Extra bank holiday = reduced absenteeism?

janet burton
Member - 84 posts

My organisation recently introduced a system where we can have a paid 'volunteer' day, helping on a community or charity project of our choice.
I don't think an extra 'bank holiday' would help communities as much, because it would be considered as 'leave' (not to be sullied with work!), but the 'volunteering day' which each person can choose to fit with those they want to help (and with their job) seems to be working well here - and getting people talking about what they did. People are looking out for possible projects and getting interested in volunteering where they might not have thought about it before.

Justin Bentley
Member - 24 posts

I frequently see comments about how we have fewer bank holidays than other countries, but I wonder how much paid leave they get otherwise. I know a lot of Americans get far less than the four weeks plus that we enjoy.

Andrew Boylan
Member - 2 posts

Justin that seems, to me, a spurious arguement - by bringing the USA into the debate you muddy the waters deliberatly. We get substanitally less bank holidays than other European countries and all European Union countries come under the Working Time Regulations and thus there is a minimum standard of paid holidays across Europe.

As you will be aware, Britain has had to alter the Working Time Directive to stop using Bank Holidays as part of the leave entitlement ercently - thus our paid leave capacity was, undoubtedly, much lower than it should have been also.

Justin Bentley
Member - 24 posts

Andrew, thanks for your reply. I acknowledge that the USA is possibly a confusing example, however it was the one factual example I could use from my knowledge.
My question remains, do those EU countries which have a larger number of bank holidays than the UK, also receive a minimum of four weeks paid leave in addition to the numerous bank holidays?

Andrew Boylan
Member - 2 posts

Yes, to my knowledge they will do. We have altered the working time regs recently to exclude bank holidays and this has undoubtedly come from Europe - the Govt. will not have increased this in an act of independant benevolance.

I think looking to Europe is always good in the first instance as the legislation is often common. I am reminded, however, of a story a nurse told me about the potential of moving to the US with her specific skills. She pointed out that she would get less holidays in the US but would recieve substantially more pay than that offered by the NHS and be able to spend that holiday in sunshine!!

Phill S
Member - 69 posts

Public Holidays in the UK have no real meaning.

There was a quote I found some time ago on this subject from whoever was top-dog in Europe, (I think this may have been something to do with BMW and Rover?) where he said something like 'it was never expected that a country would not allow its workers public holidays', but I can't find it now!

We have had the WTD changed, yet public holidays are still not considered to mean anything by some employers.

We often work public holidays as if they are a normal day at my place of work, and there is no legal right to insist on having them off, or even increased pay, unless you work for a Bank (I believe).

Of course the reason that most people get public holidays off is because of a domino effect down from the banks, which makes it difficult to trade.

janet burton
Member - 84 posts

I believe you are definitely entitled to Public Holidays (usually your contracted leave will be quoted as 'x days including public holidays' or 'x days excluding public holidays'), so at minimum you will be entitled to a day off in lieu of any public holiday you have to work.
The legal minimum is 24 days leave including bank holidays, rising to 28 days in April next year.

Phill S
Member - 69 posts

Sorry Janet, but you have no right to bank/public holidays, all well and good if you actually get them, but there are workers out there who don't.

The following is from the government website 'direct.gov.uk'
"You do not have a statutory right to paid leave on bank and public holidays. If paid leave is given on a bank or public holiday, this can count towards your minimum holiday entitlement. There are eight permanent bank and public holidays in Great Britain (ten in Northern Ireland).

If you work on a bank or public holiday, there is no automatic right to an enhanced pay rate. What you get paid depends on your contract of employment."

http://direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/Timeoffandholidays/DG_10029788

janet burton
Member - 84 posts

Phil -
That is exactly what I said.
24 days minimum including bank holidays, with a day off in lieu if you don't get the public holiday.
The point is, your employer cannot remove your entitlement to those days leave by not allowing Public Holidays - he has to let you have the time. It is not 16 days minimum plus public holidays, it is 24 days minimum including them.

Phill S
Member - 69 posts

Hi Janet.
I understand, and agree with what you are saying,
But my point is that holiday entitlement is non-specific, in other words if the company you work for operates on a bank holiday you have no specific right to that particular day off.

You are however entitled to 24 days.

The point of this particular story was to assign a specific day, this would have no legal meaning.
Yes we may get another day off, but it may not be that day.

Phill S
Member - 69 posts

Whoops! I made THAT mistake.
"You are however entitled to 24 days."

Of course, its 4 weeks!

janet burton
Member - 84 posts

No, 24 days is more than four weeks. It is 4.8 weeks, since the standard working week is five days. So you get the equivalent of 4.8 weeks, not four weeks. You can work it out by multiplying 24 days by part-time (days or hours) and dividing by full-time (days or hours).

Phill S
Member - 69 posts

Hi janet.

Of course, you are correct, it is 4.8 weeks

'THAT' mistake which I was referring to, was the assumption of a 5 day week, although in my experience that is not the case for a very large part of the uk's workforce.