One in eight bosses don't take holiday

As schools across the country break up and workers head for the airport, beach or campsite, half of Britain's bosses claim they do not leave their desks for a summer break.

Chief executives and bosses of companies are giving up their right to take holidays, according to independent research from IFF Research, which found one in eight company owners and employers do not take any holiday at all.

IFF Research's Small and Medium Enterprises Omnibus survey interviewed 507 decision-makers in British businesses and found 69 per cent took two weeks or fewer off work throughout the course of last year, with sole traders and small businesses the worst culprits for depriving themselves of holiday.

In contrast, in a separate survey by IFF Research of nearly 500 workers, 89 per cent of the employees surveyed were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the amount of holiday they take.

IFF Research's Mark Speed said: "Our findings paint a picture of sharp contrasts. Employees are mainly happy with the amount of holiday they receive, employers less so."

Of employees in the public sector, 57 per cent said they were very satisfied with the amount of holiday they take, compared to just 40 per cent in the private sector.