New research has revealed workers in the construction industry take less annual leave than those employed in other industries
A study carried out by www.sunshine.co.uk has found construction workers take the least amount of holidays when compared to other sectors.
The research showed many workers (86 per cent) did not take the majority of their holiday allowance because they were “too busy” to take time off. Only four per cent said they “didn’t want to/didn’t feel it was needed”.
According to the data, 34 per cent of UK employees finished the working year with unused annual leave, the majority of which (57 per cent) were not able to transfer it to the following year or receive payment instead.
The study was carried out as part of ongoing research into the holiday habits of Britons. It involved 3,172 people 18-years-old and over working in full time employment with 28 days paid annual leave. Respondents from 30 different sectors took part in the study.
Construction topped the chart as the industry that uses the least amount of holiday entitlement, with healthcare and retail coming in second and third place, respectively.
The top five sectors in which workers take the least amount of their holiday allowance are:
- Construction – 4 days
- Healthcare – 5 days
- Retail – 7 days
- Media & Journalism – 8 days
- Marketing – 10 days
The sectors most likely to take advantage of annual leave are:
- Â Hair & Beauty – 35 days
- Travel/Tourism – 32 days
- Recruitment – 30 days
- Hospitality – 29.5 days
- Sales – 28.5 days
Managing director of www.sunshine.co.uk Chris Clarkson said: “I can’t see why anyone with an allocated, paid holiday allowance would not take it all over the course of the year.
“It’s understandable that work gets busy from time to time, but that’s all the more reason to take some time off… not a reason to just sacrifice your annual leave!
“This is actually a really worrying trend, particularly because people working in construction and healthcare can’t afford to make mistakes in their jobs due to the nature of their roles and the environments they work in.
“Not taking time away from work can lead to tiredness and, in turn, errors.”
