Page 6 | To be shocked by Canadian work culture?

Kitkat151 · 04/01/2022 03:15

@Iseestupidpeople

It’s don’t know anyone that gets 30+ days in the UK. But then I don’t sit in the gravy train with a cushy civil servant job or some ridiculously over paid jobs clearly. And yes missy normal jobs have about 25 days and your bank holidays are taken out of those. Normal jobs normal people. You know the poor buggers you sneer at in the shops and leisure industry and customer services when some of you holiday high rollers demand they be open 24/7 so you don’t have to waste your precious unrealistic holiday amount.

All nurses in the U.K. with over ten years service get 33 days plus all BHs.... hardly a cushy job OP in these Covid times🙄 You got a problem with nurses??

Kitkat151 · 04/01/2022 03:15

And I don’t sneer at anybody.....you got that

TomPinch · 04/01/2022 03:17

@SquirrelG

Maybe you need more holidays in the UK because you live on a grey island, and so many of you seem to live for a trip abroad every year? Other countries have better weather and people often tend to holiday at home.

Hah! I miss English weather. Here in NZ, wetter than Ireland half the year, everything gets soaked. Fierce sun during the other half.

As for me I have less leave than I had in the UK. I remember working longer hours in the UK but there was more gassing and faffing there too.

Iseestupidpeople · 04/01/2022 03:18

@Kitkat151

And this is the problem with our nhs and civil servants they have cushy jobs with far more time off then actually working. And you clearly don’t live in the real world normal people are lucky to get 25 days and their bank holidays come out of those. But carry on living in your little fantasy world. You’re probably one of those pencil pushers that we don’t need anyway. And before you say it I know plenty of nurses they don’t get this kind of holiday and often work bank holidays.

SunscreenCentral · 04/01/2022 03:25

The good news is that the UK is now free to make all kinds of wonderful freedoms in terms working hours, contracts, holidays, pensions, beholden to nobody! Woohoo!
Why truck with nuisance from abroad op when we can all celebrate a wonderful new year whilst mourning and didn't Catherine look beautiful

Kitkat151 · 04/01/2022 03:26

[quote Iseestupidpeople]@Kitkat151

And this is the problem with our nhs and civil servants they have cushy jobs with far more time off then actually working. And you clearly don’t live in the real world normal people are lucky to get 25 days and their bank holidays come out of those. But carry on living in your little fantasy world. You’re probably one of those pencil pushers that we don’t need anyway. And before you say it I know plenty of nurses they don’t get this kind of holiday and often work bank holidays.[/quote]
who rattled your cage ? 🙄Of course nurses work bank holidays but they get extra days off in lieu .....no I don’t push pencils....I’m out there in my scrubs....and I feel very fortunate to Get my 33 days leave and 9 bank holidays ... and you will find all NHS nurses in England are on the same pay scales...your friends included.
I very much live in the real world....I work hard....and I fully enjoy my holidays....all of them.
You need to chill out PP....so much anger .....not healthy

SquirrelG · 04/01/2022 03:27

Here in NZ, wetter than Ireland half the year, everything gets soaked. Fierce sun during the other half.

You are living in the wrong part of the country then. It's certainly not wet here for half the year!!

Kitkat151 · 04/01/2022 03:29

@SquirrelG

Here in NZ, wetter than Ireland half the year, everything gets soaked. Fierce sun during the other half.

You are living in the wrong part of the country then. It's certainly not wet here for half the year!!

So you live in NZ @squirrelG 😁 I would like to visit NZ ....which is the sunnier part?

SquirrelG · 04/01/2022 03:34

@Kitkat151 - I'm in Canterbury in the South Island. I imagine the poster who said it was wet is in Auckland, they have a different climate. Down here we have colder winters (but not wet), and hotter summers overall, without Auckland's humidity.

SonicBroom · 04/01/2022 03:34

And yes missy normal jobs have about 25 days and your bank holidays are taken out of those. Normal jobs normal people

Actually that’s not quite true. Statutory leave for anyone working a five day week is 5.6 weeks (28 days) and employer doesn’t have to give BH additionally. The norm for many organisations is 25 plus BH.

LoveFall · 04/01/2022 03:48

Where I live in Canada, the minimum statutorily required annual vacation is two weeks'. After 5 years it goes up to three weeks.

We have I believe 11 statutory holidays (bank holidays) in addition to that. A couple have been added in the past 5 years.

Many (almost all) public sector jobs, such as healthcare, government etc. are unionized. Most union collective agreements start at three or four weeks' vacation. In some instances long service will get you additional weeks up to about 8 but it takes a long time. Most collective agreements also add a paid holiday such as Easter Monday.

I don't think we socialize less really, but where I work commuting can be tough so people do want to get home. The workday is usually about 8 hours, 40 hours a week.

Pugdogmom · 04/01/2022 09:55

My cousins live in BC ( close to the US border). Their holiday allowance is about 5 weeks, but only because they have worked in the same place for years. They wouldn't come back to UK. They definitely start earlier in morning.

They mostly vacation in Canada, US, or occasionally Caribbean, as flights are pretty expensive, especially to Europe. Some Canadians have trailers, so spend most weekends there. Or go camping. I quite liked the outdoorsy life.I know many people do it here , but seems to be a lot more of it there. They shop a lot ( pre Covid), in the US as a lot of stuff is cheaper. I found Canadians in general much more chilled than here.
Was interested to see other posters from BC posting about being near the Gondola, that's a beautiful area to live.
Did fascinate me though that there was a warning about a bear cub on the Highway coming down from Squamish though. We just don't get that in UK .

Rainuntilseptember · 04/01/2022 10:22

I genuinely could not imagine life with only three weeks of holidays, and have great sympathy for anyone without enough holiday time. I don't mean holidays away from home necessarily, but just time when you're not at work.
Probably why I became a teacher

sussexman · 04/01/2022 16:41

[quote Iseestupidpeople]@Kitkat151

And this is the problem with our nhs and civil servants they have cushy jobs with far more time off then actually working. And you clearly don’t live in the real world normal people are lucky to get 25 days and their bank holidays come out of those. But carry on living in your little fantasy world. You’re probably one of those pencil pushers that we don’t need anyway. And before you say it I know plenty of nurses they don’t get this kind of holiday and often work bank holidays.[/quote]
@Iseestupidpeople been looking in a mirror?

DDMAC · 04/01/2022 21:14

When I lived in the states I got 7 vacation days, 5 personal days and 6 sick days. It was difficult to call in sick because it was a medical centre and my gp at the time was based there. I don’t miss that.

TomPinch · 04/01/2022 22:24

[quote SquirrelG]@Kitkat151 - I'm in Canterbury in the South Island. I imagine the poster who said it was wet is in Auckland, they have a different climate. Down here we have colder winters (but not wet), and hotter summers overall, without Auckland's humidity.[/quote]
Correct. But even in the South Island the sun burns like crazy. It's like being rubbed with sandpaper. NZ is under the ozone hole and so the sun feels a lot fiercer than in hotter countries further north.

SquirrelG · 04/01/2022 22:52

@TomPinch - yes it's hot, and I've even heard people from Australia say that it feels hotter here than in places there. It's only 21 degrees here at the moment and the sun is burning!! Much of the South Island gets hotter than the north in summer, although they've had hotter days recently - we haven't quite ramped up yet!

mjf981 · 04/01/2022 23:01

I've worked in both. Agreed that the leave is, in general, worse in Canada. People seem to take more long weekends to 'go to the lake' though than in the UK.
What people in the UK often aren't aware of, is how poorly compensated they are for what they do. Wages for (normal middle class teacher, nurses, vets, etc) are generally far higher in other western countries - Canada, US, Australia. The UK wages have just not kept up the way they should have, aside from at the very top. I don't understand why there isn't more uproar over this. Maybe its like the boiled frog analogy.

mallees · 04/01/2022 23:06

@wantedrueu

My best friend moved to Canada three years ago. I asked her when she was next coming back, as she sometimes does. She said she will not be coming back anytime soon as she only gets three weeks holiday. This is in a senior role.

When asked, she said Canada is much more work focused- Very little holiday time, holiday very hard to take or ask for, longer days, no socialising after work and stricter standards.

AIBU to be shocked at this?

I frequently hear Canada has an amazing quality of life! So it is shocking to me that it the work-culture is very US reminiscent.

I work basic minimum wage and get five weeks, in the UK. Add in the fact I can add in my two regular days off, ie, if I want 7 days off schedule, I only have to book 5.

It's made me appreciate the UK a bit more, if a bit more grey.

I've always thought about moving abroad, but with my terrible capacity for learning a language, I always considered Canada; but i don't think I'd be cut out for their working culture!

Is anyone else here Canadian or lives there who can verify this?

Yes, it's true. Very little holiday. In fact, first year at a workplace you get 1 day a month so need to build it up till you can take a decent stretch. But like in all places, depends on the job too. But they all work like mad!

Ozanj · 04/01/2022 23:09

Your friend either doesn’t understand her benefits or is deliberately misleading you. 3 weeks is the starting holiday you get from day 1. That increases every year afterwards. They also get paid for lunches / breaks / overtime while UK businesses work on unpaid overtime so the OECD figures are wrong. As a nation we probably do work longer hours than any other nation simply due to the expectation of free overtime.

OffRoadFozzyBear · 05/01/2022 07:29

KitKat151

Quite honestly, no, I don’t feel it’s worth it. His pension has gone up but I don’t have one here at all. Savings are limited as the cost of living is so high. So I doubt he’ll retire any earlier. Plus the huge cost of medical care is a big deal. DH’s hours mean he’s usually completely knackered by the weekend, so we don’t really do much. The weather in the summer is lousy - it’s hot for about five months solid which I find unbearable. We actually haven’t had a holiday for about five years. When we travel to the UK (pre-Covid), DH has to work pretty much as normal. We both have health issues now which are exacerbated by stress, which was never a problem in the UK. I think it’s that sense of always having to be ‘on’.

It doesn’t help that most of the people in the area are pretty superficial and fake, though our immediate neighbours are nice. Socialising does seem to centre around the schools and kids activities- as we don’t have kids we’re not a part of that.

Although I don’t regret giving it a good shot, I will be a lot happier when we eventually move back.

Xenia · 05/01/2022 10:59

Sonic is right about the UK for employees - it is a minimum of 28 days for full time workers including all the bank holidays. So that tends to be the standard private sector offer. Obviously people Like I am - self employed - get zero but that is a different matter.

SpinsForGin · 05/01/2022 11:44

@Iseestupidpeople

It’s don’t know anyone that gets 30+ days in the UK. But then I don’t sit in the gravy train with a cushy civil servant job or some ridiculously over paid jobs clearly. And yes missy normal jobs have about 25 days and your bank holidays are taken out of those. Normal jobs normal people. You know the poor buggers you sneer at in the shops and leisure industry and customer services when some of you holiday high rollers demand they be open 24/7 so you don’t have to waste your precious unrealistic holiday amount.

30+ days annual leave is standard in most universities and that doesn't include bank hols or Christmas. IMO it's the biggest benefit of working in HE and is what gets me through all the stressful stuff I have to deal with.

lightisnotwhite · 05/01/2022 20:04

calculate leave

Trouble is the U.K. is sneaky. Yes you are entitled to 28 days but as people said that CAN include our 8 bank holidays. But actually what happens in minimum wage jobs is that you’ll get offered 25 hours a week over 5 days including bank holidays.
According to the calculations from Gov .U.K. that gives you 140 hrs holiday. Whatever that means in reality.

SiennaSienna · 05/01/2022 21:29

@Xenia

Sonic is right about the UK for employees - it is a minimum of 28 days for full time workers including all the bank holidays. So that tends to be the standard private sector offer. Obviously people Like I am - self employed - get zero but that is a different matter.

"including all the bank holidays" Interesting, because the 27 vacation days I quoted earlier are in addition to 9 public holidays that are also paid, so based on that calculation, I have 36 paid days off. In Ontario. (Additionally, I received 5 extra days last year because of the pandemic: birthday day off and 4 extra days that our company provided to every employee as a thank you given our hard work during covid. This was a global initiative though ) Many of my friends' employers gave people Friday afternoons off (paid). There is clearly a range depending on sector and province.