Employees in Western European countries, on average, have access to the greatest amount of statutory paid holiday in the world, according to research by global human resources consultant Mercer and published in the Worldwide Benefit and Employment Guidelines.
Holiday entitlement is very complex to calculate, according to /mercer, since actual holiday provisions often depends on company contracts and the number and treatment of public holidays.
They point out the in the UK employees are entitled to 28 holidays but the UK also has 8 public holidays each year, but employees do not necessarily receive 36 days because companies are allowed to overlay the holiday and public holiday entitlements. Therefore, UK employees actually have fewer holidays than their peers in the rest of Europe where, in general, the practice is for employees to take public holidays in addition to their statutory entitlement.
Mercer reports the number of statutory holidays (days off) as:
- UK employees receive the most generous statutory holiday entitlements in Western Europe (28 statutory days)
- Greece, Austria, France, Sweden, Luxembourg, Finland and Denmark (25)
- Malta (24)
- Spain and Portugal (22)
- Norway (21)
- Italy, Belgium, Germany, Cyprus, Ireland, Switzerland and the Netherlands (20)
When it comes to public holidays Cyprus offers the highest number of public holidays (15) followed by Malta and Spain (both 14) and Austria and Portugal (both 13). The UK and the Netherlands have the lowest number of public holidays in Europe (8), according to Mercer
Learn more about cultures at Cultural Bridges, a website loaded with free information about world cultures. The site is maintained by getmaximpact.com, based in Rochester Hills, Michigan.
With the importance of the automotive industry Michigan has long had an above average number of companies with international locations. This list has grown with the addition of the security, technology, and life science sectors added through the state’s 21st Century Growth initiative.
Mercer is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies as a resource for international companies.
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