Hotel and pub operators have given a cautious thumbs-up to a call from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to make sure every employee who works over bank holidays is paid extra or given time off in lieu.
A recent report from the TUC points out that nearly three million people in the UK worked over Easter, and many more will be working over the coming May bank holiday.
The TUC wants three additional statutory bank holidays to be introduced, with employees offered time off in lieu or additional pay as recompense for working. This would protect employees' holiday allowance and give UK workers 11 bank holidays, in line with the European average.
At present there is no statutory requirement to offer employees extra pay or time off, so employers can deduct bank holidays from employees' annual holiday allocation.
Dave Turnbull, regional organiser for the T&G union, said that while some companies compensated staff for working on bank holidays, others didn't. "There are a lot of people working for independent operators who are forced to work or lose pay," he said.
Corus Hotels, which offers permanent-contract, hourly-paid staff double time or time off in lieu if they work bank holidays, said that additional bank holidays would create staffing challenges, but it welcomed the idea.
"We're certainly not horrified by the suggestion," said Justin Johnson, group human resources manager. "It would mean more people with greater leisure time, and therefore the additional revenue generated could offset any extra costs."
Ruston Toms, sales director at contract caterer Blue Apple, which plans to move increasingly into the high-street commercial sector, agreed. "I strongly believe in the work hard, play hard philosophy," he said. "Treating staff fairly, with time off in lieu, is a sound business investment."
By Chris Druce
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 1 - 7 May 2003