If you're currently living in America, you might be looking for somewhere that offers more paid vacation days than you're presently used to. So where's the best place to go if you're serious about your paid leave days: Europe or Australia?
Paid vacation days
As it stands in the US, the Fair Labor Standards Act states that employers are not required to grant any paid leave days to their employees. And while most employers usually grant a set number of vacation days per year for their employees, it averages around 11 days. This entitlement is generally quite low compared to other places worldwide.
Europe
Those interested in working in Europe will be happy to know that although the number of paid vacation days varies from one country to the other, the majority allow for 20 days per year (already a lot more than you'd get in the US).
There are some countries where employees are entitled to more days, such as Spain, which gives 23 days per year; France, Denmark, and Finland, which offers 25 days per year; and Luxembourg, which provides 26 days per year.
Sweden also offers 25 days of paid vacation per year, but it can only be used after the employee has worked a full “vacation year,” which spans from April to March.
As per the law in Italy, employees are entitled to 20 days of annual vacation leave, in addition to 32 hours for ‘Ex Festivita'. These hours can be taken in groups of 4 or 8 hours at a time, bringing the total up to 24 days of paid leave.
In Switzerland, also employees are entitled to 20 days of annual paid vacation, but those over the age of 50 are entitled to 25 days per year.
In Greece, the 20 days of paid vacation increases to 21 days after a year of service, 22 days after 3 years of service, 25 days after 10 years of service, and goes up to 26 days if you've worked at the company for 25 years.
Hungary also has a unique way of calculating annual paid leave entitlements. While the base is 20 days per year, you get additional working days added depending on your age. Additional working days are added at the ages of 25, 28, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 45. So, for example, if you are 25 years old, you'll be entitled to 21 days, while those who are 35 years old are entitled to 25 days per year.
Australia
Paid vacation days are a lot more straightforward in Australia, and employees are entitled to 20 days of paid vacation per year across the entire country. Again, this is a lot higher than the average 11 days per year most employees in America are offered.
Winner: In terms of vacation day entitlements, both Europe and Australia offer a minimum of 20 paid days per year. If you're looking to go beyond that, some of the European countries might be the best choice for you. Both Europe and Australia offer at least 9 additional paid vacation days than the average offered in the US.
Paid public holidays
Another opportunity for time off is during public holidays. While they're usually quite short, they can sometimes fall just before or after the weekend (which can allow for a quick weekend getaway!). Compared to the 12 federal holidays and potential 2-3 additional state holidays in the United States, Europe and Australia seem to be on the same level.
Europe
Again, public holidays vary across Europe, but the average number comes to around 11 days. Finland is in the lead with 15 public holidays, followed by Hungary, which has 13 public holidays, and France, which has 11 public holidays.
Denmark officially observes 10 public holidays, but most employers also give 4 additional days off for Labor Day, The Day of the Constitution, Christmas Eve, and New Year's Eve.
Spain has a system that is similar to the US, where they have 10 fixed public holidays observed across the whole country but also have additional holidays per region. Valencia and Madrid, for example, have 4 additional holidays each, making it a total of 14 public holidays per year.
Australia
Similar to the US and Spain, Australia has 7 national holidays, but each state or territory will have its own set of observed holidays. There's an average of 14 holidays per area, while Australia's Northern Territory observes a total of 15 public holidays.
Winner: Depending on which area you live in, you can get the same amount of public holidays in Europe and Australia as you would in America.
Europe or Australia?
With public holidays tied, it all comes down to entitled paid vacation days. Whether you would want extra time off to be able to fly back to the US or use them to explore other parts of the world, the best place to be in this regard would be Europe.
European countries are more generous with their leave entitlement and also boast a good number of public holidays that can be taken advantage of. If you want to get more specific, Denmark would be the best place to get paid time off. With 25 days of annual leave and 14 days of public holidays, you're looking at a total of 39 paid days off a year - a huge difference in comparison to the average 25 days you would get in America!
