EVERYBODY needs a break from work now and then.

That applies just as much to senior council executives as it does to front-line staff working in local schools and care homes.

It does come as a surprise, however, to learn that one of the perks of being a senior local authority bureaucrat is that, in addition to higher pay, you get more holiday than junior colleagues.

Staff of Chief Officer rank at City of York Council with five years on the job get 39 days of annual leave - on top of eight days public holiday a year. That is ten days more than junior colleagues with the same length of service.

Other local authorities also give senior staff more leave - but York is thought to be more generous than most.

Now a recommendation has been made that senior staff should have their leave entitlement cut by four days a year: a move they themselves have agreed to.

Quite right too. At a time when budgets are tight and everybody is working harder than ever, senior public servants should be setting an example.