Who will get day off and what’s closed for Queen’s funeral bank holiday - supermarkets, trains, buses, schools

The date of Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral on Monday September 19 is to be a bank holiday across Liverpool and the rest of the UK.

King Charles III, the newly proclaimed monarch, approved the bank holiday during the first part of his proclamation in St James’s Palace, London.

The government has said the holiday will allow ‘individuals, businesses and other organisations to pay their respects to Her Majesty and commemorate Her reign, while marking the final day of the period of national mourning’.

No decision has been made yet whether there will be a bank holiday for the coronation of King Charles III.

Who will have the day off work for Queen’s funeral?

There is no statutory entitlement to time off. It is up to individual employers, who may include bank holidays as part of a worker’s leave entitlement.

The Government said it would expect employers to respond ‘sensitively to requests from workers who wish to take the day of the funeral off work’.

Banks and postal services are expected to be closed, as per normal bank holiday rules.

Shop workers and those in the private sector will not automatically be given the day off, unless instructed so by their employer.

Some supermarkets, such as Aldi (read more below), have already announced they will be closed on Monday September 19 as ‘a mark or respect to the Queen’.

Will schools be closed on the day of the bank holiday?

Yes, schools will be closed across the UK, including the six boroughs of the Liverpool City Region - Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral.

Will Liverpool buses and trains be running?

A spokesman for Merseyrail told LiverpoolWorld that a normal weekday service will operate on the day of the Queens funeral.

Arriva said it will be operating its standard bank holiday service, which for Liverpool City Region will mean all Arriva services will operate to the Sunday timetable/frequency.

What supermarkets are open or closed on bank holiday?

All large Tesco stores will close for the day, and their Express stores will open at 5pm, closing at the usual time.

Tesco’s online delivery services will also be suspended. Anyone with deliveries expected that day will be contacted about cancellations and asked to rebook.

The other big supermarket chains that will be shutting their stores include Aldi, Lidl and Sainsbury’s, which will also be suspending online grocery deliveries. Argos, a subsidiary of Sainsbury’s, will also close its stores and suspend delivery service.

Sainsbury’s petrol stations will be open 5-10pm.

Asda stores will also be closed from midnight on Sunday 18 September and reopen at 5pm on Monday 19 September, after the funeral. Online delivery services will be suspended on the Monday.

Waitrose (Formby) will close, along with M&S and online and delivery services will cease for the day. M&S franchises in train stations, airports and hospitals will likely stay open.

What other shops, department stores and shopping centres will be open during the Queen’s funeral?

John Lewis

John Lewis & Partners has announced that its department stores will close for the Queen’s funeral bank holiday.

B&Q

The DIY supergroup has confimed that it will close its doors as a sign of respect.

A spokesperson said: ‘As a mark of respect for the State Funeral for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and to offer our colleagues the opportunity to pay their respects, we have taken the decision to close all our UK stores on Monday 19 September.”

Primark

The high street store has announced that it will close on the Queen’s funeral bank holiday to allow “colleagues to pay their respects and watch the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” according to a Primark spokesperson.

Liverpool ONE Shopping Centre

Currently, the Grosvenor Group have indicated no change to the current trading hours but is awaiting further official information from the UK Government.

The shopping centre’s Monday trading hours are 10AM-8P

Who won’t get a day off for the Queen’s funeral?

As there is no blanket rule for private businesses on how to operate on the day of the funeral, it may be the case that some businesses remain open while others close.

In line with the normal operations on bank holidays, shops - if open - may choose to operate on reduced hours

Essential services such as the NHS and emergency service workers will also be expected to work, in line with traditional bank holidays.

Will you get a day in lieu for working during the Queen’s funeral?

Workers who choose to work on a traditional bank holiday are also often offered a day in lieu, or an addtional day of leave entitlement to reimburse their day of work.

However, again, the government has said that the choice to do so on the day of the Queen’s funeral will be that of the employers.