Work and Leisure

92 Chris Gratton and Peter TaylorHoliday entitlementApart from earlier retirement by men, one of the principal ways in whichexpansion in leisure time has been achieved in the UK is through increases inpaid holiday entitlement. Historical evidence from the DfEE shows that thepaid holiday entitlement for full-time, manual workers steadily increased overtime, from a norm of three weeks or less in 1971 to a norm of four weeks ormore in the late 1980s. The European Union’s Working Time Directive hasgiven added impetus to the increase in paid holiday entitlement, stipulatingfrom November 1999 a minimum of four weeks’ paid holiday entitlement ayear. IDS (2000) and DfEE (2001) estimate an average, annual, paid holidayentitlement in the UK of 25 days excluding public holidays, with 24 days formen and 26 days for women.Table 5.3 shows the distribution of paid holiday entitlements for full-timeand part-time employees in 1995 (not counting public holidays) – i.e. prior tothe UK’s adoption of the EU Working Time Directive. The average entitlementfor full-time employees was 23 days for men and 25 days for women, while forpart-time workers the averages are 6 days for men and 14 for women. Perhapsthe most remarkable part of Table 5.3 is the 4 per cent of full-time employeeswho have no paid holiday entitlement beyond statutory public holidays.Shiftwork and flexible working hoursOne of the limitations of the standard neoclassical economic analysis of theallocation of time is that it concentrates on the quantitative allocation of timebetween work and leisure. However, in addition to significant changes in thequantities of work and leisure time, as reviewed above, there are also significantchanges occurring in the flexibility of work and leisure time arrangements.These have an important role in the decisions of employers and thepreferences of employees.Table 5.3 Holiday entitlement, UK, 1995Days’ entitlement per year* Full-time employees (%) Part-time employees (%)0 4.1 36.01–5 0.4 4.36–10 2.2 9.011–15 7.2 12.216–20 22.8 15.421–25 38.1 13.526–30 16.5 4.631+ 8.7 5.0Source: DfEE, National Statistics website, www.statistics.gov.uk. Crown copyright material is reproducedwith the permission of the controller of HMSO.* Not counting public holidays