UK 'should get four more bank holidays' as its offering is 'stingiest in the EU'

Union chiefs today demand struggling Brits get more bank holidays as families enjoy their last three-day weekend until Christmas.

The Trades Union Congress says the eight bank holidays per year offered in England and Wales are the stingiest offering of any country in the EU.

TUC chiefs are urging Britain to match the EU average of 12 bank holidays per year, a total enjoyed in Italy, Luxembourg and Spain.

And they say at least one holiday should be in the four-month gap between now and Christmas Day after a "national conversation" about the timing.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said new technology should be giving people more time off "but instead work is becoming more intense", with more putting in unpaid overtime.

Families are enjoying their last three-day weekend until Christmas (PA)

She added: “Working people deserve a break. And as the days start to get shorter we could all do with something to look forward to. The government should create a new public holiday between now and Christmas.”

Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland and Cyprus all give workers 15 bank holidays a year, almost twice as many as in the UK, said the organisation.

Labour has vowed to add four bank holidays to the calendar - one for each patron saint of the four nations of the UK.

A think tank estimated the cost of each bank holiday in 2012 at £2.3billion.