In what must be one of the more poorly timed leaks in recent years, a source from BP has revealed the oil major is cancelling bank-holiday working rates and paid breaks for every staff member at its 310 company-owned forecourts.
The measures are thought to affect 5,400 people, and will offset minimum wage increases. They will see an end to the 1.5x hourly wage previously paid to staff working on bank holidays, while the 20 and 30-minute breaks forecourt employees are entitled to each shift will go unpaid from next year.
BP is increasing its hourly pay from £12.60 to £13.45 – above the rate mandated by government – but the end to break pay and bank-holiday bonus rates mean staff take-home pay will go almost unchanged.
The Guardian reports that the hourly wage increase represents a 6.7% pay rise, and while this was the angle being relayed to staff, the end of bank-holiday bonus rates and paid breaks bring with them a 6.25% cut in take-home pay.
A source familiar with the matter told the paper that the changes amount to a variation of staff contracts, and that workers could be “encouraged to agree to the changes without fully understanding their rights to disagree and without being offered any compensation or incentive to consent to the changes”.
A BP representative confirmed that the company “will no longer pay for rest breaks and pay premium rates on fewer national bank holidays”, but added that it will “be increasing our base hourly pay”, and that this increase will be implemented “two months earlier than usual, also in early February 2026”.
