Would you back moving bank holidays to the summer?
Posted by Careless_Soup_109@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 63 comments
As in the question. As most bank holidays generally come in spring, which at least for the last few years has been during rather cold parts of the year. This time of year is also generally busy for businesses, which then have to put up with loads of staff being off.
Thus, it seems the wisest course of action would be to shift most bank holidays to the summer - what does every one else think?
Shirayuri@reddit
I wish they were just added to annual leave. I’m Jewish and don’t want Good Friday and Easter Monday off but would like Passover (and they don’t always line up) - same surely would apply to a Muslim person with Eid.
Plus I don’t need 2 days off in May, would rather take them when I want 🤷♀️
DarthEros@reddit
We are a Christian country, our holidays should align with that.
djwillis1121@reddit
Or maybe just let people take holidays whenever they want? That way religious people can choose the holiday most appropriate for them and non-religious people can choose another day if they want.
Shirayuri@reddit
And how many people identify as Christian? Go to church on Good Friday? People could still take them as annual leave
DarthEros@reddit
Irrelevant. We shouldn’t change public holidays to align with religions other than the national religion.
Shirayuri@reddit
That isn’t what I was asking for, I was just asking that bank holidays get added to annual leave so everyone can take them when they want. I’m not mandating everyone takes Eid off, or Rosh Hashanah, but we should have the option just like people have Easter as an option
jesuisnick@reddit
My company introduced a flexible bank holiday policy a few years ago, so we can swap them if we want (except for NYD and Christmas, I think). This is ostensibly just to give everyone flexibility, but has the added advantage that people can move them to days they would like to observe for religious reasons too. Maybe something you could suggest to your employer!
Shirayuri@reddit
Sadly I have asked and it was a no :( Some people do it unofficially but I don’t like working like that
SpudFire@reddit
The Daily Mail would have a field day if that was proposed in Parliament
I'm with you though. I'm sure a lot of companies that shutdown for those bank holidays would actually benefit from having a small number of staff working those days and have them take different days off.
Shirayuri@reddit
Yeh! I wouldn’t even mind if they were automatic but you could opt out to have it another day, I’m not even allowed to do that! I agree, surely it would be better to have a few people in that want to be
buttersnapsghee@reddit
Some companies do that, my work has just added a festive leave of 1.5 days as well on top of annual leave that we can take for any religious/cultural celebrations
WhiteDiamondK@reddit
No.
It’s nice to have them spread out. The worst thing is that after August we had to wait until Christmas for the next one.
Nimble_Natu177@reddit
No, they're good for giving you a small break spread out across the year, how is that not obvious?
Rocinante23@reddit
Just have more Bank Holidays. Germany has 9, France has 11.
jesuisnick@reddit
Most countries have them fall on random days though, so when you consider that some of them are on a weekend they are essentially lost for people who work Mon-Fri. At least our 8 bank holidays all fall on a weekday (or we get lieu days).
osmin_og@reddit
If a bank holiday falls on a weekend then the following Monday becomes a "weekend". That's how it works in at least some countries.
Jayflux1@reddit
No it isn’t, it’s only really UK and commonwealth countries where we do this, mainland Europe don’t do it
Jayflux1@reddit
You can’t really compare France though because when their days fall on a weekend they don’t get them back. So even though on paper it’s 11, they average around 8-9.
HellPigeon1912@reddit
I think we need one in October-November somewhere.
It's lovely having the run of bank holidays in the Spring but when August finishes it's a long run until you get the next one at Christmas
NinetyFiveJ@reddit
My company take a day or sometimes two for Halloween.
PrestigiousAide9162@reddit
I agree I think one in October around when the clocks go back maybe? And maybe one in late July when it would already be when school's out.
Happily-Incorrect@reddit
It's a pain in the arse for me having them all so close together. Take one of the May ones and stick it in October.
EyeAware3519@reddit
Get rid of them and just let people take their leave when they want to. Keep the ones that actually mean something like Christmas and maybe Easter but bin the rest.
RecentTwo544@reddit
I mean, you can anyway.
In my line of work Bank Holidays are just another day, I actually didn't even realise we had one on Monday until I noticed the local supermarkets were shut on Monday evening.
Then when I worked in pubs it was an extra busy weekend, not an extra day off.
EyeAware3519@reddit
I mean, I can't. My office is closed.
RecentTwo544@reddit
Granted, but my point was you can still take leave whenever you like. As far as I'm aware, bank holiday's shouldn't affect your annual leave allowance. Then I simply mentioned that many people don't get bank holidays off to further my point.
EyeAware3519@reddit
They do affect my leave allowance.
peppermint_aero@reddit
"This time of year is also generally busy for businesses, which then have to put up with loads of staff being off."
Not necessarily. You can write contracts that include BH as a working day and give people an extra day of annual leave instead.
Also, business needs vary in seasonality. Not everyone is busy in May; some are at their busiest in December.
BG3restart@reddit
I think bank holidays need to stay where they are. We can't have May Day in July, that's just stupid and Whitsun is determined by Easter, so that can't move either. I am in favour of introducing an additional day or two in the school summer break, to help working parents eke out their holiday entitlement a bit.
FlagVenueIslander@reddit
Nope. Hate bank holidays in school holidays as it is expensive for those without kids to go away.
I’d happily take away an early May bank holiday, move it to late September and add in a November one - maybe an Armistice day bank holiday
BG3restart@reddit
Whenever the schools are off, the cost of holidays rises. That weekend in November would just become more expensive as a result of there being a bank holiday.
EolAncalimon@reddit
We don't have a bank holiday for Whitsun, it was replaced with the Spring Bank Holiday which is always the last monday in May (changed happen in 1971)
rbarker82@reddit
I reckon they should replace one of the May bank holidays with a mandatory day off on your birthday.
Due-Ebb2485@reddit
My birthday is 1st May & the May Day Bank Holiday was introduced on my 1st birthday :) It IS my birthday bank holiday.
RecentTwo544@reddit
I think having three in close succession, especially if Easter is late, is a bit daft.
I'd back maybe having one in late June or July. Just looking here maybe the King's (official) Birthday on June 20th? I'm not a royalist by any stretch, but it's something that could be used as an excuse that isn't specific to one group or religion.
I also think we should have one in Autumn some time. From late August (early August in Scotland) all the way through until Christmas there's no bank holidays, it's increasingly depressing, cold, wet, dark, miserable. Breaking it up with a bank holiday would help a bit. Perhaps the end of October around Halloween, but call it "Harvest Day" or something as that's much more broad and all encompassing.
coastalkid92@reddit
I'm Canadian living in the UK, and it does seem like a lot of the bank holidays are bunched together rather than dispersed evenly throughout the year.
Back home, we typically have them spread out a bit more over the spring through early autumn which makes the best of the weather.
Ok_Victory_2977@reddit
I'd back spreading them out evenly over the year so they're not all bunched up in the first half (bar August)
PigletAlert@reddit
No, it’s not just about sunny weather. I think they would be spread out more evenly
Jayflux1@reddit
There does need to be a re-organisation of bank holidays, what we have now is silly. They’re are clustered up, then nothing for ages.
TomatoMiserable3043@reddit
Give everyone an extra 8 to 10 days' leave, remove all bank holidays, and solve the problem in one go.
hyper-casual@reddit
The most sensible option.
A lot of people don't get bank holidays anyway. People I know who don't get it off, but have kids or their partners have bank holidays off, they end up either struggling with childcare or essentially miss the opportunity to have a chunk of their holidays off with their family.
The more selfish side of it for me, I hate going places that are busy so I'd rather not be off when everyone else is, and I find the week before a bank holiday is horrendously busy at work anyway and I end up wasting the first day of the weekend too tired to do anything.
cuccir@reddit
Whenever bank holidays come up, I like to float my patented 'Leap Fest' idea: 29th February is a big day of free arts and cultural events: shows, theatre, comedy, cinema, up and down the country, and a bank holiday. Funding over four years would be minimal on government budgets, you could have a theme each time, encourage both big-scale productions and local community groups to put things on.
TheLittleCrayon@reddit
I mean, we use to have bank holidays on every Saints day, which was about 33 days in total. Blame the Lubbocks
SpudFire@reddit
I'd be happy moving early May bank holiday to late June. We get 4 in two months, so would be good to spread those out a little bit more.
Two-Space@reddit
I like the April/May run of bank holidays. It’s like 3 quick mini holidays that get you in the mood for a bigger one in the summer.
Also it feels like a reward for making it through winter.
Dennyisthepisslord@reddit
Two in May, especially after Easter wasn't that long ago, is silly when there's none in the heart of the summer
Katena789@reddit
The UK has few bank holidays by international standards so I agree we should just add more!
Wise_Level_8892@reddit
everyday should be a bank holiday in the summer
charmstrong70@reddit
Do be so daft, that would kill businesses.
Let’s just limit it to days when it’s actually sunny and hot - businesses should be fine with that
PianoMiddle346@reddit
They don't need moving. Summer has long days where you can do stuff after work anyway. Some extra ones defo welcome, as people have said.
ExhaustedSquad@reddit
I’d love one between September and Christmas. It seems such a long period especially when the weather is depressing.
PurchaseDry9350@reddit
No, because then people would have less of a break during the rest of the year
blue_rizla@reddit
Would have more of a break during that part of the year though wouldn’t they
SimplyFootballNet@reddit
Add another optional bank holiday. Employers must grant it, but employers do not have to pay for that day of non working.
blue_rizla@reddit
Yeah I think I’d be in favour. Take the early May bank holiday and move it to August. Obviously “just add more bank holidays” is preferable but that’s not what you’re asking.
krappa@reddit
I'd certainly move one of the May bank holidays to the summer. Probably not "most" bank holidays... It makes sense for them to be scattered in the year.
manual_typewriter@reddit
Not everyone can be off at the same time. Some businesses such as the care industry need to be covered 24 hours.
Kapika96@reddit
Why move? Just add some more!
DrH1983@reddit
I think we should have more bank holidays. Don't move them, just add more.
SCWeak@reddit
I like that you get a run of bank holidays as you come out of winter. It’s a nice pick-me-up.
I’d guess most people go on holiday for a longer time and use their actual holidays in summer anyway.
I tend to go with holidays in winter over Christmas. Holidays in summer for an actual holiday. A few extra days off in Autumn. Bank holidays in spring with no actual holidays used.
Limp-Direction-5668@reddit
Just add one to the calendar. Call it National Pub Garden day
Sustainable_Twat@reddit
I think we should keep the Bank Holidays in the Spring and simply just add more in the other seasons.
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