Workers 'should take as much time off as possible'

British workers have been encouraged to take as much holiday time as possible following research which found that an increasing number of people are failing to make use of their annual holiday entitlement.

According to a survey by BT Business, one in ten Brits will miss out on a week of their annual leave this year because they are worried that they will not have a job to come back to.

Overall, employees will give up the equivalent of a quarter of their annual holiday time based on the government's legal minimum requirement for time off, the research found.

BT Business managing director Bill Murphy stressed the importance of balancing the demands of work with the value of time off.

"We all need to take a break from work and recharge and this is a worrying situation," he said. "Companies that are adopting smarter working are seeing the positive impact on their staff motivation.

"Cancelling summer breaks will not only have a catastrophic effect on employee wellbeing but can also impact their productivity and therefore a company's overall output."

BT recently reached an agreement with Flybe that will see wireless internet networks installed at the airline's lounges at Belfast City Airport, Birmingham Airport, Exeter Airport, Edinburgh Airport, Gatwick Airport and Glasgow Airport.

Posted by Clare, 05 August 2009 12:51

News tags

• Flybe