Why isn't Good Friday a public holiday ?

MadDog76

Menas wrote: »

But the point is that Bank holidays and public holidays are different.
You believe they are the same.
If they are the same then why are banks closed on good friday - but it is not a public holiday?

I don't believe they are the same ......... Public Holidays are Public Holidays and "bank holidays" do not exist, despite the fact that some people mistakenly still use that expression.

Good Friday is a Holy Day of Obligation within the Catholic Church ........... it's not a "bank holiday" just because banks close on that day.
By that logic, every Sunday is a "bank holiday" so ........... or, by the same logic, we could call Good Friday an "Off-Licence Holiday", a "GP Holiday", a "My Local Corner Shop Holiday" etc.

RealJohn

Discodog wrote: »

Surely the Church would encourage it.

You must have missed the memo - anything the Church encourages is automatically bad. Unless the anti-religious want to do it.

Zaph

MadDog76 wrote: »

I'm sorry Zaph but you're wrong.

St. Stephen's Day is a Public Holiday, if it falls on a weekend, you do not have any automatic legal entitlement to have the next working day off work. Your employer can require you to attend work on those days.
However, when this happens you are entitled to a paid day off within a month of the public holiday or an additional day of annual leave or an additional day's pay.

Good Friday is just an Observance Day.

One of us is wrong, but given that I have worked in a bank and have many friends who currently work in various banks around Dublin, I'm not liking your odds.

How it breaks down is as follows:

Good Friday - Bank Holiday. Bank staff do not work this day, however other businesses will decide themselves whether they will stay open or close. If you work on this day you are not entitled to extra pay or a time off in lieu.

Easter Monday - Public holiday. Everyone, including bank staff, are entitled to the day off. Should you have to work you are entitled to extra pay and/or time off in lieu.

Christmas Day & St. Stephen's Day - Public holiday. Everyone, including bank staff, are entitled to the day off. Should you have to work you are entitled to extra pay and/or time off in lieu. If either or both fall on a weekend the next working day is taken in lieu.

Next working day after St. Stephen's Day (or day observed as the St. Stephen's Day public holiday if 26th is on a weekend) - Bank Holiday. Bank staff do not work this day, however other businesses will decide themselves whether they will stay open or close. If you work on this day you are not entitled to extra pay or a time off in lieu.

I trust that this clears things up.

MadDog76

Zaph wrote: »

One of us is wrong, but given that I have worked in a bank and have many friends who currently work in various banks around Dublin, I'm not liking your odds.

How it breaks down is as follows:

Good Friday - Bank Holiday. Bank staff do not work this day, however other businesses will decide themselves whether they will stay open or close. If you work on this day you are not entitled to extra pay or a time off in lieu.

Easter Monday - Public holiday. Everyone, including bank staff, are entitled to the day off. Should you have to work you are entitled to extra pay and/or time off in lieu.

Christmas Day & St. Stephen's Day - Public holiday. Everyone, including bank staff, are entitled to the day off. Should you have to work you are entitled to extra pay and/or time off in lieu. If either or both fall on a weekend the next working day is taken in lieu.

Next working day after St. Stephen's Day (or day observed as the St. Stephen's Day public holiday if 26th is on a weekend) - Bank Holiday. Bank staff do not work this day, however other businesses will decide themselves whether they will stay open or close. If you work on this day you are not entitled to extra pay or a time off in lieu.

I trust that this clears things up.

I think the problem is you are still holding onto the term "bank holiday", which no longer exists in any official capacity .......... lots of people, particularly the older generation, do still use this slang-term but it's no more valid than a Tesco employee using the term "Tesco Holiday" to describe their day off.

Zaph

MadDog76 wrote: »

I think the problem is you are still holding onto the term "bank holiday", which no longer exists in any official capacity .......... lots of people, particularly the older generation, do still use this slang-term but it's no more valid than a Tesco employee using the term "Tesco Holiday" to describe their day off.

So what would you call a holiday where the only people who are actually entitled to the day off are bank staff?

Lavinia

I'd like if Good Friday is day off, if proposed I'd vote yes

The flying mouse

cheeses lads yis have mind boggled with all them days....

MadDog76

Zaph wrote: »

So what would you call a holiday where the only people who are actually entitled to the day off are bank staff?

"Post Office Holiday", obviously.

timthumbni

Alf Stewart. wrote: »

You guys over there have twelve weeks in July

No ya flaming galaaaahhhh. We get 2 days off over the 12th July week. I'm wondering now if the republic gets a couple of days another time. Or if we just get more holidays. Strewthhhhhh.

rubadub

Zaph wrote: »

So what would you call a holiday where the only people who are actually entitled to the day off are bank staff?

Is this true?

I thought bank holiday was just a slang term now. I believe in the past it was in law. But I thought now a bank could open on good friday if they wished.

You mention some system closing down, but I expect banks could still open if they wished, just like many pubs were open on good friday.

Balmed Out

I find the day annoying. Business's seem to arbitrarily work or not from estate agents to gyms.

cleanslate

Zaph is correct and he is talking about 27th December which is a Bank Holiday but not a Public Holiday. Who can we petition to make Good Friday a Public Holiday??

Coillte_Bhoy

RebekahD wrote: »

Its a confusing day ! The postman works, shops are open yet the doctor's which are important are closed !
Love to know who makes the rules on these things !

Not in our office.

gimli2112

It's not? I better call work.

dxhound2005

Good Friday is cited in dictionaries as being in the language from around 1300. Bank Holiday is from around 1875. Holiday itself is derived from Holy Day. So we will call Good Friday a Bank Holy Day.

I think we should all switch to a Teacher's Holidays model.

The majority of people have it off anyway, I've always had good Friday off and know very few people who don't have it off.

The Talking Bread

RebekahD wrote: »

Its a confusing day ! The postman works, shops are open yet the doctor's which are important are closed !
Love to know who makes the rules on these things !

The Backwards Man

Malcolm Powerful Turkey wrote: »

The majority of people have it off anyway, I've always had good Friday off and know very few people who don't have it off.

That's that then.

TheValeyard

cleanslate wrote: »

Zaph is correct and he is talking about 27th December which is a Bank Holiday but not a Public Holiday. Who can we petition to make Good Friday a Public Holiday??

Glad it took you only two years to reach that conclusion

For Forks Sake

So here's me in 'holy catholic Ireland' working away, while my godless Sassanach colleagues across the water get the day off.

wes

Use to have Good Friday off in work, but they gave us an extra holiday instead of having it off. So can't complain about that. Its a quite enough day to work.

pickarooney

Malcolm Powerful Turkey wrote: »

The majority of people have it off anyway... I know very few people who don't have it off.

biko

I dunno, for us atheists it's just another day like.

Greyfox

Malcolm Powerful Turkey wrote: »

The majority of people have it off anyway, I've always had good Friday off and know very few people who don't have it off.

Lucky for you, I've never had it off, as it's not a bank/public holiday companies don't have to give you the day off