Labor Day falls on a Sunday this year, meaning workers have one less day off. In some countries, public holidays are made up for – politicians are also demanding this for Germany.
Because May 1 falls on a Sunday this year, politicians from the Left and Greens are in favor of catching up on public holidays in the future. The first parliamentary secretary of the left-wing faction in the Bundestag, Jan Korte, told the Düsseldorf “Rheinische Post” (Monday): “Every lost holiday means more stress and less urgently needed recovery from the stresses of work and the pandemic.” The left will become active in parliament “so that there will be no more public holidays in the future”.
The labor market expert of the Greens, Beate Müller-Gemmeke, told the “Rheinische Post” that it was now time to discuss socially that public holidays that fall on a Sunday can be made up for, as has already happened in a whole series of countries is the case.
In 2022 there will be three times that a public holiday will be lost; New Year’s Day, May 1st and Christmas Day fall on a Sunday.
What are the pros?
- Depending on the year, employees lose some days off when public holidays fall on a Sunday. Compensation would provide more free time.
- In some sectors, a lot of overtime is worked, the burden in healthcare, for example, is high. Every day off counts.
- If you have more time, you can go shopping more – even if this is difficult in stores on public holidays. However, gastronomy can benefit from this.
- Holiday surcharges are paid – on a Sunday these are usually not applicable.
What speaks against it?
- More working days boost the economy, says Timo Wollmershäuser from the Munich Ifo Institute.
- In a difficult economic situation, every day of production and sales is needed, says the trade association.
- Since most shops are closed, a public holiday has little impact on consumption.
Some EU countries already have equalization regulations
In Great Britain, Ireland and Spain the public holiday will be made up for on the following Monday. This is also the case in Australia. In Luxembourg, a replacement must be offered within three months. In Belgium, the employer can determine which day can be taken off.
According to a survey by the opinion research institute YouGov last year, half of Germans are in favor of nationwide public holidays, if they fall on a weekend, being made up as days off on the following Monday. In 2021 May 1st fell on a Saturday and the Day of German Unity on a Sunday. In February last year, the SPD politician Dirk Wiese for compensation made strong.