paid vacation !!!
 

I have just read the "how much do you spend on travel" thread and i am curious.how many paid vacations does the average American get?<BR>in the uk we average four or five weeks.how about yourselves?

It varies company to company, but......<BR><BR>Usually two weeks the first few years of employment. After a few years of loyalty to an employer, it goes up to three, and continues to rise with years of service, maxing out at four weeks most of the time.<BR><BR>All companies are different, though, since the government does not regulate paid vacation.<BR><BR>My husband and I always say we should move to Germany since they seem to have the most liberal paid vacation on the planet.<BR><BR>

My husband gets 5 weeks, but never takes more than 2.

I got 2 weeks for my first 5 years with the company, after that they gave me 3. After 15 years of employment it will max out at 4.<BR><BR>My boyfriend gets 4 or 5 weeks but never takes more than 2, since his bonus is partially dependent on the number of hours he bills.

I get 4 weeks of vacation plus I earn another vacation day whenever I work or travel on a weekend day. As of now I have 35 vacation days for this year. If I'm lucky, I get to use 15 of them. <BR><BR>I work in the financial services sector in New York. Most of my friends are in similar, professional type business. Most of us get at least 4 weeks. I don't know of one who actually gets to use all their vacation time.<BR><BR>Unfortunately, I think once you achieve a level where you get extra vacation time, your responsibilities usually prevent you from using them. At least in terms of vacation, the European business model has a big advantage.

The partners in my business get 9 weeks of paid vacation. But I seldom use the full amount since my wife only gets 3. All that great travel I miss out on! Maybe I should demand she retire.

I always thought i'd like to live in America,but i have changed my mind.<BR>how do you stay sane on 2 weeks vaction<BR>can you take unpaid leave?<BR>how many public holidays do you get off?(are they paid?)

I get 29 Pool Days this is sick plus vacation plus funeeral days. New concept co started a few yrs ago to stop abuse of sick time. It s.cks as prior to this I had 25 vacation & 12 sick per yr

The vast majority of Americans get only 2 weeks off per year, an average of 8 paid holidays (Christmas, July 4, etc.). Many hourly workers get no paid vacation at all. <BR><BR>According to the ILO, US workers spend more hours per year on-the-job than any other country. Here are a few examples of average hours worked per year:<BR><BR>US- 1966 hours<BR>Japan- 1889<BR>Spain- 1809<BR>Britain- 1731<BR>France- 1656<BR>Switzerland-1643<BR>Norway- 1399

Linda:<BR><BR>To answer your question...<BR><BR>Unpaid leave depends on the company you work for and what their policy is. My husband's company does it in certain circumstances, but I don't know of a lot of companies that do. It probably depends on how loyal the employee has been.<BR><BR>Most US jobs that are worked Monday thru Friday get paid holidays, but those who work odd hours, shift work, or weekends, don't usually have paid holidays off.<BR><BR>No, it's not a lot of time off, compared to European paid vacations, but we live with it. For most of us, it's all we've ever known.<BR><BR><BR>

Not to turn this into an economic debate or "management vs. labor issue", but, the vacation issue and time-off are likely factors that contribute to the fact that the U.S. has the highest per capita income in the world and the highest level of worker productivity.<BR><BR>Rightly or wrongly, this is part of the price we pay for having the highest standard of living in the world.

2 Weeks.....that's it<BR><BR>My husband works for a small mom & pop company (10 employees). He gets 2 weeks paid vacation a year. Period. No sick time or other time. If he needs time off other than these 2 weeks it is unpaid. He also has no pension and no 401K. He has been ther over 13 years.

I get 3 weeks now since I've worked for my company over 5 years. This is the first time in my life I've stayed somewhere long enough to earn 3 weeks. My husband gets 4 weeks but that was a trade of salary increases for the paid time off. I wish I could do that since the time off is much more meaningful to me than a 3-5% annual raise (or no raise at all some years!)

After 15 years with the company I have a total of 5 weeks per year and currently have about 10 days in days that I carried over from previous years.

Many companies are now pooling sick days, personal days and vacation days into one account for employees to use however they like. The law firm I work for just did this, it's called PTO (paid time off), I've also heard it called Combined Leave. Supposedly it stops employees from calling in for mental health days. Right now, I get 29 days, and also have 10 paid holidays.

My next door neighbor is now 71 and won't retire. He loves his job as a roads and public works inspector for the county government. He has now managed to accumulate over 500 days of sick and personal days. That means he could call in sick tomorrow and not go back for two years, getting paid for all of it -- but he never takes a sick day. The sad part is, when he finally does retire, he loses all that built up time, they won't pay you for it if you don't use it.

I get 3 weeks of vacation and 2 weeks of paid sick leave, 8 paid holidays and 2 floating holiday days that I can take when I want. If I don't use the sick leave during the year, I lose it; same with the floating holidays. <BR><BR>My company starts people out at 3 weeks of vacation, increases it to 4 weeks after 6 years, and increases it to 5 weeks (the maximum) after 12 years. You can carry over only as much vacation as you earn in a year--so for me, that's 3 weeks. If I end the year with more than 3 weeks of vacation left over, I lose everything above 3 weeks.<BR><BR>Not as much as they get outside the U.S., but not too much to complain about either.

I think it so much depends on whether one has stayed with a job long-term or not. I'm a 22 yr. USPS veteran, and we max out at about 5 weeks vacation time a year. But hubby has "job hopped" his entire career (blue collar) so seldom gets past the 2 week mark. He's jealous of all my vacation time, but also realizes that my job (and the fact that I've stuck with it all these years) provides the family with affordable health care insurance, and life insurance, and pension plan, etc.

It is not just about loyalty and years with a company. I work for a big time p***k. I am paid extreemly well to put up with his p****yness still he does not budge on vacation 2 weeks after four years of service. <BR><BR>It has been my experience in NYC that people on the fast track don't take more than two weeks even when offered. <BR><BR>P.S boss takes 3 months.

HMMM<BR>Looks like I am one of the lucky ones. I am an American.<BR>5 Weeks vacation (after 15 years)and can be accumulated from one year to the next. <BR>6 personal days that must be used.<BR>15 sick days added every year and can also be accumulated.<BR>5 days bereavement for immediate family if needed. Thankfully have only had to used that two times in 16 years.<BR>I work in a 24/7/365 business so when I am required to work a Holiday or on one of my days off I can use it at another time. I can also "cash in" up to ten days a year if I would rather have the money. I think I'll keep my "day job"! <BR>

Gee xxx,<BR>Sounds like it's time to seek employment elsewhere.<BR><BR>I've been with my company for 11 years and I earn 4 weeks paid vacation a year and 1 week of personal time. I also accumulate sick time at 1 1/2 days per month.<BR>My husband, on the other hand, gets 0 paid time off, that's zip. No paid vacation, sick days, or even Christmas or the Fourth of July!! He's been a union pipefitter for 21 years. So, when we go on vacation ~ and yes, we still go ~ he does not get paid. One year we had a scheduled Spring vacation w/kids, he left the job he working for vacation, came back, and got laid-off!<BR>He does, however, have the best retirement plan. He will actually make more money when he retires than he does working a 40 hour week now! Go figure.