UK engineers are facing heavy pressure around bank holidays as work slows sharply over long weekends, only to surge once sites reopen, according to figures from workforce management platform Joblogic.
Industry-wide analysis shows job scheduling falls 49% during bank holidays, with completions down 54% as appointments are cancelled or postponed. But once the holiday ends, demand rebounds rapidly, with a 58% surge in jobs creating significant catch-up pressure.
The data reveals sharp contrasts across trades, with some sectors using the downtime to clear backlogs, and others struggling to recover once work resumes.
Electrical maintenance
- Scheduled jobs drop 50% and completions fall 47% during bank holidays
- Attendance is 183% faster than the norm, making it the quickest response rate of all trades
- Post-holiday scheduling rises 46% and completions increase 16%
HVACR
- Scheduled jobs drop 47% and completions fall 49% during bank holidays
- Attendance rate is 88% slower than average, the weakest of all sectors
- Once the break ends, scheduling rises 64% and completions jump 86%, the sharpest increase of any trade
Plumbing, heating, and drainage
- Scheduled jobs fall 40% and completions drop 57% during bank holidays
- Attendance rate is 120% slower than normal, putting pressure on engineers
- Post-holiday scheduling surges 78% and completions rise 63%, the largest scheduling increase of any sector
Building maintenance
- Scheduled jobs fall 10% during bank holidays, while completions rise 155% as crews take advantage of empty sites
- After the holiday, completions drop 61% and scheduling falls 19%
- Bank holiday tickets take 30 hours longer to complete than weekday jobs and 129 hours longer than weekend jobs
Facilities management
- Scheduled jobs decline 50% and completions fall 64% during bank holidays
- Attendance is 467% quicker than average response time, indicating strong prioritisation
- After the holiday, scheduling climbs 52% and completions surge 83%
“Bank Holidays create a cycle of cancellations and surges that can overwhelm teams if they are unprepared,” says Paul Webb, Head of Learning Strategy & Customer Education at Joblogic. “Our data shows the same pattern every time: new jobs fall away during the long weekend, engineers focus on clearing backlogs, and then demand spikes sharply afterwards.
“For many firms, this creates delays, SLA risks, and pressure on resources, especially if they don’t have the right systems in place to help manage the fluctuations.
“By anticipating these peaks and troughs, service businesses can get ahead by scheduling preventative work in advance, optimising engineer dispatch, and ultimately delivering faster, more reliable service when demand peaks. That’s exactly what Joblogic enables: turning what could be an industry-wide challenge into a competitive edge.”