{"id":5034,"date":"2015-07-31T15:00:56","date_gmt":"2015-07-31T14:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=5034"},"modified":"2015-08-03T15:25:19","modified_gmt":"2015-08-03T14:25:19","slug":"burnout-britain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=5034","title":{"rendered":"Burnout Britain?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The summer holiday season is in full swing, and working people up and down the country are taking time off to visit friends and family, travel or simply relax.<\/p>\n

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But a new report<\/a> has revealed that a large swathe of workers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as many as 1.7m \u00e2\u20ac\u201c are missing out on the full paid holiday leave that they are legally entitled to.<\/p>\n

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For those working five-day weeks, workers are entitled to a minimum of\u00c2\u00a0four weeks of paid holiday each year.<\/p>\n

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But the TUC has discovered that just over six per cent of the workforce are losing out on their paid holidays because of unscrupulous employers flouting the law.<\/p>\n

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Workers in different regions miss out on their holiday entitlements more than others \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in Northern Ireland almost 10 per cent of workers don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take their full paid annual leave, a figure that stands at 7.6 per cent in Wales and 7.5 per cent in London.<\/p>\n

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Missed holiday entitlements are most common in the arts and entertainment sector, followed by accommodation and food, and administration and support services \u00e2\u20ac\u201c sectors that are all notoriously low-paid.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At risk<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

The TUC argues that with prime minister David Cameron seeking an opt-out from the EU\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s working time directive<\/a>, holiday rights are at even graver risk.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In 1998, the EU\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s working time directive<\/a>, which mandates a minimum number of holidays each year, rest breaks, a maximum number of weekly work hours and a cap on excessive night work, was extended to all UK workers for the first time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAs people head off on their holidays, spare a thought for those still stuck at work with bad bosses who break the law by denying staff their full holiday,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said TUC Frances O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady in response to its report.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSome employers deliberately stop staff from taking the leave and holiday pay they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re entitled to, whereas other workers lose out from poor management and failure to keep up with the law,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWorkers should not be cheated out of their holidays through illegal and unfair practices by employers. We are in danger of seeing a burnout Britain where workers feel pressured to give up their holidays and increase their hours.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWorkers who are worried about not getting their holiday entitlements should join a union, so that their voice is heard and their interests are properly represented.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner agreed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bPaid annual leave, restrictions on how many hours each day or week can be worked, even \u00e2\u20ac\u0098the weekend\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c these are not natural features of the world of work dominated by capital,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bRather, they are rights that were fought for and won by unions and their members. And they can just as easily be clawed back by private profiteers and vested interests if we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remain vigilant \u00e2\u20ac\u201c joining a union now is more important than ever before.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Turner highlighted the importance of the EU labour protections that the Tory government is now threatening to undo.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAs Cameron takes aim at the EU\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s working time directive, holiday entitlements will be even further at risk, consigning British workers to the status of drones.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBritain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s productivity already lags well behind many of its European counterparts \u00e2\u20ac\u201c cuts to holiday entitlements will make this phenomenon even worse. Research has proven time and again that well-rested employees make for engaged employees committed to their jobs,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bRelentless overworking contributes not only to family breakdown and its associated social ills, but it also leads to physical and mental health problems and shortened lifespans. Is this the sort of world we want to live in?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The summer holiday season is in full swing, and working people up and down the country are taking time off to visit friends and family, travel or simply relax.   But a new report has revealed that a large swathe of workers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as many as 1.7m \u00e2\u20ac\u201c are missing out on the full paid […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5039,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[359,356],"wps_subtitle":"It's holiday time again - but not for everyone ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5034"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5034"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5038,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5034\/revisions\/5038"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}