UK has best holiday entitlements

Office design news from Morgan Lovell

Published on 13-12-2011

Workers in the UK are enjoying the most generous compulsory holiday entitlements across Western Europe, a study shows.

However, with fewer public holidays than anywhere else, they actually have less time off than the rest of Europe, the research by consulting firm Mercer revealed.

Workers in the UK receive 28 days of statutory holiday entitlement during the year, compared to 25 in Greece, France, Austria, Sweden, Luxembourg, Finland and Denmark, 24 in Malta, 22 in Spain and Portugal, 21 in Norway and 20 in Italy, Belgium, Germany, Cyprus, Ireland, Switzerland and Holland.

And if the UK’s workers added their 28 days to the country’s eight public holidays it would give them 36 days, or 10% of the year off.

However, public holidays can be included in the statutory days off given by some firms leaving staff with even less free time, the survey shows.

Cyprus has the highest number of public holidays, adding 15 days onto workers’ statutory time off, while Spain and Malta each have 14, Austria and Portugal enjoy 13 and the UK and Holland enjoy the fewest with eight.

Wolfgang Seidl, head of Mercer’s healthcare consulting business, said: "With pay rises muted and often below the rate of inflation, companies are searching for other ways to motivate their staff."

Copyright Press Association 2011