How much do bank holidays cost in your family?

duchy

Jagraf wrote: »

They could be scrapped - no need to keep them at all - it would save companies a lot of money. You don't need to add these days to people's holidays at all.

Many companies have already scrapped them (or most of them)
It doesn't save them any money as the statutory BHs are a legal entitlement. It does however give them greater flexibility with the work force. I have nearly a week of "Bank holiday days" added to my annual leave entitlement so I can take them at any time in the year - which personally suits me far better than having to take the same Monday off as everyone else regardless of if I want that particular day off or not.(Nothing to stop me booking that particular BH day as a days leave f I want it off of course).
My company employs thousands -and is a household name - you probably have their services or have had them in your home - it isn't an unusual system at all and most people like the flexibility it gives as if they want the day (as often bank holidays are times families get together) they can book it as holiday....or like Barry said - use it at a more convenient time to do something they want to do when they want to.

Deducting a week's holiday from people's legal entitlement sounds like the sort of idea that could only come from someone who doesn't or has never worked- No government would even consider it as it would be a massive vote loser .....plus the strikes it would trigger would be off the scale.

duchy

BarryBlue wrote: »

That is irrelevant to what I'm saying. My contention is that all bank holidays should be made available to take when you wish rather than have them tied to old religious festivals which mean little to most people. It would surely help the economy by not forcing places to close for these days, and would mean we could avoid those appalling traffic snarl-ups.

(Not sure May day qualifies as a religious festival mind you More a socialist holiday from one viewpoint ........Tories still tend to take it though !!)

This already happens - usually with companies who already have 7 day working in place. It wouldn't work so well with a 5 day business for obvious reasons.

onlyroz

duchy wrote: »

Many companies have already scrapped them (or most of them)
It doesn't save them any money as the statutory BHs are a legal entitlement. I have nearly a week of "Bank holiday days" added to my annual leave entitlement so I can take them at any time in the year - which personally suits me far better than having to take the same Monday off as everyone else regardless of if I want that particular day off or not.(Nothing to stop me booking that particular BH day as a days leave f I want it off of course)

Sounds like you've got a more enlightened employer than most. Companies are under no obligation to let you take the 28 days whenever you like. Legally they are allowed to force you to use the extra 8 days on the official public holidays.


My point, though, which BarryBlue is totally failing to grasp, is that under EU law employees are only entitled to 20 days, and that any public holidays have to be added on top of this. If you live in an EU country with more public holidays than the UK, then you will get a larger statutory holiday entitlement. So as far as I'm concerned, the more public holidays the better

duchy

onlyroz wrote: »

Sounds like you've got a more enlightened employer than most. Companies are under no obligation to let you take the 28 days whenever you like. Legally they are allowed to force you to use the extra 8 days on the official public holidays.


My point, though, which BarryBlue is totally failing to grasp, is that under EU law employees are only entitled to 20 days, and that any public holidays have to be added on top of this. If you live in an EU country with more public holidays than the UK, then you will get a larger statutory holiday entitlement. So as far as I'm concerned, the more public holidays the better

Actually they are even more enlightened I get the statutory 5.6 weeks everyone is entitled to plus 5 extra days (nothing to do with bank holidays- tied to service )

Your assumption that the law says entitlement is 20 days is however incorrect -The law says (almost) everyone is entitled to 5.6 weeks - but employers have the choice whether they include bank holidays in that or not). If bank holidays were scrapped the only people who would lose out would be people whose employers don't include the BHs but give them as an extra which tend to be very old contracts and civil/public servant contracts (probably some sectors with strong unions too like traindrivers I expect)- the rest of us would still be getting the legally prescribed 5.6 weeks we get now.

https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights/entitlement

Holidays are a bit of an issue in my house though as mine are free range but OH has to "save" holiday each year for when his company has a full shutdown between Christmas and New Year . To me that makes perfect sense as in his industry it makes noo sense to shut a factory over Christmas - bring all the machinary back up for 2 days then go into New Year shutdown just as for most administrative jobs with a Monday to Friday schedule it makes sense that they all close on the same public holidays rather than random closings with some open BHs and others closed.

DigForVictory

Sat - family trip out to market with tool stall, next a nice chippy. Remarkably, untempted by tools on offer (shock!) but usual chips etc for family demolished £25 (teenagers are *not* cheap to run) then raid on poundshop for garden netting which happened to find waggon wheels, £10 (as I say, teenagers.) Afternoon spent photographing toy soldiers. Evening spent listing them on ebay. Middleson cooked, baked potatoes with beans & bacon.

Sun - more ebay listing (& remarkably, yesterday's spree Already Paid For even if waggon wheels now but a heap of empty wrappers.) Middleson cooked chile from store cupboard/freezer.

Mon - boxing up ebay orders, scramble for "essentials" (teabags, milk, school packed lunch materials) under £30 (phew!) then Bank Holiday Religious Observance gardening (planting seeds we'd saved from last year!). Followed by a relaxing session, axe throwing. [You make a right havers of it, trying when stressed, so you have to chill to target well & then wow - you're relaxed! Plus fresh air & exercise & gentle humour with family - nothing too vivid as after all, holding axes...] Husband cooked Full English & basked in family approval.

Other Bank Holidays have involved travel, takeaways, tents & other entertainments - this one was forecast wet & miserable but we planned to ebay & thus it turned out profitable! However, did lock at least 2 of us to task & computers & yelling at anyone trying to stream or YouTube, so not something we foresee becoming a regular event.

duchy

DigForVictory wrote: »

Other Bank Holidays have involved travel, takeaways, tents & other entertainments - this one was forecast wet & miserable but we planned to ebay & thus it turned out profitable! However, did lock at least 2 of us to task & computers & yelling at anyone trying to stream or YouTube, so not something we foresee becoming a regular event.

You could always ring my "enlightened employer" and see if they cn sort out your BB - youtube streaming shouldn't stop you loading a few photos unless you are on a really, really long line.

onlyroz

duchy wrote: »

Your assumption that the law says entitlement is 20 days is however incorrect -The law says (almost) everyone is entitled to 5.6 weeks - but employers have the choice whether they include bank holidays in that or not). If bank holidays were scrapped the only people who would lose out would be people whose employers don't include the BHs but give them as an extra which tend to be very old contracts and civil/public servant contracts (probably some sectors with strong unions too like traindrivers I expect)- the rest of us would still be getting the legally prescribed 5.6 weeks we get now.

https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights/entitlement

Yes, but in 1998, after the EU Working Time Directive came into force, the statutory minimum was 4 weeks inclusive of the bank holidays. Then the trade unions made a fuss and in 2007 this was increased to 5.6 weeks (i.e. 20 days plus the 8 public holidays). Employers can choose whether to make their workers take the public holidays off as part of the 28 days or not. Therefore, the number of public holidays is closely tied, all across Europe, to the number of statutory days annual leave that EU employees get.

duchy

Yes but it isn't just EU law- if we left the EU tomorrow it would make no difference 5.6 weeks would stand as it's on the UK statute- likewise if all bank holidays ceased to exist tomorrow - the law would still say 5.7 weeks. The fact employers no longer had BHs to play with wouldn't change that law.

onlyroz

duchy wrote: »

Yes but it isn't just EU law- if we left the EU tomorrow it would make no difference 5.6 weeks would stand as it's on the UK statute- likewise if all bank holidays ceased to exist tomorrow - the law would still say 5.7 weeks. The fact employers no longer had BHs to play with wouldn't change that law.

All I'm saying is that the 5.6 weeks figure was achieved by adding together 20 plus the 8 days. If at that time there had been more or less than 8 public holidays then the figure arrived at would not have been 5.6 weeks.


If we left the EU then presumably we could scrap the EU Working Time Directive entirely and do whatever we wanted. My guess is that any changes at that point wouldn't be to the benefit of the workers.

DigForVictory

duchy wrote: »

You could always ring my "enlightened employer" and see if they cn sort out your BB - youtube streaming shouldn't stop you loading a few photos unless you are on a really, really long line.

#
Alas Duchy we are indeed about as far from the green box as you can get. Which, given the number of teenagers, is perhaps not fatal, but an interesting incentive for them to decide to flee the nest for somewhere with better broadband speeds!
Thank you for your kindly words!