Grant Thornton announces flexible approach to public holidays
The UK wing of Grant Thornton is set to launch a new approach to bank holiday. From the start of 2022, the advisory and audit firm will allow staff to choose when they take public holiday leave, rather than on fixed dates.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought many workplace issues to a head in recent months. One of the most prominent items on the agenda has been the desire for workplace flexibility. After working from home for the best part of two years, many staff have enjoyed better work-life balances, while showing they can be just as productive from home as from the office.
Responding to this, many firms have rolled out changed offers regarding when and where they expect staff to work. It has been a particularly common theme in the consulting industry, with a range of organisations allowing staff to work from home for at least part of the week, or changing what the working week is all together.
Grant Thornton’s UK wing has become the latest consulting and accounting firm to adapt its working model, with the launch of a new flexible approach to public holidays. From January 2022, the firm will offer employees the choice to take public holiday leave on the dates that are most meaningful to them, rather than on the fixed bank holiday dates. A release from the firm branded the plan as a more “inclusive” way to enjoy holidays.
Perry Burton, Head of People and Culture at Grant Thornton UK, said, “Flexibility and agility have always been at the centre of the way we work at Grant Thornton but working remotely throughout the pandemic, and the heightened experience of balancing of personal and professional responsibilities, has shown us the way to make changes that will support our people in the new, flexible, hybrid working world of the future.”
Offered in addition to their contractual holiday allowance, the new policy will allow Grant Thornton employees to choose alternative dates to take their public holiday allowance. This will usually mean they can opt to move about between eight and ten days of holiday per year, depending on where they live in the UK.
Burton added, “At Grant Thornton we value and respect difference. We want to support our people celebrating the holidays and observances that are central to their religion, ethnicity, cultural heritage or other parts of their identity. This more inclusive approach to public holidays will allow our people to use their holiday in way that is most meaningful to them, whether that’s having a day of holiday to celebrate Eid rather than Easter, or a day off during PRIDE month.”
Nationally, the UK has one of the smallest numbers of public holidays in Europe. The average pay from those holidays is lower than many other nations too. Employees in Britain only take home an estimated £570 in pay from public holidays, or an estimated £71.26 per day on this basis, compared to Switzerland at £130.45 per day.
