Vacation Standards Around the World

As an advanced nation in the world the United States is the ONLY nation that does not guarantee workers a paid vacation. The paid time off gap between the USA and the rest of the world is even larger when legally mandated mandatory paid holidays are included. The USA offers none and the rest of the wealthy countries in the world offer between 5 and 13 paid holidays per year. Because the USA has no government standards, close to 1 in 4 United States workers receive no paid vacations and no paid holidays. According to government survey data, in the private sector the average United States worker receives only 9 days of paid vacation and six paid holidays per year, which is far less than the minimum legal standards in the rest of the world’s wealthy countries excluding Japan (Ray & Schmitt, 2007).

There really is no real comparison between the USA and other countries because the USA doesn’t regulate paid time off with government standards. Portugal and Austria are tied for mandating the most paid time off and paid holidays whereas France mandates the most paid time off but only one paid holiday. Portugal’s statutory minimum annual leave is 22 paid work days a year and 20 in the first year of employment with 13 paid holidays. Austria mandates a minimum of 4 weeks paid time off per year; 5 weeks for shift workers and 7 paid holidays (Ray & Schmitt, 2007).

In 2006 a government study of private sector employers/employees in the United States reported that; only 77% of workers are in jobs that provide paid holidays and 76%of workers are employed with companies that offer paid holidays. The average paid annual leave is 12 days and the average number of paid holidays is 8. Only one third of workers in the USA have paid vacation which these numbers are based on. Smaller companies, low earners, and part time workers are less likely to receive the same amount of paid holidays and time off if any(Ray & Schmitt, 2007) .

Portugal mandates annual...