Are you a UK-based company?
If so, the chances are your organisation is impacted by the upcoming Coronation and resulting bank holiday.
This article will help you get ahead if you’ve not had a chance to think about it properly yet.
We know many comms friends have lots happening in the run up to The Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort on Saturday 6 May 2023.
Whether it’s encouraging colleagues to take part in The Coronation Big Lunch and The Big Help Out or balancing the operational needs of your organisation, as some colleagues will be working over the celebration periods.
Here are some resources that you might find helpful:
Official website of the Royal Family
The Royal Household at Buckingham Palace regularly updates their website with links and resources including:
You’ll find lots of downloadable templates and images, along with detailed information on the history of the Coronation and the different elements that form the ceremony.
HM Government
The Government has a dedicated website featuring maps and information about national and local events, including how to add your own street parties.
Celebrating faith, service and community
At the centre of the events programme is a Christian service, where Chrism oil, consecrated in Jerusalem, will be used to anoint His Majesty The King on 6 May 2023.
The Church of England has produced an information pack and several resources to help celebrate this significant moment.
Sharing the celebrations
If you’re encouraging colleagues to share their Coronation activities, The Royal Family have a dedicated emoji, based on St Edwards’ Crown, and set of hashtags to use.
A special emoji for the Coronation has gone live today! The emoji, based on St Edward’s Crown, will appear when any of the following hashtags are used: #Coronation#CoronationConcert#TheBigHelpout#CoronationWeekend#CoronationBigLunch pic.twitter.com/ueHOpkNn6M
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 9, 2023
Communicating the specifics
It’s likely colleagues might have questions about the extra bank holiday (Monday 8 May 2023) and whilst your colleagues in Human Resources will be best placed to answer them, it’s handy for you as the communicator to know some of the key facts.
ACAS provides the following guidance that you might find useful questions to consider:
Employers should discuss and agree with employees:
- whether the organisation will close for the bank holiday
- what type of leave and pay will apply if employees are not working
- the process employees should follow to ask for the bank holiday off, if the organisation is staying open.
Whether an employee gets an extra day’s holiday might depend on the exact wording in the employment contract.
For example:
- if the contract says all bank holidays are paid time off, this might mean an employee will get an additional day’s holiday
- if the contract just gives a total number of days’ holiday each year, this might mean an employee will not get an additional day’s holiday.
If the bank holiday is not included in employees’ holiday entitlement, an employer can decide to add it. However, they do not have to.
How to support those colleagues working
It’s important to acknowledge those colleagues who will be working over the Coronation period and ways they can feel involved.
The following are some ideas to help:
- Set up some TV screens to broadcast the event. Be mindful though not everyone will want to watch the Coronation or have the ability to e.g. if they’re driving or working on shop or factory floors.
- Organise an internal ‘The Big Lunch’ that covers multiple shifts, maybe getting your employee networks to help.
- If your organisation has a volunteering scheme, invite colleagues to try a new volunteering activity during the preceding weeks.
- Invite colleagues to suggest their best tea party recipes and create a digital recipes book. Canva has some free templates.
Flying the flag
Many workplaces have flagpoles and often there can be confusion about what flag to fly when.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport have confirmed the Union Flag should be flown at full mast all day on Saturday 6 May 2023.
What do you have planned in your organisation or thoughts?
We’d love to hear your comms activities and events or additional thoughts to share with other in-house communicators. Send us a message or email hello@allthingsic.com and we’ll add them to the end of this post.
The thing I would add is to remember that not everyone is in support. With conversations about racism, colonialism, and cost (during tough economic times) being louder than ever globally, be careful of assumptions that everyone is on the same page. Provide options and balance. https://t.co/Kq9fCCqZLw
— priyabates (@priyabates) April 14, 2023
Post author: Dan Holden
First published on the All Things IC blog 14 April 2023.