Which lunatic invented the British bank holiday?

[Potty]

I always thought that you should only ever work on cold wet days.If warm and sunny you should be off.BUSBY.

Suggested this to my boss once. He agreed, as given the British weather, we would work more days.

 

[Potty]

Bank holidays are truly British. Building sandcastle on the beach in the rain and then soggy chips in a sea front shelter.
This goes back to the days of strange bank hours, nine until three and closed on a Saturday. Some even closed for lunch.

I think you will find it was 9 to 3 and open Saturday mornings.

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

Officially coldest May Day bank holiday on record
Normally by Easter I’m in shorts until at least end of September, think I’ve had them on twice so far

 

[CazPaul]

Interesting.

My neighbour ”works” for the council. He’s only been there for a few years,but he gets 30 days (six weeks) holiday plus bank holidays. Plus he gets time off in lieu for overtime which he seldom actually does. So he works about 6 months a year. Fantastic job,it’s all part of the gravy train funded by the taxpayer!

That’s sounds about right, you mean if he works overtime he decides to take time off in lieu instead of the extra money.

You are taking into account all time off including weekends.

Its paying people full money for been off sick 6 months that costs especially as it encourages the practice.

 

[Podney]

Officially coldest May Day bank holiday on record
Normally by Easter I’m in shorts until at least end of September, think I’ve had them on twice so far

Just in your pants then? You’re a rufty tufty!

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[63720]

I see what you mean here but we have the least bank holidays of any country in Europe (?), if we'd had another one the week before it would have been better.

 

[ChrisSue]

It doesn't matter what date it is it will be miserable. Does anyone remember the last Queens Jubilee. Mr Cameron decided to move the Bank Holiday by one week. The traditional one was glorious while the Jubilee was a tropical downpour. I can remember the Duke saluting and waving to the boats on the Thames with rain dripping off his hat brim and nose smiling all the time. A week later he was in hospital!

 

[bigwood]

Somebody mentioned Saints days. When I was stationed in Germany our workshop secretary would not appear for work on odd days. I was told it as a saints day.
The civilian half of our workshops was always deserted on a Friday afternoon because it was a church weekend. Our boss never questioned why every weekend was a church weekend and it started when the bar near camp opened.

 

[Bikevanhappy]

Interesting.

My neighbour ”works” for the council. He’s only been there for a few years,but he gets 30 days (six weeks) holiday plus bank holidays. Plus he gets time off in lieu for overtime which he seldom actually does. So he works about 6 months a year. Fantastic job,it’s all part of the gravy train funded by the taxpayer!

He must work for an obscure Council. Almost all local government use the same "Green Book" t&cs which say -

The minimum paid annual leave entitlement is twenty-two days with a further three days after five years of continuous service.

That seems fairly equivalent to the private sector. As is working overtime and taking it as toil rather than money.

 

[Brains]

I see what you mean here but we have the least bank holidays of any country in Europe (?), if we'd had another one the week before it would have been better.

We have 8 national holidays
Next lowest country is Germany with 12,

12 is the most sensible number as it means an average of one per month, so all working calculations are on a 19 day working calendar month.
(We have to calculate on 19.33 day calendar month, which messes up every HR department in the UK)

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[Podney]

He must work for an obscure Council. Almost all local government use the same "Green Book" t&cs which say -

The minimum paid annual leave entitlement is twenty-two days with a further three days after five years of continuous service.

That seems fairly equivalent to the private sector. As is working overtime and taking it as toil rather than money.

No he doesn’t work for an obscure council,if by that you mean some tiddler in the back of beyond.

A large proportion of his overtime is,shall we say,imaginary. Great if you can get away with it I suppose.

 

[125BEER]

The same person who invented the 10/14 day weather forecasts, totally useless.

 

[ambulancekidd]

It doesn't matter what date it is it will be miserable. Does anyone remember the last Queens Jubilee. Mr Cameron decided to move the Bank Holiday by one week. The traditional one was glorious while the Jubilee was a tropical downpour. I can remember the Duke saluting and waving to the boats on the Thames with rain dripping off his hat brim and nose smiling all the time. A week later he was in hospital!

& the connection is? Getting cold, wet or both does not make you ill, exposure to a virus is the thing that gives you a cold. All the rest is an old wives tale.

 

[Littlewheels]

I feel cheated! Now I’ve retired I don’t get bank holidays!

Nooooo your in a good place, everyday is a bank holiday and when all the workers go back to work the Sun will come out for the retirees!

 

[deleted79651]

During my time working in the Bank, I was seconded to Head Office to write a national technical manual on secured lending. During one of the downtimes whilst documents were being vetted by the Bank Solicitors, a colleague and I came up with a practical joke by issuing 2 spoof Bank Head Office Circulars [identified by their faux Reference Numbers HO 999A & HO 999B] for April Fools Day1985.

The first Circular announced the appointment of another colleague as Chief Executive of the Bank [being TSB, we should have known that the Bank would actually appoint a new CEO on 1st April ... Caused a mild panic to destroy the evidence!]; the 2nd Circular [brilliantly designed by my colleague, George] announced the harmonisation/metrication of UK time with Europe, and included the abolition of the fortnight and its replacement by the Duodecaday ... The Circular explained that the change meant that employees would work just under 3.5 hours per annum fewer hours, so to compensate, staff would be required to work on Boxing Day on alternate years ...

The real brilliance in George's 'piece de resistance' was to conclude the Head Office Circular with the text: 'Any staff who have any concerns or queries should ring their Regional Office Personnel Department. The 6 regional switchboards went into meltdown ...

Steve

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[Ivory55]

Having time off instead of overtime saves employers money, even more if they can decide when the employees take the time off. If they paid overtime it would be at an enhanced rate where as time off is at the single rate.

 

[deleted79651]

Having time off instead of overtime saves employers money, even more if they can decide when the employees take the time off. If they paid overtime it would be at an enhanced rate where as time off is at the single rate.

A consequence that is often overlooked of taking TOIL, instead of being paid overtime, is that you still have to do the work that could have been fitted into 5 days into the now 4 day week! So the employer gets more work per day ... Or, it's a combination of having to work faster and starting to accrue another period of TOIL ...

Steve

 

[ChrisSue]

& the connection is? Getting cold, wet or both does not make you ill, exposure to a virus is the thing that gives you a cold. All the rest is an old wives tale.

Not making any connection just a lovely memory of a very fine who understood the concept of duty.
I think he was in hospital with a back complaint or maybe a kidney issue.

 

[scally]

No idea what the problem is, perfect day.

SWMBO had a list of jobs for me to do in the garden, but the weather stopped that idea, so had to stay in and just relax with tea in bed, open fire and cook a nice meal before listening to music with a glass of wine.

Sounds like a plan

 

[scally]

Wasnt this one brought in by labour to celebrate workers day or something May the first is labour day int it as well as maypole day

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[ambulancekidd]

Not making any connection just a lovely memory of a very fine who understood the concept of duty.
I think he was in hospital with a back complaint or maybe a kidney issue.

He certainly did have a "sense of duty" which always amazes me.
The Queen is such a stalwart of duty as well, as for her offspring, well apart from Anne, the less said the better.

 

[Brains]

A consequence that is often overlooked of taking TOIL, instead of being paid overtime, is that you still have to do the work that could have been fitted into 5 days into the now 4 day week! So the employer gets more work per day ... Or, it's a combination of having to work faster and starting to accrue another period of TOIL ...

Steve

It depends.

During 1999-2000, partially due to the Y2K Millennium bug, I built up such a massive amount of TOIL that in 2001 we spent 3 months travelling across the USA and South America.

I was being paid for every day I had on that holiday!

 

[carolyn]

Daughter loved her year abroad in Madrid and Porto, she couldn’t believe the number of Saints’ days. Strangely they were usually Thursdays so the Spanish in particular would have a “bridge“ day on the friday to make a long weekend. I can’t remember if the Portuguese had bridge days.

I don’t think the USA have many bank holidays, mind you they don’t get many holidays at all.

I used to love the thought of them when I was working but then the aftermath was hell.

 

[JamesT@Dundee]

Who's to blame ??

The Banks of course..........

Exactly. But the person responsible also tried teaching his poodle to read - which says it all really...

The Origins of Bank Holidays - The Library Blog

In the UK we owe our statutory bank holidays to John Lubbock, first Baron of Avebury, scientific writer (who studied ants and tried to teach his poodle to read), banker and politician and who, in 1871, drafted the Bank Holiday Bill which, when it became law, created the first bank holidays...

libraryblog.lbrut.org.uk

 

[P Jones]

As I get older, I've come to the conclusion that bank holidays are a very bad idea.

Last monday, the weather here was beautiful, a bit cool, but sunny, no breeze & pleasant.
This monday, along comes a bank holiday & we have a horizontal blizzard!

I think its about time to banish the bank holiday for good.....Rant over.

deep joy its over, stay jolly, um-nowa-gorn. stay safe. ok.pj.

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[P Jones]

As I still have to do that work stuff I think if the weather is crappy on bank holiday Monday we should get another one later in the year, it doesn't have to be on a Monday, any midweek day will do.

with you all the way, stay cool. ye can nae whack it, ok.pj.

 

[Bluethunder]

Bank holidays should be cancelled. Keep the blighters at work six days a week,2 weeks holiday per year. Leave more space for us nice retired folk

I will vote for you,the blighters need to work 7days a week in the summer

 

[Bluethunder]

As I get older, I've come to the conclusion that bank holidays are a very bad idea.

Last monday, the weather here was beautiful, a bit cool, but sunny, no breeze & pleasant.
This monday, along comes a bank holiday & we have a horizontal blizzard!

I think its about time to banish the bank holiday for good.....Rant over.

I blame the Government

 

[Conniedriving]

As I get older, I've come to the conclusion that bank holidays are a very bad idea.

Last monday, the weather here was beautiful, a bit cool, but sunny, no breeze & pleasant.
This monday, along comes a bank holiday & we have a horizontal blizzard!

I think its about time to banish the bank holiday for good.....Rant over.

 

[Conniedriving]

For me everyday is a bank holiday

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