Government Response

The Government responded to this petition on Thursday 14th July 2016

The Government has no plans to create another public holiday, or to vary the existing arrangements. The current pattern is well established and accepted.

The Government is committed to bringing people together in strong, united communities. We encourage and support people to have shared aspirations, values and experiences. Festivals such as Eid contribute towards this objective. We regret however that we cannot agree to create new bank or public holidays to mark this festival.

The Government regularly receives requests for additional bank and public holidays to celebrate a variety of occasions including religious festivals.
The current pattern is well established and accepted, and there are no current plans to create another permanent bank holiday, or to enable employees to swap existing bank holidays.

Whilst an additional bank holiday may benefit some communities and sectors, the cost to the economy of an additional bank holiday remains considerable. The most recent estimate following an Impact Assessment (IA) for the additional holiday for the Diamond Jubilee is that a bank holiday (across the UK as a whole) costs employers around £1.2bn.

Employers are under no legal obligation to grant a religious-based request for time off. However Government's policy is to encourage employers to respond flexibly and sympathetically to any requests for leave, including requests for religious holidays, bearing in mind business needs. Acas provides detailed guidance for employers about religious festivals and holy days on its website.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills