You may recall that I asked you all to complete a one-question poll about whether you include bank holidays in the 28 days’ statutory leave entitlement you award to your staff. The results are more or less a 50/50 split, and I’m not sure whether I’m surprised about this or not. Anyway, you knew I’d end up saying something about it. So, here goes…

Pay rises versus extra leave

The question of annual leave entitlement, statutory or otherwise, has been a source of discussion at trade union conferences ever since the inception of the National Health Service on 5^th July 1948, which was in fact a Monday, but not a bank holiday.

I remember at successive annual conferences of the Association of NHS Officers, of which I was once President, moving motions to support better leave in the NHS. Often the answer we got back from our Whitley Council representatives was that there were no improvements because the choice was to take a higher pay rise rather than extra holidays since extra holidays were costed against pay rises. For instance, a 2% pay rise might equate to three days’ leave. It was then a question of what members might prefer. Pay rises usually won.

No time-and-a-half pay

Curiously, my research indicates that there’s no automatic right to enhanced pay for working on a bank holiday. Now, to rub salt into the wound, salaried doctors working in general practice are entitled to have a BMA contract and the current version mentions ten days of bank holiday. I think this harks back to the days when in local government circles there were two bank-holiday Tuesdays added to the usual eight bank-holiday days. Whatever happened to those two days, I wonder?

No winter holidays

The history of statutory leave entitlement is more interesting than I thought it would be because before Agenda for Change, my recollection is that the NHS terms and conditions of service included a requirement for staff to take at least two thirds of their annual leave before 30^th September – i.e. in the first six months of the financial year. Winter holidays were rare, but they aren’t now. Staff do like to choose when to take their leave.

Wakes weeks

Another interesting aspect to the history of holiday leave is the idea of an employer fixing the days or weeks that holidays must be taken. So, because a business isn’t generally open on a bank holiday, staff have to take enforced leave when it’s chucking it down or snowing. But in Lancashire, mill workers were forced to take a two-week holiday in the summer months, probably in Blackpool, whilst the mill machinery was shut down and maintained. Each Lancashire town chose its Wakes fortnight.

Statutory requirement changes

The current legal requirement for leave is 5.6 weeks or 28 days which might include bank holidays. Note the word ‘might’.  But did you know that the 28 days was introduced as part of the EU Working Time Directives by the Labour Government in 2007? Prior to this, statutory leave was 20 days or 4 weeks, and if bank holidays were included there were only 12 days left to choose as holiday.

COVID-19 does not affect entitlement to holiday pay and leave, although there may be some discretion around carrying over leave to the next year, dependent on circumstances.

Half-days and pro rata

Another aspect of leave that can pose some confusion is what happens to part-time staff and bank holidays. The answer is ‘pro rata’. But then Jenny and Boris only work on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and bank holidays rarely fall on these days. But the answer is still ‘pro rata’. Think about it: Jenny and Boris can take their proportionate share of bank-holiday leave on a day of their choosing. The full-timers can’t.

But then what happens to those who no longer work a full five-day week but religiously take a half-day? This has always been common in general practice. I’ve always thought that taking a half-day harks back to the idea of shops closing for a half-day in the middle of the week. This originated with the Shops Act 1911, which thought that shop staff should have a rest midweek. Was this because they opened on Saturdays, I wonder? GP surgeries used to open consistently on Saturday mornings, and individual doctors would take a half-day out during the week. However, these days, most GPs work a four-day week. I wonder how many practice staff work only four days or take a half-day? On the bank holidays, the answer will still be ‘pro rata’. But then Jimmy said: ‘I only work a half-day on Mondays, but can I have two half-days off when it’s a bank holiday?’ ‘Pro rata, my son!’

Where is all of this leading?

Perhaps I should  ask you in the post-COVID days to think about all the hard work your staff do, their commitment and the service they provide to patients and the practice, and just take a look at what level of annual leave you award to your staff and how you deal with bank holidays. As someone still involved in practice management, I can see the workload and the stress staff are under, and I for one feel very uncomfortable about offering 20 days’ leave plus eight bank holidays when I know that long-serving NHS staff enjoy 33 days plus bank holidays. I do like the idea of a four-day week or a half-day. I like the idea of a day off for my birthday or for Christmas shopping. I’ve heard too of days off for religious festivals, and a day off for not taking any sick leave. But this all smacks to me of tokenism rather than just letting staff have 28 days plus bank holidays.

Going back to my original question, in 12 months’ time will we still see a 50/50 split between those who do and those who don’t? I’ll leave it to you to put forward the argument that we can’t afford it. Then tell me why 50% can!