Bank 'calls time' on bank holiday

90 out of 1500 HSBC branches will be open

HSBC is to open 90 out of 1500 branches on Tuesday 28 December, a bank holiday.

Customers will be able to buy mortgages, loans and savings products but will not have access to counter services on the day.

The branches are located near major shopping centres and will be staffed by volunteers on double pay.

Trade union Amicus-Unifi said it had agreed to the openings, but would take action if UK banks tried to compel branch staff to work on bank holidays.

"Customers are out and about shopping so why should they not have the opportunity to use a bank," Caroline Mooney, a HSBC spokeswoman, told BBC News.

Any bank that tries to compel staff to work on bank holidays will possibly face industrial action Rob O'Neill, Amicus-Unifi union

Ms Mooney added that the bank will be offering cut price loans and home insurance, in a move she described as a "January sale".

HSBC's step is believed to be the first time a UK bank has opened a substantial number of its branches on a bank holiday.

Strict provisos

HSBC has been in negotiation with the banking industry trade union, Amicus-Unifi, over the plans to open the branches.

Rob O'Neill, Amicus-Unifi HSBC national secretary, told BBC News that the union had only agreed to the branch openings with strict provisos.

"The branches must be staffed with volunteers who will receive double pay and a day off in lieu.

"Banks, increasingly, see themselves as retailers and opening on a bank holiday, I suppose, is just part of that process.

"We will not tolerate any pressures on our members. Any bank that tries to compel staff to work on bank holidays will possibly face industrial action."

Mr O'Neill said he had doubts HSBC's move would prove anything other than a flash in the pan.

"Opening on a bank holiday is not a cheap option for HSBC and it could prove disastrous as evidence suggests consumers are pulling in their horns.

"In truth, some members of staff will be hoping the branch openings are a success while others hope the move will fail so that it does not catch on."

Your comments:

Freedom of choice- if people want to do their banking the facilities are there. If they don't, they won't. Sounds fair to me.
Simon Jones, London UK

This is part of the thin edge of the wedge, undermining holidays when families should be spending time together. A few years down the road, we'll be like the U.S. where certain shops and cinemas open after lunchtime on Christmas day! It's bad enough major stores and supermarkets will be open on the 26th, as if we can't not buy something for more than two days in a row!
Wendy, UK

There shouldn't be any problem about it as long as there's no element of compulsion to work on the day, and as long as it's on mutually agreeable terms.
Garry Grant, Ilford, England

I think that this is probably going to be a waste of time, especially if the counters are not open as well. I cannot imagine there will be many people who cannot wait a day or so.
Martin Hollands, Aylesbury, England

I just hope the others don't follow suit and start pushing staff into working. But what customers really want when out shopping is access to a cash machine rather than to pop in and talk about their finances. They're more interested in shopping for bargains. Let's hope it's a one off.
Phil Stephens, Llanelli, South Wales

"It seems like a pointless exercise to me. Most banking products can be bought on the internet, and I very much doubt anyone is going to be thinking of sorting out a mortgage or changing it that soon after Christmas. The way things are going, Christmas Day in a few years time, will be just like a Sunday, lots of shops open and workers compelled to be working instead of spending the day with their loved ones.
Dave, Ware, Hertfordshire

What an excellent idea. Bank Holidays are a relic of the past. All they do is compress everyone's holidays into the same space, with the inevitable consequences for traffic and crowds. We should do away with them, give employees an enhanced leave allowance, and leave it to them to plan when to take time off.
Dave Wilson, Otley, England

Typical that the customer can't use the counter services to put in cash or pay bills. Of course the bank will come out smiling with more products sold.
Carol Brickley, Reading, Berks

The Way things are going, Christmas Day in a few years time, will be just like a Sunday, lots of shops open and workers compelled to be working instead of spending the day with their loved ones.
Dave, Ware, Hertfordshire

With Christmas falling on a Saturday this year we have 4 consecutive days, not two, in which many banks and other shops will be closed. The 28th is three days after Christmas and I personally think double-pay and a day of in lieu is a rather attractive offer to work then. So long as it remains voluntary then there is nothing wrong with this at all, and for those who wish this it can be a win-win situation.
Philip Thompson, Plymouth, UK

Being able to buy mortgages, loans and savings products but not have access to counter services on the day is crazy! It is the counter services we need, not to be able to buy mortgages or loans!
Richard, London