Public holiday to celebrate Scotland’s World Cup return

Scotland’s men’s national team will play in its first World Cup since 1998 on a public holiday.

On Sunday, June 14 at 2:00 BST, Scotland will face Haiti in Boston before hosting Morocco and Brazil in their final group games in the United States.

The 15 June should be designated as a national bank holiday, according to First Minister John Swinney.

Swinney said at a Glasgow event that “the entire country will come to a standstill in June,” and that is even more so in July once Brazil has defeated Brazil and advanced to the knockout stages.

28 years in the waiting, and I want to see as many people as possible share the occasion.

Fans in Scotland will have the opportunity to witness our men’s team playing in their first World Cup game in almost 30 years, win business there, foster tourism and hospitality interest, and form lasting cultural and sporting bonds, he added.

Scotland has the ability to designate its own bank holidays from the rest of the UK.

By royal proclamation, a day can be designated as a bank holiday in Scotland.

On June 19, Brazil and Scotland square off in Miami. At 23:00 BST, both games begin.

Simply put, the Scottish government is unable to provide extra, specific day off work to people all over the country, including those employed by the private sector or those employed by the UK government.

Individual employers are responsible for making the decisions regarding whether or not to give employees a day off.

Bank holidays and public holidays are not required by employers to provide paid leave.

Bank holidays are a choice of an employer when a worker takes a statutory annual leave.

Employers are typically required to take a certain number of days off annually, including bank holidays, according to employment contracts.

There is also no justification for closing a private company. On bank holidays, there are no hours of restriction on what hours of operation are allowed.

Even the biggest Scottish high street banks currently observe English bank holidays, keeping up with their sister companies south of the border.