Next year’s additional bank holiday to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee will cost Scotland’s care sector millions of pounds, with care providers holding out little hope that budgets from Scotland’s health and social care partnership commissioners will be able to meet the additional cost.

The finding comes from analysis by healthandcare.scot, which looked into the cost and impact of granting additional public holidays amidst speculation that an English football Euros 2020 victory might be marked by Downing Street with a one-off day off.

Care providers operating seven-day a week services admit they are caught between trying to do the best for their employees while having to pay staff for an extra day or buy in cover.

Renaissance Care, the only major care provider approached that agreed to put a figure on the impact of an extra holiday, estimates that a single additional day would add around £110,000 to its budget.

Despite this, Executive Chair Robert Kilgour says the company always seeks to honour public holidays, adding:

“Care homes are people’s businesses, and our Renaissance Care staff are our biggest and most valuable company asset.”

Caroline Dean, Workforce Policy and Practice lead for the care sector representative body, Scottish Care, says public holidays are rolled into the standard 28-day entitlement for full-time staff, though it’s rare for staff to be able to take public holidays on the day.

“Most public holidays are paid at the standard hourly rate with no additional payment for working on a public holiday,” she says.

“The exception to this is usually Christmas and New Year which are paid at double time. However, the rate that the employer receives through the commissioned funding is the standard rate, so this time of year is extremely costly for employers who are paying staff double the cost while only receiving the normal hourly rate.”

The analysis shows that health and social care partnerships, through local councils, also pay a standard rate, 365 days a year, for those providing care at home.

For most people requiring support to live independently or with unpaid caring duties, a public holiday is “just another day” according to Colin Miller, Chief Executive of the Scottish Personal Assistant Employers’ Network (SPAEN).

“Most paid and unpaid carers have very little alternative but to continue doing the ‘day job’ of keeping people, safe, healthy and secure in their homes and communities and will miss the opportunity to join others in enjoying an extra day off.”

SPAEN calculates that someone paying themselves for around-the-clock care on a one-to-one basis will need to find an additional £290 per carer if they want to buy in help to allow the people who usually help look after them to have an additional day off.

Read more: Analysis: What does a bank holiday cost in care?; Insight: Year ahead ‘critical’ for social care future

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