What is the usual holiday entitlement (days per year)in the UK?

[Calliaussie]

I'm in Australia and am wondering if it is usual to get more holiday days for UK employees than we do here?

I get 3 weeks holiday annually which I think is fairly standard for office and retail type jobs. Of course teachers are different and there would be different arrangements for other sectors too, but I'm just interested to compare with what is normal in the UK?

Asking because quite a lot of people on this board seem to go on multiple holidays each year which, even if I had the money, I wouldn't be able to do because I wouldn't have enough holiday days. Wondering if people in the UK commonly get more than 3 weeks?

@SleepNeedSleepNow Maternity pay is 18 weeks from the state and then whatever the workplace offers on top. Some are quite forward thinking in offering equal entitlements to fathers and mothers so that they can each take a period of full/half pay to care for the child until it is 2.

In the public sector, eg education, health, the primary carer can take further unpaid leave up to 7 years, with the right to return to their job after that.

I have 27 days +8 BH

DH only gets the min of 20 days + 8 BH

I don't get why people add the BH to their allowance as it's a fixed day... like Christmas, last Monday in August and so on!

6 weeks plus the Bank Holidays.

In Ireland (just over the water from UK), we get 4 weeks plus bank holidays (10 days AFAIK, although 2 may be public hols not bank hols...I can never remember the technicalities) as standard.

I am lucky enough to get 6 weeks plus BHs, and a fair few get that in both public and private sector.

Standard in Aus is 4 weeks plus 10 public holidays, increasing after 7 years in one industry (long service).

I get 35 days plus 8 bank holidays.

And we get the week between Boxing Day and New Year's Day 'for free'.

It's a big the only perk.

I get 28 days plus 9 Bank Holidays and an extra 3 gifted days at Christmas for shutdown between Xmas and New Year.

I can also accumulated TOIL

I get 28 + Bank Holidays + Christmas office closure + birthday day off + TOIL. Would still like a bit more tbh!

This is all really interesting, thank you. So our long service leave probably fills the gap between our lower annual holiday entitlement and the uk's higher ones - LSL is an additional week per year, which you can't take until after 7 or 10 years of service (depending on the industry). But then you get the past 7 (or 10) years worth in one hit (so get 2 - 3 months off at that point). And after that you get the additional week each year, so 4 weeks annual holiday leave, plus a week of long service.

We also have sick leave built in to our work entitlements, usually 18 days per year if I remember correctly. But you obviously only use it if you need it so usually won't need 18 days in one year. But then it rolls over and keeps accruing, so if you get a major illness or need surgery after being with the same employer for a decade then you could have eg 6 months of sick leave paid.

From a PP's comment it sounds like the UK doesn't have the same sort of thing for sick leave - is that right?

@UnnecessaryFennel that sounds amazing. Does that mean you are at work less than 10 months of the year?! That's so great.

I get 30 days plus bank holidays. New starters get 20 days + BH with an extra 5 after 5 years of service.

I get more because I'm the boss, but since I've got my extra week's AL I've never been able to have the time off to take it, so it's a bit pointless really!

I've got 2 weeks booked off soon and even taking that in to account I've still officially got 31 days to use before 30th April next year, thanks to carrying it over.

This year is an unusual one as I will actually be using 4 weeks leave. Normally I only use 3 for actual holidays and then the odd day here and there.

I get 5 weeks plus the bank holidays on top.

We are also allowed to ‘buy’ 2 weeks worth of holiday too a year and they deduct it from your wages.

I can also get 4 weeks worth of sick pay if I’m unwell paid at full rate but if you are really ill with cancer/major ops then they will give you longer and it’s down to your manager so I would imagine you would get paid full pay.

Our sick pay entitlement is on a year rolling thing. So if I have a first instance of sick in feb then it comes off in feb the next year. We are only allowed 1 instance every 3 months too.
so if I’m sick in feb I can’t be sick for 3 months after without it getting looked into.

I get 20 days plus bank holidays. My employer is closed on those days anyway.

35 days + bank holidays + about two weeks for Christmas and Easter + relatively work free summer = academia

Haha, well kind of!

The irony is that it's actually pretty hard to take that much holiday due to workload and I always end up rolling some over into the next year (which then doesn't get used and rolls over again, ad infinitum).

But yes, in principle it's good. And I think it should be the rule, not the exception.

HE 42 days

DH and I retired last month, every day is a holiday.

I am sure it will settle down eventually but it really does feel like holidays every day.

27 days plus bank holidays. Not enough!

I work a 4 day week. I get 21 days holiday plus pro rata bank holidays and we have a weeks office shut down at Xmas on top. I also have the option to purchase an additional 5 days.

I get 29 days plus bank holidays

I get 32 days plus bank holidays. We can buy more leave but that’s plenty for me.

Mine are rubbish. 30 days to include Christmas and New Year so 26 to do as you please over the year. I'd be much happier with 30 plus the festive period so 34.

I get 28 days no bank hol. But extra days for funerals, miscarriage, sickness etc

This year I've been to Mexico, France, Italy, Spain, California mad Germany

And we can buy extra days