A senior HR manager in the railway industry has disputed findings that most staff are compensated for working bank holidays.
The study of groups of staff working in 110 organisations, carried out by business research company Industrial Relations Services, shows that among manual workers, for example, 98 per cent have formal policies setting out rewards for bank holiday working.
Only one employee group in the sector covering manual workers did not have formal bank holiday compensation agreements.
HR manager for Connex trains Andy Meadows disagreed. He said, “Terms and conditions for bank holiday working vary widely for employees in the rail industry, depending on what company they are working for.
“The only two bank holidays which are universally recognised are Boxing Day and Christmas Day. People working on these days receive double time.
“Because we are expected to provide a service on bank holidays, we are keen to ensure we have the staff available to serve our customers.”
Out of the 263 employee groups, 45 are not covered by formal bank holiday arrangements – usually because their workplace is closed on bank holidays.
And 14 out of 16 firms in the banking and service sector have public holiday working arrangements in place for one or more employee groups.
Employers are not obliged to give their workers paid time off on public holidays, but employees should be given paid leave on such days unless stated otherwise in their contracts.
Employment law solicitor Hina Belitz, of Pinsent Curtis, said, “There is a case for standardising such practices across the UK by means of new legislation.
“This would remove inconsistent practices and the uncertainty which arises when companies have not implemented policies or contractual clauses specifically addressing this issue.”
Information was received from 110 organisations in respect of 263 employee groups together accounting for around half a million employees.
Web link www.irseclipse.co.uk
By richard staines
A senior HR manager in the railway industry has disputed findings that most staff are compensated for working bank holidays.
The study of groups of staff working in 110 organisations, carried out by business research company Industrial Relations Services, shows that among manual workers, for example, 98 per cent have formal policies setting out rewards for bank holiday working.
Only one employee group in the sector covering manual workers did not have formal bank holiday compensation agreements.
HR manager for Connex trains Andy Meadows disagreed. He said, “Terms and conditions for bank holiday working vary widely for employees in the rail industry, depending on what company they are working for.
“The only two bank holidays which are universally recognised are Boxing Day and Christmas Day. People working on these days receive double time.
“Because we are expected to provide a service on bank holidays, we are keen to ensure we have the staff available to serve our customers.”
Out of the 263 employee groups, 45 are not covered by formal bank holiday arrangements – usually because their workplace is closed on bank holidays.
And 14 out of 16 firms in the banking and service sector have public holiday working arrangements in place for one or more employee groups.
Employers are not obliged to give their workers paid time off on public holidays, but employees should be given paid leave on such days unless stated otherwise in their contracts.
Employment law solicitor Hina Belitz, of Pinsent Curtis, said, “There is a case for standardising such practices across the UK by means of new legislation.
“This would remove inconsistent practices and the uncertainty which arises when companies have not implemented policies or contractual clauses specifically addressing this issue.”
Information was received from 110 organisations in respect of 263 employee groups together accounting for around half a million employees.
Web link www.irseclipse.co.uk
By richard staines
A senior HR manager in the railway industry has disputed findings that most staff are compensated for working bank holidays.
The study of groups of staff working in 110 organisations, carried out by business research company Industrial Relations Services, shows that among manual workers, for example, 98 per cent have formal policies setting out rewards for bank holiday working.
Only one employee group in the sector covering manual workers did not have formal bank holiday compensation agreements.
HR manager for Connex trains Andy Meadows disagreed. He said, “Terms and conditions for bank holiday working vary widely for employees in the rail industry, depending on what company they are working for.
“The only two bank holidays which are universally recognised are Boxing Day and Christmas Day. People working on these days receive double time.
“Because we are expected to provide a service on bank holidays, we are keen to ensure we have the staff available to serve our customers.”
Out of the 263 employee groups, 45 are not covered by formal bank holiday arrangements – usually because their workplace is closed on bank holidays.
And 14 out of 16 firms in the banking and service sector have public holiday working arrangements in place for one or more employee groups.
Employers are not obliged to give their workers paid time off on public holidays, but employees should be given paid leave on such days unless stated otherwise in their contracts.
Employment law solicitor Hina Belitz, of Pinsent Curtis, said, “There is a case for standardising such practices across the UK by means of new legislation.
“This would remove inconsistent practices and the uncertainty which arises when companies have not implemented policies or contractual clauses specifically addressing this issue.”
Information was received from 110 organisations in respect of 263 employee groups together accounting for around half a million employees.
Web link www.irseclipse.co.uk
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