Do we really need so many bank holidays?
What did you do this bank holiday? Go on holiday, visit family, catch up with friends or simply recharge your batteries?
But do we really need so many bank holidays? That is the question being asked by Daniel Solomon, from the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
Three per cent of weekdays are lost from work in a typical year with eight bank holidays, says Mr Solomon.
That is costing the economy £2.3 billion pounds, according to Mr Solomon.
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He highlights the 1,647 hours worked each year by the average employee in Bath compared with 2,191 hours worked by the average Korean.
""One of the reasons why we work such short hours is our bank holidays, Mr Solomon wrote.
"Our rough and ready calculations show that if the eight regular bank holidays were cancelled in an average year, annual GDP would rise by about 1.3%, or £19 billion."
Mr Solomon recognises that the Easter break is the peak time for spending on garden equipment and DIY.
And he also says that with the economy on the brink of recession there is "a lot of slack" that could be made up at other times in the year.
What do you think? Do we really need so many bank holidays?
Comments
by AJT77
Wednesday, May 09 2012, 12:06AM
“Yes but would probably give St Georges day a miss as only the BNP and some local Tory MPs seem to get excited about that.”
by rottidog
Saturday, April 14 2012, 3:31PM
“Rogerh/Sulisaqua - you really do need to get out more! So many links to so many things - must be a full time job researching and checking all this c**p!
In a city like Bath there is a benefit to be had from Bank Holidays, as with many resorts (weather permitting of course) but there are too many clustered in the Spring. Take the manufactured May Day and put it into October to coincide with the school half term week, thus encouraging more people to take the extra days and take a late break to recharge their batteries before the run-up to Christmas. it is a long time from the August Bank Holiday to Christmas and it would make a lot of sense putting one in the middle.”
by BV_BV
Saturday, April 14 2012, 10:55AM
“I fear for the poor shop workers who get a bum deal from all this, and some of the bigger stores (E.G. Marks & Spencer) are about to introduce longer opening hours and will expect/demand that their staff comply with their rush to receive more income. How it inconveniences the workers and their lives doesn't seem to be part of the equation. Whatever happened to the work life balance?
Not everyone benefits from bank holidays and surely the problem is how to let everyone have the bank holiday rather than the "usual" way of dragging everyone down a level.”
by Viscount_V
Friday, April 13 2012, 10:03PM
“I think this all has to do with the ideological and petty moves to ban May Day. AKA International Workers Day. I dare them!”
by Dave_Weston
Friday, April 13 2012, 7:05PM
“Interestingly employment law doesn't really make a distinction about bank holidays - merely requiring a total of 28 days paid leave for full time workers (came in under the last Govt I think). So if we had less "bank holidays" it wouldn't reduce the amount of leave employees get but might give them more flexibility. When you start to think of the list of places which require staffing everyday, it starts to be less obvious why we have certain fixed days (although I can see benefits to having relatively standard days off)”
by MoeXXX
Friday, April 13 2012, 6:08PM
“Ahh. Neoliberal 'logic'. Make everyone who already has a job work all hours for the sake of the economy, whilst also paying to keep millions unemployed. Makes perfect sense.”
by davidp2011
Friday, April 13 2012, 2:54PM
“If you look at the CEBR website it is pretty obvious where it is coming from. In essence business wants its workforce to work all the hours possible, for as little as possible. Whilst I don't think we need fewer public holidays they could be better spaced during the year. It is also high time the easter holiday was fixed. I am now retired, but I always valued these breaks as an opportunity to recharge my batteries. Workers beware -what few rights you have left are under threat!
Love that list SulisAqua!!!!!!!!!!!!”
by t1mmyb
Friday, April 13 2012, 2:26PM
“"What is this life if, full of care, we do not stop to stand and stare?"
Sadly, as all we Brits seem to do on Bank Holidays is shop, shop, shop, we don't actually gain from the rest we would otherwise receive.
Make like Germany and only allow cafes and restaurants to open over the Easter weekend public holidays. Much better.”
by SulisAqua
Friday, April 13 2012, 1:21PM
“We could re-introduce some of the Medieval holidays:
Circumcision of Christ
Twelfth Day
Candlemas
St Valentine's Day
Shrove Tuesday
Ash Wednesday
St. David's Day
St. Patrick's Day
Feast of St. Edward the Confessor
Feast of St. Benedict
The Annunciation
Palm Sunday
Good Friday
Easter Sunday
Hocktide
All Fool's Day, April Fool's Day
St. George's Day
May Day
Holy Rood Day
Rogation Sunday
Ascension Day or Holy Thursday
Whitsun or White Sunday, Pentecost
St. John the Baptist
Trinity Sunday
Corpus Christi
Translation of St. Thomas the Martyr
St. James the Apostle and St. Christopher
Feast of St. Peter in Chains
St. Dominic
Assumption of Our Lady
St. Augustine of Hipo
Nativity of Our Lady
Exaltation of the Cross
Michaelmas, or Feast of St. Michael the Archangel
St. Denys' Day
St. Crispin's Day
All Hallows' Eve
All Hallows' Day
All Souls' Day
St. Edmund the King and Martyr
St. Catherine's Day
St. Nicholas' Day
The Conception of Our Lady
St. Andrew's Day
Christmas
Feast of the Holy Innocence
Feast of St. Thomas the Martyr
Ember Days occur on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday in the months of February, May, September and December. In February these days follow Ash Wednesday, on which days all Christians are suppose to give penance, give up food and spend time praying. In May this occurs after Whitsun. These days occur the following days after the Exaltation of the Cross or Holy Rood Day. In the month of December occurs the week after St. Lucy's Day
Holy Saturday occurs on the day before Easter.
St. Mark the Evangelist occurs on April 25th.
Feast of St. Augustine occurs on May 26th.
Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul the Apostles occurs on June 29th.
St. Swithin's Day occurs on July 15th.
St. Lawrence the Martyr occurs on August 10th.
St. Bartholomew occurs on August 24th.
St. Luke the Evangelist occurs on October 18th.
Sts. Simon and Jude the Apostles occurs on October 28th.
Advent, begins on the fourth Sunday in November and lasts through till Christmas Eve.
St. Lucy's Day occurs on December 13th.
St. Thomas the Apostle occurs on December 21st.
St. Stephen's Day occurs on December 26th. Considered the first Christian martyr.”
by Viscount_V
Wednesday, April 11 2012, 6:38PM
“BenSquash- "i know of a few employers who completely disregard the bank holidays, forcing staff to work for no extra money."
Including what's left of the NHS it seems http://tinyurl.com/clbqa9y”