The Government is to add four days to the minimum annual entitlement this October and a further four in October next year. A proposal out today will allow employees to continue opting to work on some of their leave days until April 2009.
The BRC said staff are attracted by the flexible employment regime retailers offer and many have pushed for the option of working on some of their leave days to earn premium pay.
BRC director-general Kevin Hawkins said: 'This is not about denying staff extra days of leave. Most retailers already offer generous holidays in excess of the legal minimum and will cope with the extra entitlement, while many staff have pushed for the right to choose to earn premium rates by working on some of their leave days.
'The Government only stopped consulting on this in April and has still not published the final legislation, so it's been impossible for retailers to make any preparations. Informing and consulting staff over contract changes, taking away their ability to earn overtime and updating complicated [payment] IT in just three months would have created real logistical and staffing difficulties.'
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