No doubt groans and cheers will be heard throughout the land as a proposed increased in holiday entitlement has been postponed until 2009.

The Government has today published its response to the recent consultation on proposals to increase the statutory holiday entitlement, indicating its intention to delay the full increase until April 2009. The consultation, 'Increasing the holiday entitlement: A further consultation', which closed on 13 April 2007, contained draft regulations for delivering the Government's 2005 election manifesto promise to make the current right to four weeks' paid annual leave additional to bank holidays. This is to be achieved by exercising the power, contained in S.13 of the Work and Families Act 2006, to extend statutory holiday entitlement to 5.6 weeks (pro-rata for part-time staff), subject to a maximum of 28 days.

It was initially proposed that the increase would be effected in two stages, with the entitlement increasing to 4.8 weeks (24 days) on 1 October 2007, and increasing again to 5.6 weeks (28 days) on 1 October 2008. However, in its response published on 12 June 2007, the Government has indicated that it intends to delay the second increase in the holiday entitlement from 1 October 2008 until 1 April 2009. It seems that the government have listened to concerns over the financial pressures this increase in holiday will bring.

Other changes to the proposals as a result of the consultation include enabling payment in lieu of the initial increase (the additional 0.8 weeks) until 1 April 2009, in order to assist employers with transitional arrangements; and providing an incentive for early compliance with the new rules, whereby employers who already give the equivalent of 28 days' holiday on 1 October 2007 will be exempted from the regulations, subject to certain conditions.

Any vehicle which is not used primarily for private purposes and which is used in the course of voluntary or paid work by more than one person will have to be smoke-free, even if the people who use the vehicle do so intermittently.

So for many employers this will be a stay of execution, but please remember it is just that. As of October of this year holiday entitlement will increase to 24 days a year (including bank holidays) and in April 2009 it will increase to 28 days (unless there is a governmental u-turn, or perhaps a change of government!).