Call for more bank holidays
Oct 29 2004
Debate on whether UK should have more bank holidays re-ignited after Trades Union Congress (TUC) calls for a national day off in October to give workers an autumn break.
Currently, England, Scotland and Wales languish at the bottom of the European public holiday league with 8 a year, 3 less than the European average of 11 and a massive 10 days less than Slovakia. The TUC is asking the Government to introduce an October break along with 2 others elsewhere in the year.
Its argument for an October national holiday is to break up the 117 days – almost 17 weeks – between the August bank holiday and Christmas. Furthermore, it claims that the British tourist industry would receive a welcome boost from workers taking long weekends and work-related stress would be reduced through a positive impact on staff motivation.
However, small business group the Forum of Private Businesses has spoken out against the proposal. Chief executive Nick Goulding said, “Not only will the cost of this proposal be significant it will cause massive disruption. I am concerned that many conscientious businesses will feel compelled to give time off even though bank holidays are not a statutory requirement. Moreover, having more bank holidays will just mean more days when Government, councils and banks grind to a halt – all to the detriment of small businesses.”
In a survey by the TUC, more than 40% of the 20,000 respondents voted for a Monday in late October, while other popular choices were St George's, St Andrew's and St David's Day, New Year's Eve and an International Women's Day in March.