Another Bank Holiday Question, Don't moan, read on.....

[steven87gill]

And before you say anything, i .know. how employment recognises bank holidays.

i.e It doesn't

To follow on from this response......

'Public holidays have no significance whatsoever in employment law. they're 'just another day'.

Then why do they exist in the first place? Isn't it a tad insulting to the workers (mostly in retail, although there are others) who have to work it.

I'm not being provocative here, it's a genuine question, unless we're going to have a law that says all private business (save for a few vital public services) must close on bank holidays, then why not get rid of them and just increase minimum holiday entitlement to 8 weeks.

[sara3]

8 weeks?? surely that's double the current average?

[JonnyBoy12]

Why could we not just all retire now, and then we would enjoy life's longest holiday, otherwise known as retirement?

Good idea, eh?

[4getmenot]

8 weeks!! its only 5.6 weeks holiday anyway

[Count-A-Strong]

You seem to have things a bit confused between private and public businesses. The vital services you mention would come under public workers NI also think your looking at things from a large company point of view. There are many small business employees who will have a duty to work to meet deadlines for orders etc in order to protect their jobs.

[boxtops]

We get 5.6 weeks holiday plus 8 statutory days, but working in a service which has to be delivered 24-7, the BHs are included in leave allocations so we all get the same number of days. People in the offices get the BHs off on the correct days, people on the wards and in the community take them when they can.
Not sure why you think it's retail which is most affected, the NHS works every day of the week.

[boxtops]

Yes, that was the original idea.

[ubasses]

The original ones were bank holidays and the only business entitled to them were banks but over the years everyone started to have the time off and thye newer ones are called public holidays. We seem to have gone full circle now with so many people working public holidays.

[Buenchico]

I spy a quote from one of my own posts there, Steven ;-)

Public holidays in this country have their origins in the days when the vast majority of the population were Christians. Even if they weren't, they were forced to comply (either by law or by convention) with the practices of the majority of the population.

So nobody ever questioned whether it was right or wrong to work on, say, Good Friday. It would have been regarded as heretical for anyone to do so. Similarly, religious tradition meant that nobody should be working on Whit Monday.

As the years have gone by, the religious significance of such holidays has become less important to the majority of the population, to the extent that 'Whit Monday' has now been replaced by the 'Late Spring Bank Holiday' and a completely non-religious holiday (although still with its roots in pre-Christian ceremonies) has been added to the annual list. (i.e. 'May Day').

Whatever else the advantages and disadvantage or organised religion might be,it does impose certain fixed practices upon the society which embraces it. (Simply look to certain Muslim countries if you don't believe me!). A largely secular society sees no obligations to fit in with such practices.

Mt own preference would be to simply abolish all public holidays (except, possibly, over the Christmas and New Year period). Of course I'm not suggesting that anyone's annual holiday entitlement should be reduced, simply that we no longer pretend to have everybody on holiday simultaneously (when clearly that isn't happening and when many people would rather have their holidays when they choose to, rather than when the Government says they have to).

Chris

[sara3]

"another bank holiday question" from someone who signed up less than an hour ago!

[factor-fiction]

There is a statutory minimum of 28 days. This can be regarded if you like as 20 days holiday plus 8 days for public/bank holidays.
Some places close on a public holiday so employees in effect take a holiday from their entitlement of 28 days so have 27 left.
if the place stays open and you have to work on the public holiday you still have your 28 days holiday to take at another time.

What's the problem?

Yes some employers give more holidays but that's their choice. We can look for a job with better holidays if that's important to us.

[THECORBYLOON]

It's not twenty-six days, it's 5.6 weeks. If it were twenty-six days, someone working only two days a week would get thirteen weeks' leave.

[4getmenot]

no they would still get 5.6 weeks as there week is 2 days or 16hrs etc. there holidays would be 16hrs x 5.6 so they would get 89.6 hrs/11.2 days

[THECORBYLOON]

No, what I was saying is that the entitlement is not a set number of days (factor said twenty-six but it's in fact twenty-eight for folk working a five-day week) but it is a set number of weeks.

[factor-fiction]

Thanks the corbeyloon. I realise that the statutory figure is 5.6 weeks (which is 28 days for a full timer ) and also realise that the figures sometimes need to be prorated for those who work part time hours or variable hours.
I was just trying to illustrate the point that employees who don't have to work on a bank holiday are in effect taking a day from their entitlement so the position isn't as unfair as the OP suggests for those who have to work on a public holiday

[starone]

Don't be too anxious to retire jonny. It is very boring to be alone every day and every night and not be able to think of enough interesting things to fill the day. At least when you are at work there are other people around to speak to even if you are only passing the time of day with them. Once you have left, you cannot go back.

[factor-fiction]

And I never mentioned 26 days, the corbyloon.

[THECORBYLOON]

Soz ma mistake there was a mark on the screen and I mis-read the figure.

[factor-fiction]

It's okay. I thought I was going mad for a minute because I kept re-reading my post and couldn't see a 26

[THECORBYLOON]

Anyway, why not get rid of bank holidays and stick the wee ones up the chimneys, keep them out of mischief.