Forum Topic

4 more bank holidays?

Should we have 4 more Bank Holidays, as the TUC are suggesting?

Christopher Gillie ● 1882d25 Comments

I think a four-day working week would be a more laudable aim.

Alastair Banton ● 1882d

Why not?  We do look a bit hard done by when compared to some of our neighbours.  Breaks from work are a good thing.  Pre-pandemic working life was pretty manic with not enough time off to think let alone organise some of the other important things in their lives.

Philippa Bond ● 1882d

When that was announced my then husband's Secretary quipped "I'm not sure Gordon will be happy working an extra day" 🤣

Loraine Pemberton ● 1882d

Do we really need them? Don't forget the TUC are Trotskyists. Or Leninists. One of the two.

Simon Temple ● 1882d

Personally I think we have more than enough Public and Bank Holidays, but that's just opinion.

Loraine Pemberton ● 1882d

I do too. Well, enough. Aren't we getting two extra ones next year for the Queen's 70th wotsit? Hope she doesn't die before then.

Simon Temple ● 1882d

You seem to be more interested in party politics than public holidays.

Philippa Bond ● 1882d

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_public_holidays

Philippa Bond ● 1882d

We do Halloween and 1st Monday of August as extra "unofficial" bank holidays.It is important for people to take a break and having something fixed in the diary where everyone is off gives an opportunity for recharge.The aim is also to get people to co-ordinate their annual leave around these days as it reduces disruption in the rest of the year.There's a big gap between the late August bank holiday and Christmas - the USA has Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving federal holidays between September and November.

Ed Saper ● 1882d

Do I?

Simon Temple ● 1882d

The UK has significantly less bank holidays than other EU nations. It's extraordinary that folks here on this issue think 'our capitalists' and profiteering employers should hold us all in employment sway and thrall over folks on the continent who revel in their holiday allowance rights. It's a kinda masochism that Brits appear to get off on. I bet those that think we have enough bank holidays wear constricting underwear and have their bits pierced under their tight-fitting rubberised undergarments.

Bobbie Carnegie ● 1882d

The TUC is looking at this the wrong way.What we should be looking at is what does the law provide as the minimum annual paid leave for employees.  In the UK that is 28 days - bank holidays can be counted within the 28 days but many employers give 28 days + bank holidays.The reality is that total paid leave in UK compares favourably with most EU countries and if you are lucky to be employed by someone whose employment contract provides that bank holidays are not counted towards the 28 days, you will be doing better than nearly every EU country.But if you think the UK is bad just ask Americans about holiday entitlement!

Justin Stephenson ● 1882d

What purpose do they serve? They just result in everyone trying to cram into everywhere at the same time. Give people extra days of paid leave instead, that they can take when it suits them.

Susan Kelly ● 1882d

Simon, I’ve just done a very simple Google of affiliates of the TUC.I find it hard to believe that the following organisations are Trotskyists or Leninists. I will add that I am neither.1. British Airline Pilots2. Chartered Society of Physiotherapy3. Association of Educational Psychologists4.College of Podiatry5.Hospital Consultants6. National Association of Headteachers7.Royal Collège of Midwives8. Professional Football Association.

Stewart Jones ● 1882d

Labor Day is akin to yesterday's bank holiday in that it signals the end of summer and the beginning of the school year. In some parts of the country, schools have already started. We do not take Halloween off. Ditto Columbus and Veterans Day. Nor would we schedule a trip around it. Some banks remain open on Columbus Day where more if not all banks are closed on Veterans Day.Thanksgiving is more of a universal holiday for all. But that's just the day itself. Then comes Black Friday and the crazy sales. Why that got exported is beyond me. Lately businesses have stopped opening early for sales to give employees a chance to enjoy the holiday more.

David Lesniak ● 1882d

Ah, but are we, on the whole, entitled to more annual leave? Just a question! Certainly in the USA and Canada, two weeks' vacation a year is not unusual.

Anne England ● 1882d

Agreed. It would be good if the four UK countries could each go with the best entitlement re Bank Holidays, however.

Anne England ● 1882d

Brilliant idea Susan.

Maggie Dodge ● 1882d

Except thats down to the individual employees to give or not just like the London living wage over the National Minimum Wage.

Julian Pavey ● 1882d

Please remember that amongst all this talk of extra holidays the UK productivity per capita is not good when compared with many other industrialised countries.

Jeffrey Cope ● 1882d

'Please remember that amongst all this talk of extra holidays the UK productivity per capita is not good when compared with many other industrialised countries.'But a country like France with its short working week still outperforms us, suggesting that the problem is not the number of hours an employee spends at their desk/lathe. I fear that too much time is spent just messing about, to which we must add poor management in this country.

Susan Kelly ● 1881d

I think our bank holidays should be better spaced out - we get too many around April/May time, then after August B/H nothing until Christmas, something around halfway into October would be nice.

Vanessa Smith ● 1881d

What? Like on an internet forum at 3 in the afternoon on a Tuesday?

Mark Deacon ● 1880d

The parameters used to measure productivity are different in many countries and ours are very different to those used in, say, Germany.

Keith Iddon ● 1880d

That's interesting - can you expand a little on that please?

Anne England ● 1880d