Annual leave entitlement is not fixed and it differs from one country to another. But one thing for sure, loyalty pays in terms of leave entitlement for majority of the countries. Some countries provide more paid annual leave days, while some provide zero leave days to its workforce. On average, a decent paid annual leave or vacation days entitlement is around 15-20 days a year plus public holidays. Some get more than enough time to enjoy their lives while others have to be at the office almost all year long. In both situation, neither of the employers are breaking the law. Which then begs the question: Do you know what your country's labor law is when it comes to Paid Annual Leave entitlement?
Let’s Learn 10 Extreme Annual Leave Entitlement Around the World, and know that sometimes, even advanced countries do not take care of their workforce’s welfare the way it should.
Indonesia - There is nothing to be excited about with Indonesian Paid Annual Leave entitlement because every employee who has served for a year in a company is entitled to only 12 days of leave, and if that leave is unused, it couldn't be carried forward into the next year past the next six month. Therefore, it doesn't matter how many years you have served a company, the entitlement is capped at 12 days per year. Worse still, companies are not even legally bound to pay their employees on public holidays.
Japan - If you are visiting a friend in Japan, do not expect them to take leave from their job in order to accompany you because they don't have much leave days left to spare. For those who have served a company for about 6 months and fulfilled 80% attendance in terms of their working hours, they are entitled to only 10 days of leave. For those employees who have served a company for one year and a half will get an additional day of leave in regards to each year of service up to a maximum of 20 days of paid annual leave. Similar with Indonesia, companies in Japan are not legally bound to pay their employees on public holidays.
Kuwait - It's a different situation for workers in Kuwait because by law, each new staff automatically gets a 30 days paid annual leave entitlement the moment they sign up for the job. Moreover, if you have served for 2 years continuously and you also happened to be a muslim, you are then entitled to an extra paid leave of 21 days for the purpose of performing Hajj rituals. And that's just the icing on the cake as all employees in Kuwait are also entitled to 13 days of public holidays on top of all that jazz.
USA - To put it simply, by law, USA have zero paid annual vacation. Discretion is totally up to the employers to offer such leave to their employees and averagely, employers do spare around 10 days leave annually for their staff. On the other hand, employees have no statutory rights to claim this entitlement from their employers.
India - Annual leave in India varies based on the region they work. It could be around 18 days more or less, as there is no standard law that fits the whole nation. Interestingly, India has different leave entitlement for adult workers and minors respectively. In addition, the public holidays in India also differ based on the region due to the vastness of its country and the heavily populated areas. To sum it all, the paid holiday leaves entitlement averages to around 15-20 days in this country of more than a billion people.
Singapore - For a small yet thriving country, Singapore offers just seven days of paid annual leave for new employees, and if one has work for 7 years, the amount of paid annual leave is only doubled to 14. For Gen Y and Millennials who practises "job hopping", 7 days is the most they could possibly get even after working for many years.
French - This European country is rather generous on paid annual leave. French people get a total of 30 days paid annual leave plus around 22 days Reduction of Working Time for those who work more than 35 hours per week. Those who utilize their annual leave outside of the summer period gets bonus days as well. To be more specific, each additional day for every 3 annual leave days. And not only that, the French gets an extra 11 paid holidays on top of all that paid annual leave. How do they get things done on time?! Only they will know...
Brazil - Attendance plays a big role in Brazil's leave entitlement. Famous for their layback attitude, the workers are rewarded with 30 days paid annual leaves as long as they are absent for no more than 5 days; 24 days if the worker is absent between 6 and 14 days; 18 days when the worker is absent between 15 and 23 days; 12 days when the worker is absent between 24 and 32 days. Hence, every employee is entitled to at least 12 paid holidays.
Cambodia - This country is also quite generous in annual leave where all workers are entitled to paid annual leave at the rate of 1.5 work days per month of continuous service. For example if you have worked for a year, the entitlement is 18 days. When one has served for more than 3 years, one will get an additional day extra. Plus, every employee is also entitled to a whopping 27 days of paid public holidays.
Jamaica - This caribbean island nation is fixated on the number 22 when it comes to paid annual leave calculation. Employees who have served 220 days gets 10 days of paid annual leave at the max. For those who have a minimum of 110 days; the formula should be 1/22 of the number of days of work i.e. 125 days is entitled to 5.6 days or 6 days, 110 days is entitled for 5 days. Employees who have worked more than 220 days, the entitlement is 2 working weeks and those who have worked for 10 years or more and consequently worked for more than 220 days in each qualifying year, they will then get an additional 3 working weeks of leave. We know, it's confusing maaan!
This is just an overview of the different annual leave entitlement within some countries of the world. If reading this article gives you a slight headache, imagine having to manage not only annual leave but also other types of leave as well and at the same time, administering their accruals, balances, deductions, and etc for a large number of employees year in and year out without producing any errors.
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