More Bank Holidays would hit small businesses hard

The
vast majority of small businesses do not want an extra Bank Holiday to be
introduced in the UK,
but, unsurprisingly, almost all employees do.

A
survey of 895 small firms and 264 employees, by law firm Peninsula,
showed that more than 80 per cent of businesses were opposed to an extra day
off, with 97 per cent of workers in favour.

Peter
Done, managing director of Peninsula,
said, “The UK does have a generous amount of Bank Holidays but is no means top
of the list compared to fellow European countries. It could cost small firms
dearly in having to pay for employees to have a day off while losing
productivity.”

However,
Done admitted that Bank Holidays boost staff morale
and he called for them to be spread across the year as there are very little in
the autumn and winter.

Last
week, the TUC called on the Government to introduce three extra public holidays
to bring the UK
in line with the average across the EU.

Its
website poll of almost 20,000 people found that 41 per cent favoured a break
during the October half-term.

By Daniel Thomas

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