Part-time staff 'get no leave'

Almost one in three part-time workers receives no annual leave, according to Labour. Holiday from work is denied to 1.7 million part-timers, while thousands of others get no more than 10 days per year, David Blunkett, the party's education and employment spokesman, said. Meanwhile, 10 per cent of full- time workers are also refused leave.

Speaking at a Trades Union Congress conference yesterday, Mr Blunkett accused the Tories of creating a divided Britain where increasing numbers of people have no basic entitlements at work. "Many more people are working part-time and are changing jobs more frequently than before," he said. "It is important that we have a framework of standards in the workplace which recognises these changes."

Britain is the only European Union state where employees have no legal right to paid annual leave, TUC figures reveal.