How much vacation time do you get.
 

I posted a thread asking people how well they know there own countries. It turned out to be a very interesting eye opener.

It got me thinking, many of the posters talked of spending what seemed like an apreciable amount of time travelling. On this forum we all come from different countries with different holiday entitlements and as it is a forum centered around travel and vacation can I pose the question -

How many days holiday/vacation do you get a year?

And of the time you get how many days/weeks do you take together?

To start the ball rolling in Ireland the average holiday entitlement is 20 days a year. I get 25 after working in the same company for 7 years. I hear that in some European countries they get nearly 40 days a year on average, France being an example.

How many do you get, where you are????

I live in the US and work for a university. I get 20 days of vacation a year: three weeks of vacation and five personal days. Plus holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving and the day after, Fourth of July, etc.

The most I've ever taken together is two weeks. My vacation time makes up for my low pay (sigh). It's amazing how quickly you can use them up, though!

U.S. depends on your company and the length of employment. My last job of 12 years I was up to 4 weeks paid and 2 weeks unpaid available. In my new job I had to start all over again... with a miserable 5 DAYS earned the first year of service. Both employers gave 7 paid holidays per year.

I have been with the same company for 30 years and get 5 weeks. Not that I can take all five at the same time. The most would be 2 weeks at a time.

If I came into work and said I was taking off a whole month I wouldn't have a job.

There was another post about this topic maybe a month ago with a couple hundred replies. Very interesting to read!!

Two weeks (20 days) now...next year three (25 days). One personal day and roughly 8-9 holidays.

Wow - some of you are lucky. I only get 10 days of vacation a year. Of course, I just started a little over a year ago, but I don't start receiving 15 days until I reach my 5 year anniversary.

However, a few months ago I took 3 weeks off to travel through Europe - one week was leave without pay, but I was able to take that much time off together. I plan to do it again in a couple of years - but hopefully will have accrued enough so that the entire trip is vacation time.

I have 13 paid holidays a year, though.

DH gets 27 working days which makes 5.2 weeks, and can take them all in one go. He started with 15 days, added 5 after first 5 years, added 2 days for public holidays that were abolished by the government. Got another 5 days after 15 years service. We live in South Africa and this is normal vacation time.

PS: I stay home and plan the trips :-)

Wish I had your job Mischka!

We live in Pennsylvania,United States.

I get 21 vacation days (14 years on the job), and 9 holidays. I travel alot for work and also get "compensation days for trips that take me away over weekends.

My husband gets 28 vacation days and 5 personal holidays. He works lots of weekends.

We try to take either one 2 week trip or two one week trips a year. The rest of the time we take short (2-3 day) driving trips. With my job, we also sometimes take advantage of the paid hotel room and hubby goes along.

I get the standard 2 weeks plus holidays that our clients take off. I am taking an additional month to travel without pay. Luckily my boss is a bit of a traveler, but I will have to "work" while away, check email...

I am an American Workaholic so technically I should be up to three weeks paid vacation since I have been at my company for 15 years.

BUT

Each time I have been approached about a raise I have instead negotiated for more vacation time so I am now up to 5 weeks.

2 weeks at a time is the preferred amount but I have gone for 3 weeks before.

I'm always afraid if I stay gone too long, they'll learn to live without me!

Where I work we get 2 weeks vacation up until 5 years of service, then we increase to 3 weeks. In a couple months I'll hit my 10th anniversary here and then I will get 4 weeks. (An incentive not to look elsewhere and have to start all over again with the paltry 2 week vacation.) We also get 3 paid floating holidays we can use whenever, in addtion to the regular holidays. We can carry over unused vacation from one year to the next up to 30 days worth, after that you must use it or lose it. The floating holidays can't carry over however, they must be used in the same calendar year or they're lost. The most time off we can take in one hunk of vacation is 3 weeks, which I did earlier this year to go to England and Scotland. So no more vacation time for me until 2005.

We get 15 days but I almost never take that many. This year I am going all out and taking 12 days! That is because of my Italy trip. Last year, for example, was more normal for me - I took 5-6 days. I often plan my vacations around holiday weekends like Labor Day and Memorial Day.

Typically people in my office only take one full week off a year. They spread the rest out over long weekends, i.e like taking off on a Friday.

Here' s the other thread on the same topic:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34519359

I get 25 days a year plus the 8 major US holiday days off. I'm 24 years old, 2 years out of grad school and a tax accountant. One disclaimer - I work at least 65 hours a week (no overtime pay) for 4-6 months a year because of "tax season" so it isn't as much of a good deal as you would think.

I've been with my company over 15 yrs and earn PTO (paid time off) each pay period, which is equivalent to 33 days per year (minus 6 for legal holidays = 27 days to use for vacation per year.) If you're out ill, you need to use PTO for that as well, but if you aren't, more vacation time.

Husband gets 20 days per year (not including holidays.)

We usually take one long trip per year (3 wks), but are going to try taking 2 shorter trips of 12 days each next year and see how that works out.

I live/work in the US and have been with my company for almost 2 years. I get 25 vacation days now, but on my 2 year anniversary (December) it will be bumped up to 31. I also get every other Friday off, which is very nice, although I work long hours for the privilege!

At my last job, I got 3 weeks after beening there 3 years, plus 5 "sick" days. Needless to say, I feel very lucky to work for a place with such generous vacation time, although I'm sure its still not up to par with the amount of vacation time Europeans get!

Forgot to add that I am 25 and currently in an administration job (and currently working on my bachelors).

standard German employee allowance: 30 days/year regardless of age or seniority! And when I work a lot of extra hours, I'll just take a flex-day for no extra charge. This allows the wife and I to travel lots and spend a lot of time with the family back in the US over the holidays. Don't know how I'll ever re-adjust to US employment norms upon returning to the US someday....

26 days a year--I work a good deal of comp time generally adding up to another another 2 or 3 days a month. The most I've ever taken at once is 4 weeks. Mrs. Fly hated it. Her limit is about 2 weeks on the road.

I knew that there was a difference between the US and Europe but WOW! In Europe the average regardless of seniority or specific job is 20 days. That is the LEGAL minimum.

National holidays and Bank holidays in Ireland account for 10 days a year, which is on top of your 20 day min entitlement.

Then there is the issue of 'sick days'. I have heard that in the US you must take sick days from your holiday entitlement. In Ireland normally you are okay taking one sick day every few weeks, without a medical cert. Anything over two days and you need a medical cert, but this time off is not taken from your holiday entitlement.

The last point I would like to make is teachers!! My mother is a teacher and teachers in Ireland get.......wait for it........16 weeks paid vacation. Obviously over the summer period, but in Ireland school is out from the end of May to Septmeber 1st. Theres a job were you can do serious travelling!!!!

pnestor,
I think you should also take in account the number of hours/week you work.

Where I work, we work 42,5 hours/week.
Legal vacation: 20 days, 5 more once over 50 yrs old.
On top, the legal holidays, between 8 and 12 days, according to the calendar's luck (a very bad year this year, with Xmas and NYear on a saturday!).
Overtime is mostly taken as vacation, it can only be paid when it is some 'special' task. I easily get 15 to 20 days a year.

The problem is that while you take all these days off, the work keeps coming!!!

Been working for three years. Got ten holidays, plus 12 national holidays.

Can be taken together. Leave-without-pay also granted.

baldrick

You're right, it is so true about work mounting whiel away, adds to the whole post holiday blues syndrom. I work in IT so it is rarely a 40 hour week for me, upwards on 50, if you include on call weekends etc....

One other fact that makes me look again at how lucky we are in Ireland, if the original bank holiday falls on a weekend, like St Patrick's day or Christmas on a Saturday or Sunday, we get the following Monday off to compensate. Does that not happen in other countries???

pnestor,
yes, you're lucky in recuperating the holiday on the next monday. I had this in belgium also, but this is a no-deal here in switzerland...

I have been working for the same company for 9 years (in the US) I work 3 days per week (35.5 total hrs) as a computer analyst. I get 22 days PTO per year. Sick time is taken out of this unless more that 23.25 hrs, then it goes into sick bank. 8 paid holidays that can be floating holidays since we work 3 days.

pnestor & baldrick:

U.S. companies differ quite alot here. The "holiday package" can actually be made more attractive if a company wishes to entice potential employees.

I work for a privately held company (170 employees) and as a "salaried" employee, I get 21 vacation days (14 years on the job), and 9 holidays. In addition I am allowed 10 sick days a year, and short term disability if an illness lasts longer. If a holiday happens on a Saturday, we take the Friday prior, On Sunday and we take Monday.

I should also mention that the "hourlies" also get 1 extra holiday
for hunting season. The first day of hunting (deer) season is a holiday in our area.

As the owner of the company I get as many days as I feel like taking however,
My wife is a Walmart Super center manager and has been with them for 15 years, gets 4 weeks plus 7 holidays
plus sick time but she can only take 17
days at a time so we vacation around her time off.

I get 14 days sick leave in addition to the 26 days vacation leave. 11 paid holidays. If a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, get Friday or Monday off in place of it. USA.

In Australia the standard is 4 weeks recreation leave, plus national and local holidays. Some classes of employee do better. Sick leave is extra. The problem for many workers is that the proportion of casual jobs, which carry no leave entitlements, has been growing. Some workaholics keep deferring their leave until told "use it or lose it"; very few opt for "lose".

I get 2 weeks vacation and 6 paid holidays (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving & Christmas). I worked two of the holidays this year, so I had 2 extra days to use when I wanted.

In just 2 more years I will have 15 years with the company and get the maximum 3 weeks vacation.

I am in the US.

Keith

Technincally as much as I want. That was part of the deal offered me when I came onboard, and I feel very fortunate to have it.

Bank employees generally get 20 days plus you need to take 10 consecutive days to ensure you are not committing a fraud. That is the best reason to work for a bank!

I live in the US (St. Louis). I work for a foundation that, fortunately, has amazing benefits, including lots of vacation time. I have been here for almost 2 years. I get 31 vacation days a year, plus 6 paid holidays and every other Friday off. However, I never take more than 2 weeks of vacation at a time because my husband unfortunately gets quite a bit less vacation days than I do.

I work for the UK National Health Service and get a standard 33 days leave plus 8 Bank Holidays.
I work a basic 37 hour week but am "voluntarily" on an on-call rota where I do 24 hour shift (9am to 9am). Naturally, I am paid for these extra hours but my commitment for this on-call is about twice a week plus I have to work most weekends as well. So much for Tony Blair and the European Working Time Directive! If I was French I would burn a sheep or block a port or two to protest.

I work for a county agency. I get 21 days vacation, 21 days sick, and 14 holidays per year.

Federal job = 26 days annual leave, 13 days sick leave, and 10 Holidays