Policy
Christmas and New Year Closure and bank holidays
Updated on 23 January 2024
The University's policy on closure over the Christmas and New Year period.
Principles
It is the current practice that the University is officially closed throughout the Christmas and New Year period. Local arrangements for specific buildings may be in place and these may differ from this principle but will in any case be subject to the agreement of the University Secretary (for example the Library & Learning Centre, units within the School of Medicine).
Ordinarily, the Christmas and New Year closure begins at 16:00 on Christmas Eve.
However, in years when Christmas Eve falls on a Saturday, Sunday or Monday, the closure begins at 17:00 on the preceding Friday.
The University reopens in the New Year on the first working day after the two statutory bank holidays (1 and 2 January or the first two normal working days when these fall on a weekend). The exception has been those years where the 3 January is a Friday, in which case the University opens on the following Monday.
The reason for these differences is that the University does not open for a single weekday’s business immediately prior to Christmas or immediately after the New Year bank holidays (i.e. in years when 24 December is a Monday or 3 January is a Friday).
The University does not close for any other bank holidays, although staff may choose to use their holiday entitlement for them in discussion with their line manager.
Dates for the future
In accordance with these principles, the indicative Christmas closure dates from now until New Year 2030 are as follows:
Table 1
| Holiday period | Close | Open (normal start of business) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 4pm, Tuesday 24 December 2024 | Monday 6 January 2025 |
| 2025/26 | 4pm, Wednesday 24 December 2025 | Monday 5 January 2026 |
| 2026/27 | 4pm, Thursday 24 December 2026 | Tuesday 5 January 2027 |
| 2027/28 | 4pm, Friday 24 December 2027 | Wednesday 5 January 2028 |
| 2028/29 | 5pm, Friday, 22 December 2028 | Wednesday 3 January 2029 |
| 2029/30 | 5pm, Friday 21 December 2029 | Thursday 3 January 2030 |
Holiday entitlements are based on calendar years, and staff are generally required to take a set number of days from their annual leave entitlement to cover the Christmas closure. The number of days to be taken can vary as a result of earlier closure or later opening dates. For the years to 2030, the indicative number of days required to be taken are as follows:
Table 2
| Calendar year | Days’ leave to cover Christmas/New Year closure |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 7 |
| 2025 | 8 |
| 2026 | 7 |
| 2027 | 7 |
| 2028 | 7 |
| 2029 | 8 |
| 2030 | 7 |
Table 1 straddles leave years as it concerns the issue of the whole closure period. Table 2 relates to full calendar years, so the days’ leave column relates to those at the very beginning of the year and those at that same year’s end.
Adherence to the policy and amendments
Notwithstanding holiday arrangements for individual members of staff, all Schools and Directorates will be expected:
- to remain open until the official close of business for Christmas
- to reopen on the first University day of business in the New Year
Any variation from this policy must be agreed upon in advance with the University Secretary and clear instructions given to the University telephonists about where to refer enquiries.
The principles set out above reflect current practice, and the University may decide at any time that these principles should be modified or amended. Any change to the principles and dates set out in this policy will be consulted upon with the campus unions, and no change will be introduced that would change a leave year that has already begun, unless to the benefit of members of staff and with the agreement of the campus unions.