Yorkshire Building Society has said it will give all staff Christmas Eve off this year.

As 24 December falls on a Thursday, it will mean the lender’s employees will have five consecutive days off.

As a result, customers will have to plan ahead if they need to contact the society as it will be closed the additional day.

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According to the lender, it has provided the extra day off as a result of the challenges faced in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mike Regnier, chief executive of Yorkshire Building Society, said: “We wanted to do something that recognised the extraordinary year that our colleagues have been through, and hope that giving colleagues Christmas Eve off this year and providing an extended break to relax and spend time with family at home shows in part my immense gratitude to them.”

Furthermore, the mutual outlined that it has not furloughed any colleagues this year and has offered dependents and carers leave at full pay.

In addition, anyone who has been shielding, unwell or needs to self-isolate and cannot work from home has qualified for paid sick leave at their full salary.

Regnier added: “From the beginning, our response to COVID-19 has been to focus on the key priorities of keeping members in their homes, making sure their savings are secure and accessible, and looking after our colleagues’ safety and wellbeing.

“We have kept as many branches open as we could throughout the pandemic and helped more customers to access our online services so they could manage their money safely from home.

“I hope customers understand why we have made this decision to recognise our colleagues in this way after this unprecedented year.”