Notes:

Finland: Sundays are not included in the calculation, but Saturdays are. This means that employees are entitled to five weeks of vacation per year. Midsummer’s Eve and Christmas Eve are not official public holidays by legislation and not included in the list above. However, most employment contracts provide these two days as full holiday.

France: The law provides for five weeks of paid vacation (that is, 30 calendar days + Sundays). Lithuania: Minimum annual leave is 28 calendar days.

Russia: 28 calendar days.

United Kingdom: Effective from 1 April 2009, a worker is entitled to 28 days of annual leave each year (up from 24 previously). Public holidays (of which there are eight days in the UK) may count towards the employee’s annual leave entitlement.

Spain: Paid vacation period is not lower than 30 calendar days or 22 working days.

South Africa: 21 consecutive days paid leave per year. This is the equivalent of three weeks time off. Weekends during the vacation period are counted as leave days.

Germany: For a five-day week, the mandatory vacation entitlement is 20 working days. Companies typically supplement: typically 30 working days based on a five-workday week. Public holidays differ from each state (Bundesland). The overall amount of public holidays ranges from nine to 13 days in the course of a calendar year.

Australia: The law provides for four weeks of paid annual leave. There are usually at least two additional public holidays proclaimed in each state/territory each year, which must also be observed. Some are applicable to certain industries, such as banking, or only apply to certain regions.

Japan: Annual vacation is variable according to length of service – 20 days for an employee with 10 years of service. United States: Federal law does not mandate pay for time not worked. Although vacation policies vary widely, many organizations provide three weeks of vacation after five to ten years of service. Unionized employees generally have vacation time specified under collective agreements.

India: Every worker who has worked for 240 days or more during a calendar year is entitled to leave at the following rate: one day for every 20 days of work performed during the previous calendar year. The use of public holidays is not appropriate in the Indian context when dealing with private establishments. Private establishments must observe national holidays (January 26, August 15 and October 2) and holidays on major festivals. The average number of such festivals may vary from five to seven. Local variations, depending on the state, are prevalent.

Canada: Mandatory vacation entitlements vary between provinces. Figures in the table represent the mandatory entitlement for Ontario: two weeks of paid time off. Companies typically supplement statutory requirements, vacation schedules vary by company and may provide up to six weeks vacation after 20 or 25 years of service.Ontario’s Civic Monday (first Monday in August) is not provided by statute but is generally offered. Not included in the public holidays above as it is not mandatory.

China: The employee is entitled to five days paid vacation if the accumulated service year is more than one year and less than 10 years; 10 days paid vacation if the accumulated service year is more than 10 years and less than 20 years.