3 in 4 workers in the UK want flexible Bank Holidays

• OVO offers its people flexible Bank Holidays to give more autonomy around annual leav
• Ownership of time is essential to progressing inclusion and diversity within the workplace
• This forms part of OVO’s People Offer – giving its people more choice and flexibility, in addition to green benefits

London, 28th April 2023: As the UK prepares for a string of Bank Holidays in May, OVO offers its people the opportunity to use the time off on an alternative day of the year, providing more flexibility and choice to its people.

This follows new research commissioned by OVO showing nearly three in four UK workers (72%) would like to have flexible bank holidays. More than half (51%) say their top reason is to be able to make other special occasions such as weddings,  while over a third (34%) would use the time off for religious and cultural events and 31% would use it to save money for foreign travel.  Of all the bank holidays, UK workers want to swap out the late May spring bank holiday (May 29th) the most. 

The new flexible bank holiday offer enhances OVO’s overall approach to flexible working, creating a place where people can invest in their career while balancing other aspects of their life with no rigid expectations. 

Flexible working also creates an environment of inclusivity, giving people from different faiths and backgrounds the opportunity to practise their beliefs how and when they wish. 

At the same time, more than half of UK professionals say their employer has rowed back on some of their flexible working policies, with nearly three quarters (74%) disagreeing with their employer’s changes. Over half of employees believe this has negatively impacted on their job satisfaction (66%) and motivation at work (59%). 

This OVO flexible working accompanies a range of other flexible offerings within OVO’s People Offer, such as:

• Unlimited compassionate leave
• Recharge leave: after exceptional busy periods OVO’s people can take extra paid leave
• Moments that matter leave: ensuring OVO’s people never have to choose between work and the most important moments in life

Charlotte Eaton, Chief People Officer, OVO, said:

“At OVO we understand that fixed Bank Holidays don’t work for everyone. So, having listened to our people, as part of our new People Offer we introduced flexible bank holidays. Our community can choose to take their flexible Bank Holiday on a different day if they prefer – this might be to celebrate their own faith and beliefs, attend a special event, or to simply enjoy their annual leave when the sun is shining. We’ve aimed to make our offering as progressive as possible, putting our people first so they can make the choice that works for them and their families.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

• Christmas Day, New Year, and The Coronation of His Majesty The King remain fixed Bank Holidays for all.

For more information please contact:

[email protected] 

About OVO

OVO was founded in 2009 and redesigned the energy experience to be fair, effortless, green and simple for all customers. OVO was awarded Company of the Decade at the BusinessGreen Leaders’ Awards and has won multiple awards, including Innovation Project of the Year, for investing in the market leading technology, customer service operations and digital products to help customers cut their carbon emissions. OVO is on a mission through its sustainability strategy Plan Zero to tackle the most important issue of our time; the climate crisis, by bringing our customers with us on the journey towards zero carbon living. OVO Energy has committed to being a net zero carbon business and achieve bold science-based carbon reduction targets, while helping customers reduce their household emissions at the same time.

About polling:

Strand Partners’ specialist research team conducted an online survey of 1,012 UK employees from a nationally representative sample of the public (by age, gender and NUT1 region) online between 27.04.23 and 28.04.23. All data was then weighted against the latest ONS census.

Strand Partners’ online polling studies are accredited by the British Polling Council and conducted under their rules of disclosure. All data gathered is of a publishable quality and is produced within Market Research Society guidelines.

For full data tables and more detail of the methodology, please e-mail: [email protected].