- Summer is on the horizon. For some lucky Americans, that might mean two weeks of paid time off.
- But in several European countries, taking five weeks of paid vacation per year is a legal right.
- Swedish workers are guaranteed up to four consecutive weeks of paid summer holiday.
Summer is on the horizon. For some lucky Americans, that might mean two weeks of paid time off and an occasional summer Friday.
With vacation policies at the will of individual employers, American workers in their first year at a company take an average of 11 days of paid vacation per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. After five years, that number increases to 15 days.
While two weeks of vacation may feel indulgent by US standards, employees in European Union member states have the legal right to at least four weeks of paid vacation per year — and some countries require employers to give their workers even more.
From France to Austria, these are the nine European countries where companies are required to give their staff a minimum of five weeks of paid vacation per year.
France: 30 days
The French are known to take their vacation very seriously. Rightfully so, as it’s the law: employees in France accrue 2.5 days of paid vacation every month they work at a company, adding up to a whopping 30 working days per year.
Between May 1 and October 31, workers are federally mandated to take between two to four weeks of consecutive vacation, known as “main leave.”
Andorra: 30 days
Travelers from all over the world spend their vacations in Andorra, a small co-principality located between France and Spain best known for its ski resorts.
Locals also enjoy generous vacation benefits. Andorra workers who have been employed at a company for more than six months are entitled to 30 calendar days of paid vacation per year and at least two weeks of an employee’s annual leave must be taken consecutively.
United Kingdom: 28 days
Almost all workers in the United Kingdom (including England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid vacation per year. For employees with five-day work weeks, that calculates to 28 days. However, employers can choose to count public holidays as part of a worker’s annual leave allocation.
Moldova: 28 days
Workers in Moldova, a country in Eastern Europe, are guaranteed 28 calendar days of paid vacation per year, not including public holidays.
While the leave period can be divided up and used throughout the year, workers are required to take at least one two-week vacation, according to Moldova’s labor code.
Luxembourg: 26 days
Workers in Luxembourg, a small European nation bordering France, Germany, and Belgium, are guaranteed 26 working days of paid vacation — slightly more than five full weeks.
Unlike some other countries, Luxembourg allows its workers to take the full annual leave all at once, as long as they’ve been employed by their company for at least three months.
San Marino: 26 days
San Marino, a nation approximately the size of Manhattan, may be one of the smallest countries in the world. But its vacation benefits are sizeable.
The independent republic in the middle of Italy guarantees its workers 26 work days of paid vacation per year.
On top of that, San Marino celebrates 20 public holidays — meaning employees can take a total of 46 days of paid time off in a single year. Taken together, San Marino workers receive the second-highest number of paid vacation days in the world, according to a recent study by Resume.io.
Sweden: 25 days
After Swedish employees work for a company for a full year, they are legally guaranteed 25 days or five weeks of paid vacation. During the summer months, workers in most industries can take up to four consecutive weeks of paid holiday.
Swedish employees are even paid slightly more on the days they take vacation. Plus, they can roll over up to five vacation days to the next year.
Denmark: 25 days
Denmark rolled out its new Holiday Act in 2020, allowing employees to accrue 2.08 days of leave every month. In total, that equals 25 working days, or five weeks, of paid vacation per year.
During the summer, employees are entitled to three weeks of continuous paid vacation between May 1 and September 30, according to global employment platform Boundless HQ.
Austria: 25 days
Workers in Austria are entitled to 25 working days, or five weeks, of paid vacation per year. After devoting 25 years to a company, employees’ annual leave is increased to six weeks.
Source: I N S I D E R
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