The Bank of England fears worker power, but most are taking a real-terms pay cut

Conditions have improved for a select few but on wages and flexible hours, the trend for employees is generally backwards. Can the rate-setters grasp that?

Goldman Sachs has bowed to demands for a less stressful workplace by offering a flexible vacation" scheme that allows senior bankers to take a holiday whenever they feel like a break.

Generosity further down the investment bank's global chain of command is more limited: it has told traders and admin staff - who are notorious for taking breaks lasting just a day - that they should disappear for at least one solid week out of the minimum of 15 days.