As the country mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the CLC has sent a letter of condolence to His Majesty King Charles III on behalf of the industry, and we are continuing to share information with members during this period of National Mourning.
The Government’s National Mourning guidance confirms that: “There is no obligation on organisations to suspend business during the National Mourning period. Depending on the nature and location of their business and the tone of planned events, some businesses may wish to consider closing or postponing events, especially on the day of the State Funeral, however this is at the discretion of individual businesses.”
There are a number of things that members and their sites may wish to consider during this period, particularly those located in London:
- Identifying whether you are likely to be impacted by arrangements made by your Local Authority or events planned in London.
- Sites located along the routes of ceremonial events or near to Royal residences should consider the visibility and noise of their operations to ensure they are operating respectfully.
- For the Queen’s Lying-in-State from Thursday 15 – Sunday 18 September, large crowds are expected in London and the London transport network is likely to be extremely busy. TFL has published travel advice, and sites in London may wish to consider working hours to reduce congestion on public transport at peak times.
- The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that the following roads in London are closed, with further road closures expected on the day of the Queen’s funeral which will be published on Twitter.
Additional Bank Holiday
The day of the Queen’s funeral has been declared a national bank holiday across the UK and will operate in the same way as other bank holidays where there is no statutory entitlement to time off. Employers may already include bank holidays as part of a worker’s leave entitlement, and the Government has stated that “it would expect employers to respond sensitively to requests from workers who wish to take the day of the funeral off work”.
The Construction Industry Joint Council (CIJC) has not yet confirmed the position in respect of the Working Rule Agreement.