calendar for 2026 only. Legal 4.3 Permission should be sought from the Scottish Government by the Head of Education for an additional school closure day. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 None. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 None. Key Priorities 4.6 None. Community Wealth Building 4.7 None. Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) 4.8 None. United Nations Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
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4.9 None. Consumer Duty 4.10 None. 5. Consultation 5.1 The Trade Unions have been consulted and have indicated that they would support the additional bank holiday. Fiona Walker Head of Service (People & ICT) For further information please contact Jackie Smillie, Senior Manager (People Services), on by email. Background Papers 0
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Audit & Scrutiny: 14 April 2026 Briefing Paper: Additional Bank Holiday Overview An additional bank holiday on Monday 15 June 2026 has been proposed by the Scottish Government to mark Scotland’s participation in the men’s football World Cup. This was considered and agreed by Cabinet on 17 March 2026. Financial Implications The additional bank holiday is expected to cost approximately £73,000 in enhanced overtime payments, based on costs incurred during the Coronation holiday. This excludes backfill costs for compensatory days. There will also be an indirect cost and impact on overall efficiency due to staff not being at work that day. Education The Head of Service (Education) is required to request approval from the Scottish Government for the one-day reduction in the 2025/26 teaching calendar. This approval has already been obtained due to the requirement to meet a March deadline set by Government for requesting this. Additional Information The Council has previously granted additional holidays for events such as the 75th anniversary of VE day (2020), the Jubilee (2022) and the Coronation (2023). NHS Ayrshire and Arran have been granted this additional bank holiday. Granting the request for the Council would provide consistency, particularly within the Health & Social Care partnership. Fiona Walker Head of Service (People & ICT)