To think 2 weeks is an unusually long summer holiday?

[PrettyLittleCryer]

How long do you take off on holiday if you go away over summer - particularly if you work full time?

I think half a month is a long time to expect to just walk out of a job and them to carry on without you.

But is that what most people take?

No it's normal I work to live not live to work.

If I was holidaying abroad I would probably want 2 weeks off. We usually just go away for a week in the uk so I have never had more than a week off at once.

2 weeks is totally normal. 2 weeks in a row at some point every year is statutory requirement in some European countries.

@ByJingoes why is taking two or more weeks taking the piss? Also my DF and my FIL are both self employed and both take holidays periodical through the year because they recognise how important it is for work life balance and their mental health.

Some of my team are based in Denmark and they all take 3 weeks at summer! I usually just have a week at summer but take 3 at Xmas.

I'm abroad, but for years we always had first 3 weeks in July off. School holidays 9 weeks. For gite or campsite holidays this worked brilliantly.

2 weeks. My danish colleagues take minimum 3! We have been known to take 2.5 weeks.

I see it that no one is irreplaceable- 2weeks is definitely normal. My holiday starts the moment in click out and leave the building - it could fall down and I wouldn’t care - them 2 weeks later when I return I care again

Completely normal. DH takes August off. Always has. Thanks in part to Covid, I shall spend the whole of August in France but will work for the equivalent of two weeks. I used to take the whole of August off too but it's been a few v busy years where I work.

When DS worked abroad for American boss it was thought odd he saved up overtime to come back to the UK every Xmas

I remember asking for two weeks off in my last (non-seasonal) job and my manager telling me it is a long time. It isn't really though as we work to live.

We usually do 7-10 but 14 is pretty normal. I'd kill for 2 weeks tbh I need a good long break.

My colleagues booked out for 3 weeks through august.

Completely normal. I always took 2 weeks in the summer as did everyone else i worked with. If going on holiday 2 weeks is pretty standard.

That's great if your DF and FIL are self-employed and can earn enough to worry about their work-life balance and mental health. There are legions of s/e people who just have to carry on working because their mental health would be even more adversely affected by losing their homes. They have no choice but to carry on working, come what may.

Which makes the strikes really, really off-pissing. It's fine to strike if you're going to be paid anyway; it's not fine to strike if you stop s/e people from earning a living in the process.

I'd hate this (although I suppose they get more holiday than we do in the UK). |I want to take my holiday when I want to (within reason) and having to take two weeks at once when I only need a week would be really annoying. Same applies to financial services jobs, I simply wouldn't do it. Given WFH I don't know how they can force that anymore, if you log in from home what are they going to do? Do you have to sign something to say you won't touch emails under any circumstances during that time even if someone contacts you urgently? It seems highly unlikely to me, given the sector and its expectations of working hours!

We both teach, only since DH took on responsibility for exam results have we dropped down from 5 weeks away in the summer. One of the few perks and yes, I really appreciate it.

Goodness three is even worse. That doesn't leave you with much left for other things in the year. I'd be so bored. I know you can split it and go to different places but I'd rather do different trips at different times of year.

If someone hasn't taken two weeks in one go it can be a red flag

Ha ha. If you don't want to waste a week's holiday you must be doing something dodgy. Oh well.

Anyway to answer your question OP, no it's no unusual at all, but I would hate being forced to take two weeks at once when I didn't want to.

not

Oh gosh yes, when I worked for American banks in the 80s, annual leave was 15 days! Then it went up to 18, and I think after x years' service it was 23 days. You got an extra week if you got married though.

I get 7 weeks plus bank hols now - although I still don't earn quite as much as I did in the late 80s/early 90s.

Bored having three weeks off? Hygge.

In the 90s I worked in insurance and one of the account handlers who had been there 8 or 9 years left after having never taken more than a day or two off at a time. It essentially meant that no one ever had to be involved in their accounts/with their clients.

It was only after they left that it was revealed that they had achieved their amazing client retention levels by severely under insuring much of their property (you can beat everyone else’s quotes when you’ve actually only issued cover for half the fleet of vehicles but lied and said they were all covered)

V lucky not to have had it revealed by a major claim along the way and the company were left having to take a big loss covering the outstanding risks (and lost most of the business at renewal) but ended up not reporting the fraud as the company would have lost face/reputation for poor management

Doubtful it would be possible to do the same today without being a computer whizz but back then you could do a lot with some tipex and a photocopier

We are taking 3. I think minimum 2 is standard for people with kids & not in junior roles.

Generally you don’t get paid when you’re on strike