May 06, 2003

Vacant time

There’s been a lot of talk here recently about holidays (what with it being May and wars once ending and workers uniting and stuff… I’m still trying to get them all straight), and it reminded me of how gobsmacked I was when my kids began school here in France, discovering the sheer quantity of vacation time they enjoyed.

If memory serves, when I was a schoolgirl back in Canada (toast had just been invented, and everyone was very excited about this “wheel” thing) we had three school holidays in the year: Christmas, spring break and summer, with a sprinkling of long weekends that allowed us to indulge in the joys of leaf raking and hunting for chocolate eggs in the garden.

Here in France, the kids have 2 weeks holiday every two months (sometimes less), plus a great scattering of long weekends. Plus… there’s no school on Wednesdays for primary (half day for secondary), although there’s still class on Saturday mornings for some.

Originally devised to placate the Church and farmers, it’s completely out of whack with how most people live and work these days – and still most look askance when talk of a change arises (one of my only frustrations here is the subjugation to old habits).

That said, recalling the juggle of trying to spread out my 10 precious days off from the grind across the year (in my era as a grumpy office worker in North America) made me very impressed with the fact that grown-ups here get a minimum 4 weeks paid holiday per annum. It’s so lovely and humane and, dare I say, merely a worker’s due.

(Of course, being a freelancer now, all this holiday talk is mere dreamy speculation.)

Posted by Gail at May 6, 2003 07:52 PM
Comments

I'm not certain, but I think the standard is actually five weeks vacation time for workers?

(and if you stay at the company all your life, toward the end you may very well be on vacation more than you are there hehe) ;)

Posted by: kim at May 7, 2003 05:13 AM

5 weeks minimum in Austria, usually.

Posted by: Mig at May 7, 2003 06:34 AM

In Australia, in addition to a pretty standard four weeks a year, they have this thing called long service leave. After ten years service with one employer you get an additional month per year (which you can by law roll over into the next year). Its no wonder people don't change jobs often.

There is also the the concept of leave loading. A past prime minister (I believe it was Gough Whitlam?) observed that it was quite expensive taking the family on holiday and so introduced a law that say that you get 17% more when you are on holiday. Those icy poles can get quite pricey you know.

Sadly most employers are now writing contracts saying that they pay you this extra money across the year so you don't actually see it in your pay packet.

Of course, when I'm in Australia I work as a freelance. D'oh!

Posted by: Andy Todd at May 7, 2003 03:09 PM

The Polish government determines how much vacation a worker gets based on years worked and education (university years count as work years). I think I get 26 vacation days plus maybe 11 national holidays. Kids pretty much never go to school. We're still working on toast, though. You say you warm slices of bread? And it browns?

Posted by: Eeksy-Peeksy at May 8, 2003 07:21 AM