France considers axing bank holidays – would Brits riot if UK does the same?

Bank Holidays are for washing the car, firing up the BBQ and maybe even filling up a paddling pool – if you’re not living under a hosepipe ban of course.

But as France toys with the idea of scrapping Easter Monday and VE Day bank holidays to provide a much-needed boost to their economy, Metro asks top economists if the UK could follow suit.

With the UK facing a similar yawning spending black hole, experts consider whether one less day of rest could be the answer, and if so, which day it should be.

What are the arguments for scrapping a bank holiday?

One less day of rest means one more day of workers back in the office and being economically productive, argues Maxwell Marlow, Director of Public Affairs at the Adam Smith Institute.

Indeed research suggests each bank holiday costs the UK £2.3 billion.

With economic growth declining in April and then in May this year, that boost could be an ‘attractive’ option for the Chancellor.

Marlow told Metro: ‘In terms of the facts and figures, scrapping a bank holiday would be good for GDP and they should probably do it.’

Senior Economist Charlie Cornes agreed that cutting a bank holiday would help to balance the books.

It could also be a ‘creative’, but unlikely, way Rachel Reeves could avoid tax rises or spending cuts in the Autumn Budget.

What are the arguments against ditching public holidays?

Less bank holidays would hit an already struggling hospitality sector, economists told Metro.

Bars, restaurants, pubs and shops all see a boost to their profits when Brits are off work and socialising, explained Cornes, Senior Economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

But as the sector continues to be ‘in a lot of trouble, facing rising costs and labour shortages, one less public holiday could be the nail in the coffin’.

While a cut to bank holidays could see a short-term boost to GDP, the risk is that the move would upset and demotivate workers.

Prof Stephen Millard told Metro: ‘Public holidays are partly about morale. Less days off could damage morale and could mean people won’t work as hard.’

The UK only has eight public holidays a year as it is – compared to 14 in Spain, 11 in France and nine in Germany and Ireland.

Prof Millard, who is the Interim Director at National Institute of Economic and Social Research, explained that workers might just ask their bosses for more annual leave anyway – making the cuts less effective.

‘The idea that a government would want to scrap public holidays as a way of improving public finances doesn’t seem to be the right sort of logic,’ he added.

Above all, the move would be ‘too politically toxic’ and unpopular for the Chancellor to ever consider.

‘There would be riots on the streets,’ Marlow predicted.

Which bank holiday should be axed?

The most costly bank holidays, Christmas and Boxing Day, are also the most culturally important, adds the Adam Smith Institute economist.

‘They are total turn-off days for the economy’ because shops shut and people stay at home with friends and family.

Marlow added: ‘If the Chancellor was going to cut a bank holiday, it’d probably be one of the seasonal bank holidays in May or August. They are not cultural bank holidays.’

Economics lecturer Renaud Foucart believes that people are attached to the May breaks from work and that if Reeves was going to target one she should pick the August holiday, due for August 25 this year.

Cornes disagreed, however, saying the August day off needed to be protected because summer weather is most profitable for local tourism and hospitality.

While the Easter bank holidays are also religiously and culturally significant, that leaves the early May holiday as the economist’s choice too.

Dr Siegel from Kent University says the May bank holidays have the highest impact on the economy because of disruptions to the construction sector that months – so agrees one of the two days off would be best to axe.

Should we move a bank holiday instead?

All experts Metro spoke to saw the economic benefits of moving a bank holiday away from the ‘cluster’ of days off in the Spring.

The UK always see two rest days for Easter and then two more just months later in May.

‘This leads to multiple four-day weeks and could lead to increased disruption to the economy’ explains Cornes.

‘They have more of an impact than singular bank holidays.’

Marlow called this ‘front-loading’ of days off ‘crazy’. He believes that spreading them out would help GDP in the spring months.

Moving a bank holiday would also address burnout faced by workers in the long stretch without a day off at the end of the year.

Prof Millard explained: ‘We have no holiday between the August bank holiday and Christmas. That’s a very tough time for workers, that would have an effect on productivity.’

Taking out the early May bank holiday and shifting it to later in the year could help workers and keep them ‘happier’, he speculated.

What does the government say?

Rachel Reeves and her advisors appear set to tackle the UK’s financial challenges without touching bank holidays.

A UK Government spokesperson told Metro: ‘Economic growth is the number one mission of this government to deliver our Plan for Change.

‘The current pattern of bank and public holidays is well established, and we have no plans to change it.’

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