Human Resources: Employee statutory and public holiday entitlements

New York, 13 October 2009
Employees in Europe receive the most generous statutory holiday allowances in the world according to data released by Mercer. However, taking public holidays into account, employees in Lithuania and Brazil have the potential to access the most time off work.

The data comes from Mercer’s 2009 Worldwide Benefit and Employment Guidelines which provides data about global working practices and regulations. The report analyzes both the minimum number of days for statutory holiday that companies must provide to staff, as well as the number of public holidays in over 40 countries. The following comparison is based on statutory entitlements for an employee working five days a week, with 10 years’ service.

All employees are entitled to a statutory holiday allowance, which is the term given to the amount of paid leave that companies must, by law, offer their staff.

Employees in Finland, Brazil and France are entitled to receive as many as 30 days statutory holiday a year, with those in Lithuania, Russia and the UK entitled to 28 days. Poland (with 26 days) follows closely behind, with employees in Greece, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Norway entitled to 25 days statutory holiday.

By comparison, Asia Pacific countries fare poorly with Australian, New Zealand and Japanese employees receiving the highest levels of statutory holidays (20) followed by Taiwan (15), Hong Kong and Singapore (14), India (12) and China (10). Employees in Canada are among those with the lowest entitlement with only 10 days. While there is no statutory minimum in the United States, employees typically receive 15 days a year.

In addition to statutory holidays, public holidays can markedly increase the amount of time employees have off work. Japan and India top the global list with 16 days a year for public holidays, closely followed by Cyprus, Slovakia and South Korea with 15. Malta and Spain both have 14 days while Portugal, Austria, Lithuania, Slovenia and Taiwan all have 13 days of public holiday. The UK, Australia and the Netherlands have the lowest number of public holidays (8) followed by Denmark, Ireland, Switzerland, Canada and Romania (9).

According to Matthew Hunt, a principal with Mercer’s international consulting business and who advises multinationals on employment practices, “There are wide variations in the local implementation of employment practices governing public holidays. Employers are often within their rights to ask employees to work on public holidays, or require that they be taken as part of their annual leave entitlements. For example, while it appears that employees in the UK have more total holidays than those in Malta, company contracts can create a different picture. While the UK statutory minimum is 28 days, companies are allowed to include the eight public holidays as part of this entitlement, so some employees may only be given 20 days holiday a year and Maltese employees may, in fact, have a better deal.”

Assuming they receive the maximum number of statutory holidays in addition to public holidays, employees in Brazil and Lithuania would have the most holidays amount of holidays in the world with a potential 41 days off a year, while those in Finland, France and Russia could receive a total of 40 days. In contrast, Canadian employees receive 19 days, Chinese employees 21 days, and those in the US and Singapore 25 days.

Europe
Finland and France make provisions for a minimum of 30 days for statutory holiday a year for employees, closely followed by Lithuania (28), Russia (28), the UK (28), Poland (26) and Greece (25). The vast majority of countries in Europe have a statutory minimum of 20 days, including Germany, Belgium, Cyprus, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands. Cyprus and Slovakia (15 days) have the most bank holidays in Europe followed by Malta and Spain (14 days) and then Lithuania, Austria, Portugal and Slovenia (13 days). France, Poland, Finland, Germany and Belgium have 10 days, while Denmark, Romania and Ireland have 9. With eight bank holidays a year, the UK and Netherlands have the least in Europe. However, in some European states such as Norway and Switzerland, public holidays can be nullified if they fall on a weekend.

Overall, including statutory minimum and public holidays, employees in Lithuania are potentially entitled to the greatest amount of paid leave in Europe with 41 days holiday per year. France, Finland and Russia rank second with 40 days, followed by Austria (38), Malta (38) and Greece (37). Sweden, Spain and the UK have 36 days. Employees in Italy have 31 days while those in Germany, Romania and Belgium have 30. Employees in Ireland and the Netherlands have the least amount of holidays at 29 and 28 days, respectively. If employers provide eight bank holidays on top of the statutory minimum, UK employees would receive 36 days paid holiday a year, one of the most generous in Europe.

Americas
The United States offers employees no statutory minimum holiday allowance, but the average is 15 days compared to Canada which offers a statutory minimum of 10 days. Contrary to popular European belief, low levels of statutory holiday in the United States and Canada are not comparative to European standards when taking public holidays into account. Employees in the United States and Brazil have an additional 10 and 11 days of public holiday, respectively, while workers in Canada are entitled to 9. In total, employees in Brazil that can take the full entitlement and the full number of public holidays would receive 41 days off, those in the United States typically 25 days and those in Canada 19 days.

Asia Pacific
Australia, Japan and New Zealand have the most generous statutory holiday regime, offering employees 20 days statutory holiday. South Korea (19), Taiwan (15), Hong Kong (14) Singapore (14), India (12) and China (10) have less generous entitlements. In addition, Japanese and Indian employees receive 16 public holidays a year followed by South Korea (15), Taiwan (13) and Hong Kong (12). New Zealand, Singapore and China all have 11 days. With eight days, workers in Australia are entitled to the least number of public holidays in Asia.

In theory, employees in Japan are entitled, in total, to the most generous holiday allowances with 36 days followed by South Korea (34) and New Zealand (31). Employees in Australia, Taiwan and India would potentially get 28 days followed by Hong Kong (26), Singapore (25) and China (21).

In addition to annual leave and public holidays, employers in some states are required by law to give special leave for getting married, or for the death of a spouse or close relative, for example. Even when there is no requirement, many larger employers provide additional leave for special circumstances.

“Employers trying to coordinate business operations around the world are caught in a maze of legislation when it comes to holidays,” commented Mr. Hunt. “Public holidays tend to be rooted in local tradition or religious beliefs, so it can be difficult to change practices. But with the increasing cultural diversity of the global workforce there is pressure for greater flexibility around public holidays.”

About Mercer
Mercer is a leading global provider of consulting, outsourcing and investment services. Mercer works with clients to solve their most complex benefit and human capital issues, designing and helping manage health, retirement and other benefits. It is a leader in benefit outsourcing. Mercer’s investment services include investment consulting and multi-manager investment management. Mercer’s 18,000 employees are based in more than 40 countries. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., which lists its stock (ticker symbol: MMC) on the New York, Chicago and London stock exchanges. For more information, visit www.mercer.com.

Employee statutory and public holiday entitlements – global comparisons