The latest data from CEPR (the Center for Economic and Policy Research) reports on each country’s laws surrounding minimum holiday allowance for employees in the top 21 richest countries in the world. The majority of these countries have a minimum holiday entitlement for full-time workers. In addition, some countries also guarantee paid public holidays such as Christmas and New Year, which must be granted to full-time employees. In some instances, such as in the UK, public holidays are incorporated into the employee’s total minimum holiday entitlement.

Countries within the European Union act under the Working Time Directive which sets a minimum leave entitlement of four weeks for full-time workers. The below chart shows the minimum paid leave and public holidays for each of these locations in Europe and EMEA:

Holiday entitlement in EMEA countries

Holiday entitlement in the United Kingdom (UK)

In the UK, 28 days of holiday entitlement each year should be legally granted to every full-time worker (on a five-day per week work schedule). It is then up to the employer as to whether this entitlement includes public holidays or not.

Holiday entitlement in France

France offers the most holiday entitlement at 30 days, while the Netherlands and Switzerland grant only the minimum under the EU law at 20 days, with no legal entitlement for paid public holidays. What’s more, Dutch employers must grant employees their full holiday entitlement in one block wherever possible.

Holiday entitlement in Belgium

Belgium also awards full-time workers with 20 holidays, with the addition of 10 public holidays. Belgian law doesn’t give employees the right to take these days off until the year after they have been earned. Denmark also doesn’t guarantee any paid holidays until after the first year of employment, offering 25 days in total.

Holiday entitlement in Ireland

Irish law operates similarly to the UK, but grants 9 public holidays which employers can choose to give as paid days off, or compensate with an alternative holiday.

Holiday entitlement in Sweden

Sweden offers 25 days as a minimum with no guarantee of paid public holidays, and although outside the EU, Norway still offers 25 days entitlement with an additional 2 paid public holidays.

Holiday entitlement in Austria

In Austria, the minimum holiday entitlement is set at 25 days (increasing to 30 days after 25 years of employment), with a total of 13 public holidays where workers must receive 24 hours of uninterrupted paid rest for each holiday. Portugal also has 13 paid public holidays, with an additional entitlement of 22 days.

Holiday entitlement in Finland

Finnish holiday law prioritises the summer months and suggests that 4 out of 5 weeks of paid holiday entitlement should be taken by employees between the beginning of May and the end of September, with exceptions made if this clashes with an organisation’s busy period.

Holiday entitlement in Germany

Germany permits 20 days holiday, with 13 public holidays; Spain offers 25 holidays and 14 public holidays and Italy; 20 holidays with 10 public holidays.

The Working Time Directive in Europe sets a minimum holiday entitlement of 20 days for full-time workers, but in other countries across the world, the entitlement rules become a lot more complex…

Holiday entitlement in APAC countries

Holiday entitlement in North America and Latin American countries

Holiday entitlement around the world is complex. But there’s a better way to manage it

As you can see the rules and regulations are holidays are vastly different from country to country. This is the same for all different rules and laws as well.

To ensure that your organisation has the tools needed to become compliant, you need a centralised solution that transforms this complexity into a seamless, automated process. Organisations relying on multiple platforms dotted around the world, whether it’s an HR or payroll system that’s unable to automate annual entitlements and carryover rules, through to clumsy paper and spreadsheets, are more prone to errors.

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