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Bira welcomes Wales' business rates proposals but calls for key improvements

11 Jun 2025

Bira has welcomed the Welsh Government's consultation on business rate reforms for retail shops, whilst calling for significant improvements to ensure the proposals truly support high street... Read more…

New awards launch to champion Britain's independent high street heroes

9 Jun 2025

Retailers on Britain's high streets are being encouraged to put themselves forward for the first-ever Love Your High Street Awards, designed to celebrate the small businesses that bring... Read more…

"Tectonic shift" in employment law threatens independent retailer viability, warns Bira podcast

6 Jun 2025

Independent retailers are facing a "generational" transformation of employment law that could fundamentally change how small businesses operate, according to the final episode of Bira's first... Read more…

Retailers hope warm weather and bank holidays will boost high street sales

16 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has said that members are hopeful the warm weather, Easter weekend and upcoming bank holidays will provide a much-needed boost to high street sales.
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Economic growth surges to 0.7%, but "April reality check" looms for high street retailers

15 May 2025

UK economy delivers strongest quarterly performance in a year despite forecasts of business downturn.
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Communities come together for Local Bike Shop Day 2025 celebrations

13 May 2025

Local Bike Shop Day 2025 brought a wave of... Read more…

ACT parent company Bira welcomes Bank of England's latest interest rate cut

8 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has welcomed the Bank of England's decision to reduce interest rates from 4.5% to 4.25%, calling it a "much-needed boost" for the retail sector, including for cycling... Read more…

ACT parent company Bira responds to Beales' "Rachel Reeves Closing Down Sale" as iconic store makes final protest

8 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has responded to the news that the 144-year-old Beales department store is staging a "Rachel Reeves Closing Down Sale" in its final weeks of trading, with giant yellow... Read more…

Employment Rights Bill - ACT and Bira answer your questions

28 Apr 2025

The Labour Government’s new Employment Rights Bill is set to be in force this year and the new regulations will impact high street retailers up and down the country.
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ACT parent company Bira welcomes Chancellor's action on unfair trade practices

25 Apr 2025

ACT parent company Bira welcomes the Chancellor's announcement of plans to create a level playing field for British businesses against unfair international trade practices.
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More than a third of business leaders would vote against UK ‘switch off’ law for employees

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News

Over a third of business leaders have said they would vote against the introduction of a law in the UK that would protect an employee’s right ‘to switch off’, similar to the law now in place in France.

B2B service comparison website iCompario surveyed 2,000 UK employees on their views to introduce a similar employee right ‘to switch off’ law here. The legislation, which was introduced in France in 2017, bans employers from expecting employees to engage in communications, such as emails, outside of working hours.  The data found that almost two thirds of UK workers would support a similar law being introduced here.

iCompario also asked UK employees about pressure they feel to be contactable and respond to emails when not in work, as well as how easily they are able to ‘switch off’ during time off.

Despite the number of those in business leadership roles opposed to the introduction of a ‘right to disconnect’ law, more than half of those in senior roles felt ‘very pressured’ to check work emails and correspondence outside of their contracted work hours (53%).

3.5 million UK workers ‘feel very pressured’ to check their work emails and other job-related correspondence outside of their contracted working hours, with a further 6.5million ‘feeling some pressure’ to do so.  Only a third of those surveyed ‘don’t feel any pressure’ to check emails when not in work.

A further 1.8 million UK employees admit they put pressure on themselves to do this, meaning it doesn’t come from their employer.

According to the findings UK employees take an average of 5.7 days to truly switch off when out of office, but with typical holidays abroad for Brits lasting just 8.7 days on average, the time spent relaxing reduces substantially to just 3 days on average.

Downtime disappears completely when you consider UK adults spend just 3.3 days when holidaying on home soil.

One in seven admit they’re never able to switch off (14%) while on holiday.

The survey findings support the notion that employees who constantly check their work emails never truly switch off, and really enforces the act of allowing yourself a regular break from work and the comms that come with it as an essential step in being able to relax properly.

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