I work for a shitty big ass company. I get the legal minimum of time off. In new York that’s seven days a year. One of my coworkers is in Texas, so she gets zero.
The us is an embarrassment
Edit: and technically that’s sick leave, not vacation time. I don’t think you need to prove you were sick, and mental health without a diagnosis seems like it’s covered, but if you said you wanted to go on a trip they might say that’s not allowed.
In theory, vacation time is supposed to be something you negotiate as part of your employment contract. Conservatives believe that market forces will balance out the needs of the worker and the company, as companies with bad employment practices will have trouble finding employees.
In practice, that only works for high-demand positions with a small labor pool. Basically everyone else has no negotiating power because employers have a huge pool to pick from. Conservatives say employees can just go somewhere else to get a better job or go back to school (another topic), but that also doesn’t work in when all the available jobs do the same thing.
Basically, it’s an extension of rugged individualism. It’s up to the individual to take care of themselves. The fact that the landscape in which most people must operate doesn’t allow for it is ignored.
Oh the old conservative “I don’t care about your rights”.
We have a soft version over here that boils down to “everyone can get a job, it’s not that hard, just go out and get one” but with 50 unemployed per 8 jobs openings (that doesn’t always match but that’s another story) that just shows they don’t care and don’t want to help.
I doubt they have a 7 day work week. That would be unusual. But they probably do have zero PTO. Sick? Come to work or don’t get paid. No vacations.
I personally have been at the same company for almost 20 years and have a bunch of banked sick time because I never got sick much. But last year I had to use 8 days because I have a toddler in daycare and I got sick a lot, for the first time in almost 20 years. I got written up. For using my banked sick time for sicknesses.
Double check and see if your state protects the use of your sick time.
In the state I live, there are special protections for using sick time. If they so much as make a comment about it that’s a violation. A write up would probably get the business sued by the state.
Oh thanks for the idea. I checked and no, it’s Florida and apparently they just wrote a law to prevent even cities from making such a law, ensuring that this lack of protection is uniform across the state.
I will just add this to the pile of reasons I am leaving the state as soon as I can.
It’s around 5 weeks in the EU, sometimes 4 IIRC. France, where I live it’s 5, and if you work more than 35h a week you pile that up for sporadic “vacation” days, last job I had was 37.5h/w and 5w + 11 of those days (the difference is that you might not be allowed to use them as a big ass holiday, but most people use them a bit like that, a bit for the dentist etc).
And the normal holidays of course like 8 of May, IIRC there are like 11.
If i worked 9 months in a company and quit, i would get it as “feriepenge” where i can request the money online when i note which days i am taking off.
People in Norway say they have paid vacation, but it’s really a forced savings scheme coming out of your paycheck every month. That’s why I’m suspicious. Anyway, that’s great for you. Denmark is probably the superior Scandinavian nation
What’s the difference, in the end? Are wages after accounting for this worse for Norwegians than Danes?
At the end of the day any mandatory paid holiday system means the employee does less work so is less valuable to the employer (benefits of returning refreshed notwithstanding - in any case all these effects should be the same regardless of what financial rules govern it) so the employer might want to pay them less in total.
But this should reach an equilibrium where the cost to the employer is similar for similar amounts of labour, resulting in similar pay.
That’s wild. I get 35 days plus bank holidays plus 42 hours a year for when you need to take a few hours off at the end of the day or start a few hours late if you have other commitments.
Well, sort of. The state gives you 56 hours of sick leave, which isn’t technically the same as vacation. Mental health, even without diagnosis, is a permitted use. My job didn’t give me any grief when I used some of my time to cover the holidays, but I didn’t have enough so some days I just didn’t get paid. (You acrue time off by working, and I started late in the year)
Oh, and this company also really dragged their feet on answering my questions about it, and told me one rule that’s just illegal here. I ended up looking it up myself, and thankfully they didn’t push back.
Public holidays are not mandatory time off let alone paid in the US. Many employers that give paid time off do include at least some holidays, but which ones and how many is variable between employers. Some will give every federal holiday and others will be only the really big ones like Christmas, thanksgiving, independence day, etc.
One of the most exciting things about the job I currently have is that I get around 15 holiday days a year off, in addition to my normal vacation time. It’s a rarity. My last two jobs only had 7 holiday days - that stretch from New years day to Memorial day (end of May) was always brutal.
I work for a shitty big ass company. I get the legal minimum of time off. In new York that’s seven days a year. One of my coworkers is in Texas, so she gets zero.
The us is an embarrassment
Edit: and technically that’s sick leave, not vacation time. I don’t think you need to prove you were sick, and mental health without a diagnosis seems like it’s covered, but if you said you wanted to go on a trip they might say that’s not allowed.
Highlights for the curious: https://ag.ny.gov/resources/individuals/workers-rights/benefits-and-leave
It’s legal to have ZERO days off a year?! This feels like a human rights violation somehow
This whole country is a human rights violation.
In theory, vacation time is supposed to be something you negotiate as part of your employment contract. Conservatives believe that market forces will balance out the needs of the worker and the company, as companies with bad employment practices will have trouble finding employees.
In practice, that only works for high-demand positions with a small labor pool. Basically everyone else has no negotiating power because employers have a huge pool to pick from. Conservatives say employees can just go somewhere else to get a better job or go back to school (another topic), but that also doesn’t work in when all the available jobs do the same thing.
Basically, it’s an extension of rugged individualism. It’s up to the individual to take care of themselves. The fact that the landscape in which most people must operate doesn’t allow for it is ignored.
Oh the old conservative “I don’t care about your rights”.
We have a soft version over here that boils down to “everyone can get a job, it’s not that hard, just go out and get one” but with 50 unemployed per 8 jobs openings (that doesn’t always match but that’s another story) that just shows they don’t care and don’t want to help.
That’s my Americans never leave the US. They don’t have time. ,
According to this CBS article https://www.cbsnews.com/news/one-in-four-workers-in-us-dont-get-any-paid-vacation-time-or-holidays/
1 in 4 workers don’t get any paid vacation time. It’s from 2019 but it’s not like things have gotten better over there since then.
I doubt they have a 7 day work week. That would be unusual. But they probably do have zero PTO. Sick? Come to work or don’t get paid. No vacations.
I personally have been at the same company for almost 20 years and have a bunch of banked sick time because I never got sick much. But last year I had to use 8 days because I have a toddler in daycare and I got sick a lot, for the first time in almost 20 years. I got written up. For using my banked sick time for sicknesses.
Double check and see if your state protects the use of your sick time.
In the state I live, there are special protections for using sick time. If they so much as make a comment about it that’s a violation. A write up would probably get the business sued by the state.
Oh thanks for the idea. I checked and no, it’s Florida and apparently they just wrote a law to prevent even cities from making such a law, ensuring that this lack of protection is uniform across the state.
I will just add this to the pile of reasons I am leaving the state as soon as I can.
I have 6 weeks per year of vacation, with pay 🇩🇰
Is this the minimum required, or just common?
We have 4 weeks annual leave (not including sick leave and public holidays) and I reckon it’s not enough 🇦🇺
Probably because our union movement has been crushed by years of hostile governments and right wing media monopoly.
It’s around 5 weeks in the EU, sometimes 4 IIRC. France, where I live it’s 5, and if you work more than 35h a week you pile that up for sporadic “vacation” days, last job I had was 37.5h/w and 5w + 11 of those days (the difference is that you might not be allowed to use them as a big ass holiday, but most people use them a bit like that, a bit for the dentist etc).
And the normal holidays of course like 8 of May, IIRC there are like 11.
Pay or feriepenger?
I just get paid my normal salary plus 12.5%
Yes, i get more when i take my vacation
If i worked 9 months in a company and quit, i would get it as “feriepenge” where i can request the money online when i note which days i am taking off.
Not the same user, but it’s pay for me, not feriepenge
People in Norway say they have paid vacation, but it’s really a forced savings scheme coming out of your paycheck every month. That’s why I’m suspicious. Anyway, that’s great for you. Denmark is probably the superior Scandinavian nation
What’s the difference, in the end? Are wages after accounting for this worse for Norwegians than Danes? At the end of the day any mandatory paid holiday system means the employee does less work so is less valuable to the employer (benefits of returning refreshed notwithstanding - in any case all these effects should be the same regardless of what financial rules govern it) so the employer might want to pay them less in total.
But this should reach an equilibrium where the cost to the employer is similar for similar amounts of labour, resulting in similar pay.
That’s wild. I get 35 days plus bank holidays plus 42 hours a year for when you need to take a few hours off at the end of the day or start a few hours late if you have other commitments.
Germany: 24 would be the legal lower limit, but it’s almost always 30 days (+ bank holidays). If you’re disabled add 5 more.
Side note: 24 days if you work 6 days a week, 20 days if you work 5 days a week.
But yes, commonly 30 days if you work 5 days a week.
I get 10 bank holiday a year.
You spend an awful lot of time in the bank.
And how many (paid) public holidays do you have? Or are they part of those 7?
Zero. I can use some of the 7 for holidays.
Well, sort of. The state gives you 56 hours of sick leave, which isn’t technically the same as vacation. Mental health, even without diagnosis, is a permitted use. My job didn’t give me any grief when I used some of my time to cover the holidays, but I didn’t have enough so some days I just didn’t get paid. (You acrue time off by working, and I started late in the year)
Oh, and this company also really dragged their feet on answering my questions about it, and told me one rule that’s just illegal here. I ended up looking it up myself, and thankfully they didn’t push back.
https://www.ny.gov/programs/new-york-paid-sick-leave if you’re morbidly curious.
Edit: they also had the nerve to send out “happy holidays!” Emails wishing me happy and healthy times. No pay, just thoughts and prayers.
Public holidays are not mandatory time off let alone paid in the US. Many employers that give paid time off do include at least some holidays, but which ones and how many is variable between employers. Some will give every federal holiday and others will be only the really big ones like Christmas, thanksgiving, independence day, etc.
One of the most exciting things about the job I currently have is that I get around 15 holiday days a year off, in addition to my normal vacation time. It’s a rarity. My last two jobs only had 7 holiday days - that stretch from New years day to Memorial day (end of May) was always brutal.