date: 20 December 2007

embargo: 00:01 hours Monday 24 December 2007

The first Christmas Day that scrooge employers can't count against Europe's four-week holiday minimum

Thanks to union campaigning and government action, the 2007 Christmas and Boxing Day bank holidays are the first that scrooge bosses won't be able to count against the European minimum of four weeks paid holiday.

While other European countries have always given their citizens four weeks paid holiday in addition to their public holidays, in the UK employers have been able to include bank holidays as part of their staff's four-week minimum holiday entitlement.

But after a sustained union campaign, the Government has closed this loophole and increased the UK's minimum holiday entitlement by adding eight days to the European four-week minimum (as we have eight bank holidays).

Increases in the minimum holiday entitlement have been staged. In October 2007, full-time workers gained an extra four days minimum leave a year, and in April 2009, the minimum leave entitlement will go up by a further four days.

The new right is not the same as a legal right to take bank holidays off work. Some jobs, such as the emergency services, require year round cover and other service related businesses, such as retail and leisure, expect to trade on many bank holidays. But the new right means that staff who work on a bank holiday will now get an extra day's leave on top of their four week minimum entitlement.

Following the change in October, Christmas Day and Boxing Day 2007 are the first two bank holidays that people on the legal minimum holiday entitlement will be compensated for if they work either day.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'This is another victory for union campaigning. Without unions there would be no European minimum, we would not have those extra four days from October and we would have fewer bank holidays. Union members also get better holidays, an average of 29 days compared to 22 days for non-members.

'No-one should forget that when employer organisations and Euro-sceptics talk about red-tape and burdens on business they mean holiday rights such as these. I hope all of those who benefit this year will be decorating their Christmas trees with red tape to celebrate.

'But the campaigning goes on. We still want UK workers to have more bank holidays to catch up with the European average, and are backing a new Community Day bank holiday in October that will celebrate and encourage community and volunteer activity.'

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The TUC has published detailed guidance on its world of work website - http://www.worksmart.org.uk/rights/holidays - which explains how the new rights work in detail, including how the transition between the old and new entitlement will work and how part-timers can work out their pro-rata holiday rights.

- The TUC press office is closed from Friday 21 December and re-opens again on Wednesday 2 January 2008. Over the Christmas break, the following press officers are on duty:

Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 December - Rob Holdsworth M: 07717 531150

Monday 24 - Thursday 27 December - Nigel Stanley M: 07831 735844

Friday 28 December - Tuesday 1 January - Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Register for the TUC's press extranet: a service exclusive to journalists wanting to access pre-embargo releases and reports from the TUC. Visit www.tuc.org.uk/pressextranet

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
TUC Press Office T: 020 7467 1248 M: 07778 158175 E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth T: 020 7467 1372 M: 07717 531150 E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk

Press release (600 words) issued 24 Dec 2007