Thanks to union campaigning and government action, the 2007 Christmas and Boxing Day bank holidays are the first that scrooge bosses won't be able to count against the European minimum of four weeks paid holiday. While other European countries have always given their citizens four weeks paid holiday in addition to their public holidays, in the UK employers have been able to include bank holidays as part of their staff's four-week minimum holiday entitlement. But after a sustained union campaign, the Government has closed this loophole and increased the UK's minimum holiday entitlement by adding eight days to the European four-week minimum (as we have eight bank holidays).The new right is not the same as a legal right to take bank holidays off work. Some jobs, such as the emergency services, require year round cover and other service related businesses, such as retail and leisure; expect to trade on many bank holidays.
TUC Press release