This week I learned that Good Friday is NOT a bank holiday

[BlackAmericanoNoSugar]

My whole life I thought it was, everyone behaves as though it is, but officially it isn't. Came up in a discussion, I was insistent that I was right but when I Googled I was wrong. I'm very peeved about being wrong.

I don't work Fridays and apparently that means I get nothing for the public holiday whereas when we had the extra bank holiday on a Friday at Paddy's day I got it pro-rata to take the next week.

I'm mildly surprised by that. I always think of Ireland as being more religious and so I would have expected the PH/BH to be the same.

You do have hot cross buns, don't you?

Yes to hot cross buns, although not hugely popular.

How long is the Good Friday Gospel? It might be less effort to just resign myself to hell.

Really Frigging Long

@BlackAmericanoNoSugar
According to www.gov.uk/bank-holidays#england-and-wales it's a bank holiday in all the UK countries.

Erm... Scotland isn't independent quite yet, and it isn't a public holiday here. Many places are closed, but not all (as I found out to my cost one year in my first professional job when I'd agreed to go on a big night out the night before...)

looks like it is now. just checked.
haven't got time to check the history of it now.
but i remember having to take annual leave for it.
i know it depends upon one's contract of employment,
but this was the public sector, so seems strange.

I miss not having Good Friday off. And as a ex uk civil servant, we also had a half day on Maundy Thursday. That was always fun.

Bavaria has the best bank holidays, there are 13. Ireland is a bit sad with only 10, and number 10 is brand new.

I've just googled and apparently Cambodia is the place to go if you want bank holidays. 29 of them a year. 29!!!

[quote IrnBruTortie]@BlackAmericanoNoSugar
According to www.gov.uk/bank-holidays#england-and-wales it's a bank holiday in all the UK countries.

Erm... Scotland isn't independent quite yet, and it isn't a public holiday here. Many places are closed, but not all (as I found out to my cost one year in my first professional job when I'd agreed to go on a big night out the night before...)[/quote]
Somebody should tell the www.gov.uk site then.

@alexdgr8

looks like it is now. just checked. haven't got time to check the history of it now. but i remember having to take annual leave for it. i know it depends upon one's contract of employment, but this was the public sector, so seems strange.

Ooo you are right @alexdgr8 , I am sorry (I just checked too, here www.mygov.scot/scotland-bank-holidays ). How odd, but interesting. We get the second, and a fair Monday in many places, and St Andrew's day too...

It’s not a public holiday in Scotland either. I always thought (made this up in my head maybe!) that we get an extra day at New Year - 2nd Jan is a public holiday in Scotland - so don’t get Good Friday.

@BlackAmericanoNoSugar

Or Paddy's Day

Paddy's Day isn't a public holiday

@alexdgr8

i don't think good friday is a bank holiday in the uk. it certainly wasn't when i was young.

Of course it is

That's three more than England! De Pfeffel needs to be making anti-Sturgeon posters: Scotland Isn't Working.

Out-fucking-rageous.

It's such a pain OP, I totally agree. To make matters worse, where I work we always closed on Good Friday. Then covid hit and lockdowns etc so the last 2 Easters have been quite different. This year, the boss has said that it's not right to close the place for a religious day and so we're open as normal People are up in arms over it!! By rights, we never should have just closed, and we certainly weren't entitled to the day off with pay, but because it was always the way people have gotten used to it. It's going to take a while to get used to the change now I can tell you!

I am in Ireland and most of the offices I know are open on Friday including the large accountancy firm in our building. I know there are a few small family run places are not open but that is more due to going away for Easter.
Some of the smaller shops close for an hour to allow staff go to mass but think that is dying out.

@Cuck00soup

I'm mildly surprised by that. I always think of Ireland as being more religious and so I would have expected the PH/BH to be the same.

You do have hot cross buns, don't you?

I think it's peculiar to very Catholic countries - I think it might not be a public holiday in Austria too (am very hazy on this, but I think the theological justification is that Jesus had a miserable old time of things on that Friday so everyone else should suffer too by going to work.).

Whereas in more Protestant parts of Germany it's a day off and public holiday, but everything fun is banned: no dancing or concerts IIRC.
I work with people in a number of countries, it's always fun trying to remember who has a day off when. And in Germany each of the 16 states has its own holidays. Berlin didn't have enough holidays a while back and had to choose one extra: they went for International Women's Day on 8 March, which is nice.

That is nice @ItsOnlyWordsInnit as are hot cross buns

Do civil servants still get a half day for Maundy Thursday?

Really PurpleCorkHeart? The expectation here in Dublin seems to be that everyone is getting a four day weekend (except the hospitality sector and professions that are constantly needed obviously). Certainly my DH's office is closed for a long weekend.

Berlin didn't have enough holidays a while back and had to choose one extra: they went for International Women's Day on 8 March, which is nice.

Yay! Good for Berlin.

Ive always worked good Fridays when I worked for larger multinationals. In the ten years I worked for small construction type companies I had it off. DH works for US multinational and he will be working. My early morning fitness class is operating as normal on Friday as for everyone who attends it's a normal working day.

Yes, very much expected you work or take annual leave. I am in County Cork.

When I first went to live in England I thought it was great getting Good Friday off. I also took Easter Tuesday without realising it isn’t a public holiday in England! First I knew about it was when my boss arrived at my house to check I wasn’t dead! I said, “sure it’s Easter Tuesday”. She replied “what’s Easter Tuesday?” I was like, “it’s TODAY!!” 🤣🤣🤣

@Silverjellybean71 I've never heard of Easter Tuesday