UK workers set to spend Christmas with colleagues

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.news.royalmailgroup.com/news ... ce_network

• One in Ten Are Not Taking Holiday Entitlement Due to Job Security Fears

As you prepare to spend your Christmas relaxing at home or holidaying abroad, spare a thought for those people who are going to be spending Christmas hard at work.

A study by the Post Office® reveals that more than a third (32 per cent) of UK workers will be working over the Christmas period and thirteen per cent of those people will be missing out on their holiday entitlement as a result.*

Credit crunch worries mean that many people are reluctant to take time off. One in ten (nine per cent) people questioned admitted that they were too concerned about job security to take holiday and heavy workloads and issues with shifts are also preventing people from kicking back over the festive season.

Top reasons for not taking full holiday entitlement:
1)Rolling holiday to following year (33 per cent)
2)Shift issues (33 per cent)
3)Too much work on (28 per cent)
4)Other colleagues have already booked the time (17 per cent)
5)No one to spend Christmas with (8 per cent)
Enjoy work (8 per cent)
Don’t celebrate (8 per cent)


A lack of organisation also plays its part as seventeen per cent of people found that colleagues had snapped up holiday dates before they had a chance. Meanwhile a workaholic eight per cent enjoy work so much they just can’t bear to take time off.

Andrew Spice, from Post Office® Travel said: "Planning a holiday can be a stressful time but to ensure you don’t lose out on valuable annual leave, we advise booking your time off from work as early as possible, even if you don’t plan on booking your actual holiday until the last minute.

"In addition to getting the time off, we know that many people find preparing for a holiday a stressful process what with shopping, changing money and getting insurance. That’s why at the Post Office® we offer a one-stop-shop for travel services - providing currency, travel insurance and passport and EHIC services.

"For those who are able to use up their entitlement - whether at home or abroad - it is vital they ensure they have the right travel insurance in place to enjoy the festive period with peace of mind."

Workers in the food and beverages sector will be putting in the most hours this Christmas (sixty nine per cent), followed by retail (sixty eight per cent), insurance (sixty six per cent) and utilities (fifty eight per cent). As expected, forty nine per cent of people in the emergency services and health care sector will be working over the holiday period, with a whopping sixty one per cent of those people losing between eight and eleven days holiday this year.

The sectors that will have it easiest are people that work for oil and energy companies (sixty one per cent won’t be working over the Christmas period), while IT workers and the media will also be easing off over the festive period. (55 and 57 per cent respectively).

So how will those lucky people who aren’t working spend the festive season? Well seventy two per cent will be enjoying time at home; sixteen per cent will be going away within the UK and more than two million people* (4 per cent) will be heading abroad.

Ends
For further information contact:

3 Monkeys Communications
Redzi Mangwana /Fiona Chow
redzi@3-monkeys.co.uk/ Fiona@3-monkeys.co.uk

Post Office Ltd
Hayley Fowell
hayley.fowell@royalmail.com

Notes to editors
* Omnibus poll of 1890 people, carried out via TPoll using the Post Office® Panel in December 2008. The Post Office® Panel is a specially recruited group of consumers, nearly all of whom are Post Office® customers. They provide regular and in-depth consumer insight into spending patterns and trends within the UK to the Post Office®. The Post Office® Panel is comprised, in part, of some of the 24 million customers who use the Post Office® each week and reflects every social demographic within the UK, as Post Office® customers do. Additional calculations are based on official UK population figures from The Office of National Statistics
Regional:
Most likely not to use full holiday entitlement by region:
1)East of England (eleven per cent)
2)North West (ten per cent)
3)Wales (nine per cent) Scotland (nine per cent)
4)London (seven per cent)
5)Northern Ireland (all at three per cent)
South West
Midlands
North East


About Post Office® Travel Services
The Post Office® is the largest bureau de change provider in the UK, offering over 72 different currencies with 0% commission on all foreign currency and travellers’ cheques. The Post Office® pre-paid Travel Money Card offers customers a secure and convenient way to carry their holiday money.

The Post Office® Credit Card charges 0% commission for all purchases made overseas and also offers customers the flexibility to pay for two large purchases at any time at a discounted fixed rate - ideal for splashing out on holiday!

Customers can buy currency over the counter at over 8,000 Post Office® branches nationwide. The full range of currencies is available on demand at 1600 branches, euros and US dollars are available on demand at more than 2,500 branches and 3,800 branches sell euros over the counter. Customers can pre-order currency for next day collection at any Post Office® branch in the UK.
To find your nearest Post Office® bureau de change branch call 08457 223344 or visit postoffice.co.uk.

[tomangoe]

They missed off one sector who won't be doing much over Christmas-with a whopping 100% off for a whole 24 days,its our wonderful hard working 2-faced MP's