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History of holidays

In 1938 the holidays with pay act was introduced which entitled working class people to 1 week’s paid holiday per year and this saw a big influx of holiday camps such as Butlins. In 1970 the entitlement was increased to 3 weeks and currently In the UK we are currently entitled to 28 days paid holiday per year. At the end of the 19th century most people had no paid holidays except bank holidays. The Trade Union first began to campaign for a paid holiday for workers in 1911. In the 1930s, paid vacation time became a very important issue for workers and it wasn’t until 1938 that the holidays with pay act was introduced.

Until the late 19th century holidays were only for the wealthy and it wasn’t until the bank holiday act was introduced in 1871 that working-class people got a few holidays each year. In the early 19th century everyone had Sunday off. In the 1870s some workers began to get a Saturday afternoon off. In the 1890s most workers gained a half day holiday on Saturday and the weekend was born. Most people couldn’t afford to go away for a week’s holiday so it was mostly days away to the seaside to places like Brighton and Blackpool.

Compared to other countries here in the UK we get a very fair holiday entitlement. In the US there is no holiday entitlement and it is at the discretion of the employer to give holiday which on average is 10 days for 1 year of service. In Canada workers get 16 days holiday, France and Iceland get 36, Australia 30 and Kuwait gets a massive 43 days paid holiday each year.

What would you do with 43 days holiday?

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