Redundancy fears leading to fewer worker holidays

04/06/2009

Unemployment fears have made Britain's workers nervous about taking annual leave this year.

Acas, an employment relations service, said today that spending time away from the workplace was important in helping people get a good "work-life balance".

These comments follow the release of a poll from Teletext Holidays, which showed that around one in three workers might not take their full holiday entitlement due to the credit crunch and recession.

What's more, a further 28 per cent said that they thought they might become a target for being laid off if they took too much time off work.

Unemployment has been rising recently with the recession, because firms are struggling financially and are looking to reduce staff costs.

Latest government figures have shown that over seven per cent of the workforce - 2.2 million - are now jobless.

Gill Trevelyan, head of good practice services at Acas, said: "Employees are entitled by law to a minimum of 5.6 weeks' leave. Taking annual leave can help employees to maintain a good work-life balance and keep them healthy and well motivated.

"Holidays are a good way of allowing employees to recharge their batteries and return to work feeling refreshed."

Tags; Job loss, Recent Graduate Debt,

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