Clash means extra day at work

AS ASCENSION DAY AND MAY 1 HOLIDAY COINCIDE THIS YEAR, MANY WORKERS ARE “LOSING” A BANK HOLIDAY. This year is turning out to be a bad one for those who like to scrutinise the calendar to

find how many days off they can have – 2008 is a leap year (hence an extra working day) and now Ascension Day and the Fête du Travail will clash. Thursday May 1 sees these two bank holidays

fall on the same day. This is a rare situation, and one that usually leads to disputes. French workers are used to the idea they have 11 bank holidays a year, and if two fall on the same day

they expect to get another day in lieu. However technically, 11 days are not a right for everyone. It depends on the wording of your convention collective - a document on work conditions

drawn up between unions and bosses. If it says you should get 11 days, you are owed an extra one. If it is not explicit, it is up to your employer to decide. This was clarified in a legal

dispute between the CGT union and the private hospitals sector in 1995, when 1945 Armistice Day and Ascension Day clashed. This year public sector workers have been told they can’t have an

extra day as Civil Service Minister Eric Woerth says there is nothing in the documents relating to their work conditions that spells out entitlement to 11 days. If that is the case for you,

you can console yourself with the thought that this clash won’t happen again until 2160. Photo: John Knowles