Bank Holidays; costs to business

There are 8 Bank Holidays for England and Wales this year, 9 in Scotland and 10 in Northern Ireland. This is actually lower than many of our European neighbours, with Finland enjoying 15 Bank Holidays!

Estimated costs to the economy vary wildly, but it’s safe to assume they are in the millions of pounds. So how can businesses mitigate for the loss of productivity, or extra staffing costs of a Bank Holiday?

1. Plan for reduced productivity: Assume that productivity will be lower around a Bank Holiday and rearrange schedules accordingly. Communicating with employees (and customers) is important to manage expectations.
2. Stock management: Expect delays or disruption and plan your stock levels to allow for this.
3. Communication: Keeping customers informed about any delays will help keep those important customer relationships in place and avoid problems.
4. Staffing: Whether you need less staff or more staff for a Bank Holiday, plan well ahead. If there will increased work right before or afterwards, look at bringing in additional staff or upskilling employees in other areas.
5. Cyber Security: Criminals know that Bank Holidays mean that there are less staff in the office and they are more likely to have time or opportunity to access your systems. Make sure your updates are in place and that any staff in the office know what to do in the event of a cyber attack.

We hope that’s given you some food for thought and if you’d like to explore other ways of mitigating the hidden costs of Bank Holidays, please talk to us.