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
15
Spain, Malta
14
Portugal, Austria
13
Greece, South Africa
12
France, Italy, Brazil, New Zealand
11
Australia, Finland, Norway, Belgium, US
10
Canada, Ireland, Germany
9
UK, Netherlands
8