Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK want the May Day bank holiday to be moved to later in the year.

Some 49 per cent of SMEs are keen for the bank holiday to be replaced as the number of bank holidays around the Easter period means some businesses continue to work through.

Of the 500 managing directors and business owners surveyed by research organisation IFF Research, 37 per cent called for the bank holiday to take place in October, in line with the government’s proposals for a “Trafalgar Day” which would mark the Royal Navy’s victory on 21 October 1805.

The SME Business Omnibus shows that 42 per cent of SMEs will remain open on the May Day bank holiday this year.

‘Our research shows that public holidays, especially when they come so close to Easter, present many SMEs with the difficult decision of whether or not to stay open for business – moving the bank holiday to later in the year alleviates this problem,’ says Mark Speed, joint managing director of IFF Research.

The majority, or 68 per cent, of small businesses believe there are the correct number of bank holidays in the year, but 48 per cent admit that they cause workload problems. 

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