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Government changes paid holidays
MILLIONS of
workers will have reason for an extra toast this Christmas, with the
Government increasing paid holidays so that for the first time,
staff have access to more leave days to cover the Christmas period.
But this could be short lived cheer...
Earlier this year, the Government increased the annual leave
entitlement for full-time workers from 20 to 24 days, in order to
make paid leave for bank and public holidays additional to the
annual holiday entitlement.
Around six million workers, or 22% of the workforce, are set to
benefit from these changes.
These changes are aimed to ensure all people get 20 days paid
holidays a year on top of time off for bank holidays.
Employment Relations Minister, Pat McFadden, said:- "These
changes will help bring some extra Christmas cheer to millions of
people who have worked hard all year and deserve a break to relax
and spend time with their families and friends.
Most full time workers already receive 20 days or more paid leave,
not counting bank holidays, and many part-timers receive an
equivalent entitlement. Those who do not are likely to be in lower
paid occupations. These changes will help ensure a fair deal on
leave for all full time staff."
The entitlement will increase to 28 days from April 2009. The
Government has used a staged system to introduce the changes, in
order to ensure that business is not unnecessarily burdened.
David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce,
said:- "The Government is right to tackle the counting of Bank
Holidays as annual leave. It is counter productive of businesses to
deprive their workers of holidays that others who are employed get
as a right."
Peter Schofield, director of legal & employment affairs at the
Engineering Employers Federation, said:- "Government should be
applauded for recognising that there is no need to add to the burden
on good employers who are already meeting the aim of the
regulations. This is a perfect example of better regulation
rewarding good practice with a lighter regulatory regime."
CBI deputy director general John Cridland said:- "The
Government is right to introduce the extension of statutory annual
leave gradually over the next two years, a 'big bang' approach would
have been more painful for employers."
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New
signs will help drivers who break down
NEW road signs
to let drivers know where they are if they break down or want to
report a problem on the motorway have been installed by the Highways
Agency in parts of the region.
Information on the new roadside driver location signs will help the
Highways Agency Traffic Officer Service and emergency services to
pinpoint where people are when they call their control rooms. The
signs tell road users which motorway they are driving on, the
direction they are travelling in and exactly where they are on the
motorway.
The new signs have been installed as part of a six month programme
which was completed earlier this month and feature along the M62 and
M56 in Cheshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester.
A similar programme has been completed in other parts of the country
but the North West was the first to get a small number of the signs
on the M6 in a 2005 pilot scheme.
The new signs feature on the M56 (between the A5103 and Junction 16)
and the M62 (between Junction 6 and Junction 12 and Junction 18 and
Junction 22). They display:-
- The number of the motorway.
- A letter A or B telling the Highways Agency or the emergency
services which direction the driver is travelling in.
- A figure underneath the letter representing the distance in
kilometres from the start of the motorway.
The signs have been positioned prominently on the motorway verge
near the hard shoulder and will help road users by showing them
their exact position if they need to telephone emergency services,
recovery or the Highways Agency's Regional Control Centre. They
complement special but much smaller marker posts which appear every
100 yards along the hard shoulder and also give location
information.
Sujad Hussain, Route Performance Manager for the M62 and M56, said:-
"With many people using mobile phones to call for assistance
these days, rather than the motorway emergency phones, it can be
difficult to find a caller's exact location. If road users can tell
us what is on the sign nearest to them on the motorway, we can work
out where they are on the M62 or M56 if they breakdown or need to
report an incident.
The new signs will mean the emergency services and Highways Agency
Traffic Officers can respond to incidents more quickly and reduce
the risk of secondary incidents, congestion and delay to other road
users."
And John Hope, Acting Network Operations Manager in charge of the
North West Traffic Officer Service, said:- "We welcome the
location signs. We know from experience that some people don't
always know which motorway they are on let alone which junctions
they are near. Anything which helps Traffic Officers to more quickly
locate someone in trouble will be useful in helping us to combat
congestion." |
