In Focus: Don’t bank on it
Whatever your views on the Royal Family, it seems that Britain’s employers are more royalist than republican in their views on the Royal Wedding – depending on where you work. Because, if you take the figures from two recent surveys, you get a wildly varying picture of who will be in work on 29 April, and who won’t.
And it seems that if you live in the north, instead of the East Midlands, you’ve got more chance of putting your feet up and watching Phillip Schofield gushing over Kate Middleton’s wedding dress.
First, let’s take a national view. According to a survey carried out by serviced office supplier Regus, almost two-thirds (66.2 per cent) of UK businesses agree that 29 April should be a public holiday, according to a survey of 4,000 employers.
There’s been talk about employers bemoaning the proximity of Easter and the Royal Wedding, and the fact there will be two consecutive four-day weekends in April and May. But the Regus research suggests otherwise: more than six out of ten employers are happy for their staff to shut down the computer and celebrate Prince William and Kate Middleton’s big day.
Regus says that those most likely to be hanging out the bunting for the royal matrimonials are large companies - almost three-quarters (74.9 per cent) in the Regus survey support the 29 April public holiday.
Although small and medium-sized companies are slightly less likely to be waving their celebratory flags outside Westminster Abbey, 66 per cent of medium firms and 64 per cent of small firms are also in agreement with the public holiday.
According to Celia Donne, regional director at Regus, the survey shows that Britain’s employers are happy for their staff to down tools on 29 April. Perhaps their support stems from the fact that the nation wants a day off from talk of austerity?
She says: “It’s is a proven fact that employers who offer their workforce good work-life balance and flexible working practices can benefit from greater productivity and motivation. These in turn should help them make up for any working hours ‘lost’ for the Royal Wedding.”
However, surveys can be misleading, of course.
According to another one by Close Invoice Finance, bosses in the Midlands are less likely to give their staff a day off for the royal wedding than their northern counterparts. Who says it’s grim up north? Close Invoice Finance says just 54 per cent of Midlands’ employers plan to close the office on 29 April.
This compares with six out of ten employers in the North West and seven out of ten employers in Yorkshire and Humberside who said that staff would be given a day’s holiday.
Ian Steward, local head of Close Invoice Finance, said: “There is clearly an interesting north-south split but regional attitudes towards the wedding aside, most businesses are in a no-win situation. Many simply can’t afford to let employees take any unnecessary leave, especially those struggling to recover from the recession and also coming to terms with January’s big VAT increase.”
Royalist or republic, you’ve got more chance of a lie in if you live in Leeds rather than Leicester, then.
Comments? Sam Metcalf, Insider
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