British workers need an extra four bank holidays a year to catch up with their European colleagues.

A TUC report published Friday puts the UK at the bottom of the EU holiday league.

Britons need a 50 per cent boost to bank holidays to catch up with Italian colleagues who enjoy 12 national days off every year.

On annual holidays too, miserly British bosses are slammed for short-changing employees by a massive 13 days on the EU average.

TUC general secretary John Monks believes that having "the shortest holidays and the lowest productivity in Northern Europe" go hand in hand.

"This report shows that again British workers have been put at the bottom of the EU pile.

"They need proper time off work as much as their European colleagues. Offering more holidays makes sense for employers too happier workers are more productive," he said.

But employers disagree. A CBI spokesman told ePolitix.com "that there is no such thing as free lunch" and that sometimes workers could pay the price for extra holidays in terms of jobs and wages.

"The UK's strength is its flexible labour market and at a time when manufacturing is in recession it would not be sensible to emulate less dynamic economies," he said.

The report, "Banking on Your Holiday?" also finds that workers seeking an extra week's relaxation should join a trade union.

The average union member had 29 days' holiday a year, compared to 23 days for non-union members.