Ditch bank holidays and save £19bn, experts advise

[dutchman]

Britain could save £19 billion by scrapping all of its public holidays each year, a group of researchers has claimed.



Experts from the Centre for Economics and Business Research have found each bank holiday – of which there are at least eight a year – costs the UK economy about £2.3 billion.

Therefore, gross domestic product (GDP) would receive a £19 billion boost should they be scrapped, helping Britain compete more effectively in the global market.

About 47 per cent of businesses are hit by the scheduling of a bank holiday as they are forced to close, while only 14 per cent benefit through extra trade. Restaurants and hotels are among those to do the best out of the days.

Economist Daniel Solomon said Britons already tend to work shorter hours than their counterparts in many other countries across the 261 working days on the calendar.

'The bank holidays mean that eight of these 261 weekdays - or three per cent of weekdays - are taken as time off by many workers. This puts downward pressure on productivity and hence GDP,' he said.

Last week's Good Friday break and today's Easter Monday celebrations are likely to cost the UK in the region of £4.7 billion.

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