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Bank holidays 'cost economy 19bn'

2012-04-09 07:42:30

Each bank holiday costs the UK economy 2.3bn and scrapping them would boost

annual output by 19bn, economists say.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) think tank wants them to

be more spread out over the year to stop businesses "losing momentum".

This year's extra bank holiday for the Diamond Jubilee means there are five in

April, May and June outside Scotland, where Easter Monday is not a holiday.

Wales and England usually have eight, Scotland nine and Northern Ireland 10.

The think thank says that if bank holidays were scrapped, Britain's gross

domestic product (GDP) - a measure of the value of goods and services produced

by all sectors of the economy - would be 19bn higher every year.

BANK HOLIDAYS 2012

England and Wales - 2 January; 6 and 9 April; 7 May; 4 and 5 June; 27 August;

25 and 26 December

Scotland - 2 and 3 January; 6 April; 7 May; 4 and 5 June; 6 August; 30

November; 25 and 26 December

Northern Ireland - 2 January; 19 March; 6 and 9 April; 7 May; 4 and 5 June; 12

July; 27 August; 25 and 26 December

Bank holidays and British Summer Time Directgov - Employment

It says the UK depends far more on services than other countries and that

sector - with the exception of the hospitality industry - tends to work far

less on public holidays.

CEBR founder Douglas McWilliams told BBC Breakfast: "About 45% of the economy

suffers; the offices, the factories, the building sites where people tend not

to go to work on bank holiday."

He said 15% of the economy, such as shops, pubs, restaurants and visitor

attractions do well.

However, Mr McWilliams said that by spreading out public holidays, rather than

scrapping them, people would enjoy them more.

Business can "lose momentum" when there are too many close together, he added.

British Retail Consortium director general Stephen Robertson told BBC Radio 4's

Today programme the Easter holidays were good for shops, representing the start

of the season for DIY and garden centres.

'More socialising'

"We also begin to do outdoor activities, paint the house, and on top of that,

if we have good weather then we have barbecues," he said.

"We socialise more and that's good for grocery shopping as well."

The CEBR points to South Korea, which has recovered rapidly from the financial

crisis. Although there are more public holidays there, the think tank says

different working conditions mean employee work over 500 hours more per year

than British workers.

Unions have previously pressed for extra public holidays, pointing out that

other European countries have more than the UK's minimum of eight.

Research published last year by Mercer HR suggested there was a statutory

minimum of 14 in Spain, 13 in Portugal, 12 in Greece, 11 in France, and nine in

Germany and Ireland.

It found US and Australian workers get 10 public holidays, Canadians nine,

Chinese 11 and Japanese 15. However, there are regional variations in many of

these countries and employment laws differ as to whether workers should be paid

for these holidays.

A fortnight ago the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, warned that

GDP in the second quarter of this year might shrink owing to the number of bank

holidays.

Comparison of public holiday entitlement

Selected countries Minimum number of days

Source: Mercer HR, December 2011

Japan, South Korea

Spain, Malta

Portugal, Austria

Greece, South Africa

France, Italy, Brazil, New Zealand

Australia, Finland, Norway, Belgium, US

Canada, Ireland, Germany

UK, Netherlands