Managing Public Holidays and Bank Holidays

10 minutes

Tutorial 5.2: Managing Public Holidays and Bank Holidays

Introduction

Public holidays affect your salon's scheduling. When configured, Luminate shows visual indicators on the roster and warns you before creating shifts on holiday dates. This helps prevent accidentally scheduling staff when the salon is closed. This tutorial shows you how to configure holidays for your salon.

Who this is for: Owner, Admin What you'll learn:

Access public holiday settings
Understand fixed vs floating holiday rules
Add custom holidays for your region
See holiday indicators on the roster
Handle the shift creation warning

Time to complete: 10 minutes

Prerequisites

Logged in as Owner or Admin
Access to salon settings

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Access Public Holiday Settings

Public holidays are managed in your salon settings:

Click on your salon name in the header (the dropdown button showing your current salon)
Select Salon Settings from the dropdown menu
Click the Staff Settings tab
Click the Public Holidays sub-tab

You'll see a list of holidays configured for your salon, divided into "Standard Bank Holidays" and "Custom Holidays".

Step 2: Review Standard Holidays

New salons come with UK bank holidays pre-configured:

Holiday	Rule Type	Date
New Year's Day	Fixed	1st January
Good Friday	Floating	Friday before Easter
Easter Monday	Floating	Monday after Easter
Early May bank holiday	Floating	First Monday in May
Spring bank holiday	Floating	Last Monday in May
Summer bank holiday	Floating	Last Monday in August
Christmas Day	Fixed	25th December
Boxing Day	Fixed	26th December

These standard holidays are read-only and cannot be edited or deleted. They are automatically seeded for UK-based salons.

Step 3: Understand Rule Types

Luminate supports two types of holiday date rules:

Fixed Holidays:

Occur on the same date every year
Example: Christmas Day is always 25th December
You select the month and day using dropdown menus

Floating Holidays:

Occur on a specific day of a specific week in a month
Example: Last Monday in May
You select the occurrence (First, Second, Third, Fourth, or Last), day of week, and month using dropdown menus

Why this matters: Floating holidays like Easter and bank holidays fall on different dates each year. Luminate calculates the correct date automatically.

Step 4: Add a Custom Holiday

To add a holiday specific to your region:

Click Add Holiday in the Custom Holidays section
Complete the form:

Field	Description	Example
Holiday Name	Display name for the holiday	St Patrick's Day
Date Type	Fixed Date or Floating Date	Fixed Date
Month/Day or Occurrence/Day/Month	The date selection fields change based on the date type	March 17

Fixed holiday example:

Holiday Name: St Patrick's Day
Date Type: Fixed Date
Month: March
Day: 17

Floating holiday example:

Holiday Name: Scottish Summer Bank Holiday
Date Type: Floating Date
Occurrence: First
Day: Monday
Month: August

Click Add Holiday

Step 5: Edit a Custom Holiday

To modify a custom holiday you've created:

Find the custom holiday in the Custom Holidays list
Click the Edit button
Update the name or date selection
Click Update Holiday

Note: Only custom holidays can be edited. Standard bank holidays are read-only.

Step 6: Delete a Custom Holiday

To remove a custom holiday you've added:

Find the custom holiday in the Custom Holidays list
Click the trash icon button
Confirm deletion by clicking Delete Holiday in the dialog that appears

Note: Only custom holidays (ones you've added) can be deleted. Standard bank holidays cannot be deleted.

Step 7: See Holiday Indicators on the Roster

When viewing the roster, public holidays are indicated with a striped background pattern:

Navigate to Roster in the sidebar
Navigate to a week containing a holiday
The day column for that holiday displays a red/pink diagonal striped pattern

This visual indicator helps you identify holiday dates at a glance. Both the header cell and all staff cells for that day show the striped pattern.

Step 8: Handle Shift Creation Warnings

When you click to create a shift on a holiday:

A warning dialog appears:

Bank Holiday Warning

You are attempting to create a shift on a bank holiday.

[Holiday Name] ([Date])

Bank holidays are typically non-working days. Are you sure you
want to proceed?

[Cancel] [Proceed Anyway]

Choose your action:
- Cancel - Don't create the shift (salon is closed)
- Proceed Anyway - Create the shift (salon operates on holidays)

When to proceed:

Your salon opens on public holidays
You need staff for reduced holiday hours
The holiday doesn't apply to your region

When to cancel:

Your salon closes for this holiday
You clicked by mistake

Regional Considerations

UK Regional Variations

Different parts of the UK have different bank holidays:

Holiday	England & Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland
St Andrew's Day (30 Nov)	No	Yes	No
St Patrick's Day (17 Mar)	No	No	Yes
Battle of the Boyne (12 Jul)	No	No	Yes

Configure holidays for your specific location by adding or removing custom holidays.

Substitute Bank Holidays

When a UK bank holiday falls on a weekend, a substitute day is usually observed on the following Monday. Add substitute holidays as custom fixed holidays:

Holiday Name: Christmas Day (Substitute)
Date Type: Fixed Date
Month: December
Day: 27 (or the appropriate substitute date)

Common Pitfalls

"I can't delete a holiday"

Only custom holidays can be deleted. Standard bank holidays (pre-configured UK holidays) cannot be removed from the system.

"The holiday isn't showing on the roster"

Check that:

The date selection is correct (verify month and day)
You're viewing a week that contains the holiday
The holiday is saved (check it appears in the Custom Holidays list)

"I created a shift on a holiday by accident"

Navigate to the roster and delete the shift. The warning is informational only - it doesn't prevent shift creation.

"Holiday date seems wrong for next year"

The system calculates dates for each year. Floating holidays like Easter are calculated automatically. If a date appears wrong, check the rule type and date selection.

Tips and Best Practices

Configure holidays early - Set up holidays before creating rosters
Check regional variations - Add holidays specific to your location
Review annually - Verify substitute dates for holidays falling on weekends
Communicate closures - Update your website and voicemail with holiday hours
Plan holiday weeks carefully - See Tutorial 5.3 for handling duplication around holidays

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I set different holidays for different staff?

No, public holidays are salon-wide. All staff see the same holiday indicators. Control who works by creating or not creating shifts.

Do holidays automatically close the salon?

No. Holidays are informational only. They show warnings but don't prevent shift creation or appointment booking. You control closure by not creating shifts.

How far ahead does the system calculate holiday dates?

The system calculates dates on demand for each year. When viewing the 2026 roster, it automatically calculates where floating holidays fall in 2026.

What if a holiday falls on our usual closing day?

The holiday indicator still appears. If you're closed anyway, there's no impact. For substitute bank holidays, add them as separate custom holidays.

Can customers see which days are holidays?

Customers see availability based on shifts. If no shifts exist on a holiday, no appointments are available. The holiday name itself isn't shown to customers.

How do I handle half-day holidays?

Holidays mark entire days. For half-day closures:

Create shifts for the hours you're open
The warning will appear - proceed anyway
Add notes to shifts explaining reduced hours

Does the system calculate Easter automatically?

Yes. Easter-related floating holidays (Good Friday, Easter Monday) are calculated automatically for each year using the standard Easter algorithm.

Last Updated: January 2026