Happy holidays?

[Gob]

Some Britons may feel chronically overworked – but our employers offer more paid holidays than almost anywhere else in the world.

Analysis shows that our guaranteed leave of 28 days a year is beaten only by France’s 30.

And we are streets ahead of the US – where workers are not actually legally entitled to a single day of paid holiday.

But while it may look like cause for celebration, there is a catch – for when paid public holidays are added to the equation, we slip to tenth, behind the likes of Austria, Spain and Italy.

The figures were collated by the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington DC.

Its report compared the holiday entitlement in the US with the 20 other richest countries in the world – members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The analysis was based on working an average five-day week; a definitive comparison between nations was not possible because some have different entitlements for different types of worker.

On the whole, the UK was found to come second with 28 days of statutory annual leave. Before 2009 there was just a 20-day holiday entitlement, but this was raised to incorporate eight bank holidays to tackle firms’ failure to pay staff for these days.




Although the total of 28 is lower than other countries when their respective public holidays are included, the UK figure is still considered favourably because workers can choose to work on public holidays, and take the days off in lieu later on. This means they can ‘bank’ them together and use them to go away on holiday, which workers in several other countries cannot do.

Once public holidays are included, France is overtaken by Austria and Portugal, which have 13 public holidays to add to 22 days of statutory annual leave, giving a total of 35 days. Spain is next with 12 public holidays on top of 22 days’ leave.

Italy, Belgium, Germany, New Zealand and Ireland also overtake the UK once paid public holidays are included. However, pity the poor Scandinavians. The nations of Denmark, Finland and Sweden have no guaranteed paid public holidays on top of their 25 days of statutory annual leave.

The law in the US offers no guarantees of paid leave at all, but workers are given ten days for holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving – although there is no guarantee they will be paid on these occasions.
Mercifully, most employers do offer their staff paid annual leave – although this is typically limited to just two weeks.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Way to add to my clincial depression.
After being layed off (back in 2008) that was one part of "starting over" that sucked the most. I got 4 weeks vacation each year along with 6 "sick days" of which I had 600hours banked up. They paid my unused vacagtion time, but the sick time got confiscated. Noy I get 8 days personsal time each year. At a point in my life I would rather have mroe time off.

[Gob]

I'm moving to Portugal, they short change us here.....

Having said that, Hen took the last week of and got triple paid for it, as they forced her to take a fortnight's wages in lieu of leave, as she's built up 3 months worth again. She's also got 127 hours of paid flex time to take.

I've got six months paid sick leave built up, I must get ill soon....

[Econoline]

One thing that's not mentioned is the trend here in the U.S.--which actually started, I think, sometime during the Reagan administration (it happened to me in 1984)--where employers are allowed to re-classify certain employees as "independent contractors"...which means NO paid vacation time, NO paid holidays, NO paid sick days, NO health insurance, and NO employer contributions to Social Security and Medicare. (And, of course, no pension or 401k.)

So cheer up, oldr...things could be worse.

[Crackpot]

I'm just about at my first year of actually being an employee with benefits.

[oldr_n_wsr]

One thing that's not mentioned is the trend here in the U.S.--which actually started, I think, sometime during the Reagan administration (it happened to me in 1984)--where employers are allowed to re-classify certain employees as "independent contractors"...which means NO paid vacation time, NO paid holidays, NO paid sick days, NO health insurance, and NO employer contributions to Social Security and Medicare. (And, of course, no pension or 401k.)

So cheer up, oldr...things could be worse.

Where's my Zoloft?