To: Government
Make Bank holiday weekends a true holiday
Currently bank holidays take no account of many workers who have to work weekends. For example, this year because Christmas falls on a Saturday it is not a holiday. Whereas colleagues working on the 27th and 28th December will get double time I will receive no extra payment for actually working Christmas day. This happens in many sectors across the country. For example, Royal Mail staff get a Friday and Monday bank holiday but have to work the Saturday in between as this is not a bank holiday day, meaning many workers do not get the benefit of the extra time off that was intended. Weekends during bank holidays need to be recognised as part of that holiday.
Why is this important?
Staff working Christmas this year are not due any extra compensation as the bank holiday days are shifted to Monday 27th and Tuesday the 28th December, so colleagues getting to spent Christmas day with their families are actually getting double time for a day that actually means nothing, whilst those working get nothing. It also means that in sectors like Royal Mail a 4 day weekend break to rest and recover is lost as a normal working day is in the middle, meaning hundreds of thousands of workers do not get a well deserved break.
