mad_jock I hope that the many ATCOs who bend over backwards to provide a first class service, whether it be to A380s or clockwork mice, read your posting above.
When I was operational, senior management never seemed to understand that to provide required breaks there would always be more ATCOs than seats. So, at the end of a shift there will be those who have been working and have not yet had their meal break. Subject to contingency cover some of those members of staff had the option to leave early if they so wished. Leave was always strictly controlled and it was often difficult to get a couple of weeks of in mid-summer.
Your friend(?) apparently said: "And we double up on holiday over the weekend as well so people can leave Friday and then start work again on Monday so there will be two off at the same time. Instead of the normal only one during the week" Lord knows where he works - Barra? Islay? I've never heard such nonsense. Places I worked were on a 24 hour shift system and weekends were busy.
Of course, when things got hot and controllers worked into their break time it was all forgotten. Heathrow was often understaffed during the years I was there and more than once I broke the rules on breaks to keep traffic moving. The alternative was to have traffic holding until 1 o'clock in the morning. The priority was to provide service to commercial aircraft carrying hundreds of passengers. Therefore, in the event of staff shortage, the first position to be closed was SVFR.
You wanna try over 2 hours on GMC in bad weather? Been there, got the tee-shirt and the grey hairs. I hope it is different now.
I wonder how many GA pilots pay for the service they receive?