Business people were yesterday grappling with the problem of planning for next Tuesday's public holiday to mark the funeral of Dame Lois Browne Evans.

The Cabinet decided at its meeting on Tuesday, following the death of former Progressive Labour Party leader Dame Lois on the same day, to declare a holiday to mark her funeral.

And while Chamber of Commerce president Phil Barnett said his members were united in the opinion that Dame Lois was a great woman who had achieved great things, he added business people would face difficulties and expense as a result of the holiday.

Higher rates of pay for staff, the question of whether to close during the tourist season, unanticipated loss of revenue and technology issues are all causing concern among many concerned members who called the Chamber yesterday.

And the late notice — only late yesterday afternoon was the day of the funeral announced — was causing planning difficulties for companies large and small.

"No-one can take away the towering achievements of Dame Lois Browne Evans, who is an incredibly important person in Bermuda's history," Mr. Barnett said. "And every single person I've spoken to has agreed with that.

"One would think the Government did not think lightly in stating that there will be a public holiday. The holiday is going to be a very challenging issue for many businesses for many different reasons. It's going to have a very significant financial impact.

"From the largest financial institutions down to small contractors, business people need to make plans for a statutory holidays.

"For example, some of our smallest members who charge a contract price for services will now have to pay their staff at holiday rates and that will clearly impact on the bottom line. We are in the tourist season and I believe that most stores would probably want to remain open, so there will be an impact for them."

Mr. Barnett confirmed that Government had not contacted the Chamber before making the announcement.

"We would always prefer that there would be some sort of dialogue over something that is going to happen so quickly, because of the broad-based impact," Mr. Barnett said.

Ronnie Viera, chairman of the Chamber's Business Technology Division, said companies tended to set their computer systems for the scheduled public holidays three months before the start of the year.

"We have had unscheduled public holidays when we've had hurricanes in the past and in this case, companies will have to make similar special arrangements," he said. The amount of notice required would vary with the company, he added.

Bermuda Employers' Council president William DeSilva said the organisation would put out a statement today.