Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - American Leave Allowance

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Sheila, just because it is a law doesn't meant employers have to follow it....

Jim: "Maybe this explains why the US economy is more than twice the size of the next largest (Japan's)?" Perhaps it helps also that the US have 285 million people and Japan about 120 million? Jim, you need to look at the figures on a per capita basis. Norway, with very high taxes, actually has a per capita income that is higher than the US's. Most of the EU countries are some 20% lower in per capita income than the US, but life is cheaper in Europe and yes, we get some 6 weeks of annual vacation per year. I personally have 11 weeks, have no problems taking it all, and pay approximately 40% taxes. I love my job, but I also love to take 2 three-week trips, 2 two-week trips and some long-weekends every year. To the person that asked: "can you explain who does the work while you're away?", that's an easy question to answer: 1. Good planning. In many jobs, you can actually, by good planning, make sure there is less work when you are away. I have actually worked in the US and was amazed how badly the company I worked for was planning things and how inefficiently people were working there. It could have been only that company, but others have told me similar things. 2. Colleagues. My colleague takes over when I am away, and I take over from her when she is away.

I work for a state agency in the US and I (not all agancies get the same vacation time) get 4 vacation weeks per year plus 13 paid holidays and sick time. I'm allowed to accumulate 40 vacation days each year. Anything over that must be used or I will lost it. I'm glad to say that I have never lost any vacation time.

I work for American Airlines and I have 5 weeks per year of vacation. I have sick time as well but I save that only in cases of illness. Ever since 9/11 and the cutbacks there are people wanting to pick up more hours. Since I work at AA primarily for the flight benefits I gladly give away my shift as I have coworkers that need the $$$. I have coworkers that have children and often it is hard for them to find people to pick up their shift during the holidays so I help them out since I have no children. It really works out great. I have wonderful coworkers and we all really pitch in together and help each other out.

Hi Sjoerd, You wrote >....[I pay] approximately 40% taxes. Is this your total tax burden including VAT, property tax, health insurance, etc or just your income taxes? No intent to argue, just looking for information.

Re: 40% tax. That's income tax + local fees and taxes such as property tax + social security premiums. Not including VAT + health insurance. The 40% rate is valid for people in the highest tax bracket. People earning less would pay a substantially lower rate (perhaps 25% for a shop assistant)

Hi all, I have been following this thread with interest. Having been on both sides of the fence, I definitely believe that the Americans can learn something from the Europeans on vacation time. When I worked in the US, I had 3 weeks of vacation time, 11 holidays, and 2 personal days. When we moved abroad, we immediately got 4 weeks from the outset and (supposedly)all national holidays of the pertinent country. Unfortunately, that turned into comp time as we were in an international position and dealt with countries not on holiday. Anyway, I think the attitude toward vacation time is purely a cultural thing. There is a better balance between family and work in Europe and you work to live, not vice versa. Family time and vacation time are respected. Americans are on their way to burnout and their health and fitness show it. Everything must be faster, done better etc. No chance to slow down. On an hourly basis, the Europeans are just (if not more) productive than the Americans. They may/may not pay more in taxes depending on the country in which they live. One simply can not generalize. And, Sjoerd, I must respectfully disagree. It is cheaper to live in the US. Housing, food, entertainment, clothing etc. It is all less expensive in the States. Anyway, it is an interesting thread...one I wish that some of your bosses could read! Cheers and have a nice weekend. Jan

Sjoerd, I don't think I follow you. There are two different topics here. I was talking about the size of the US economy compared to other economies. You say that since the US has 285 million people and Japan 120, that explains why the US economy is more than twice the size. But it doesn't. Plenty of other countries have larger populations than the US and much smaller economies. I don't have the figures, but if you take the EU as a whole, I fairly sure it would have a greater population than the US and a smaller economy. So the population-economy size argument doesn't hold up. As for per capita income, plenty of countries have a higher per capita income than the US. The point I was making was I believe the US's larger economy is partly because of less vacation time; personal wealth really isn't part of the equation, as far as I can tell.

Hi all, I agree with the poster about not being able to afford Europe for more than 2-3 weeks. I work for a fortune 100 company, if not 50, and here is what I get. 10 business days 1 floating holiday 7 holidays unlimited sick But I am 32,a single parent making 40K a year so I feel proud that I can take my daughter to Europe once a year for a week.

I get 240 hours of annual leave a year, based on 28 years of service, but because of my position I can only take one 2 weeks stint and the other has to be used a little at a time over the year. The 240 hours is the most to be accrued for any given year. M.