Holiday Entitlement-Whats The ACTUAL Average

[Vendeedreamer]

Bit of a random question but as I keep hearing from friends how much holiday they get each year my partner seems to be bottom of the pile in terms of days she can choose! So we decided to ask MN do many people actually only get the minimum?

Her scenario is:

Works full time 5 days same job for many years management level in VERY small company.

Gets 28 days including bank hols so from the 28 - 8 (bank hols) - 4 (company closed over xmas)
= 16 days she can choose when to take. I know this is the legal minimum but how many companies actually impose this ?

Everyone I ask seems to get 25 + bank hols and or the option to buy a week or so she doesn't get this option.

Thanks in advance!

Completely normal for a small company I'd say I'm afraid.

Larger firms use benefits such as increased annual leave days to position themselves as more attractive to talent, plus it increases their employee satisfaction surveys and can help reduce sickness absence.

Though that said, many larger companies in certain industries or for deemed low skill jobs would also only have the legal minimum, such as retail, manual labour etc etc

Unless it is a fixed clause in your partners contract with no wriggle room, it's plausible she could negotiate extra days as part of her next pay review? Worth a shot!

I get 25 plus 8 bank holidays plus my birthday. My employer is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so there's no enforced days to take them on, but obviously I can't just book whenever I feel like it off!
DH gets 22 plus bank holidays.
Best I ever had was with a local government employer, 30 plus bank holidays, gaining an extra day each year to a maximum of 35.

I get 25 days plus bank Holidays. I don't know what the actual average is but I don't often see less than this on job adverts.

Gosh that all makes me think another job may be an option! I think asking for an increase or even if some can be taken as unpaid leave may be a good starting point. Although working 9-5 is good in some ways the holidays are a definite issue in this role and I know the company has a reasonably high sickness record possibly because of this. From memory i think when we talked about it she said staff seem to Average around 6 days off per year which I think maybe higher than most places?

30 days plus bank hols sounds amazing! I know lectures etc can get around 40 + which is incredible but sadly not a career option!

Yes it's normal for a small company - 20 days plus bank holidays is the legal minimum for a full time employee.

I am very lucky because I get 25 days AND 3 days between Christmas and New Year. But I am moving to a job where I will get 23 - 3 days between Christmas and New Year - and 20 days I can choose myself (plus the bank holidays).

DH gets 30 plus bank holidays!

Thanks what sort of jobs are these that are offering that much? She works in marketing. Im thinking its just a case of some smaller companies offering so little so perhaps in the same sector but a different company there may be more on offer.

I have randomly just googled and it looks like council's offer a good number of days plus the option to buy another 10. Im just sick of having to schedule our holiday/down time around 16 days so will be proactive and suggest a change of jobs or asking for more/unpaid etc.

Its very helpful to hear all the stories, thanks

Small company here, in a related field to marketing. 25 days plus bank holidays plus the option to buy an additional week. Everyone gets two days to volunteer or do some kind of personal development a year on top of this plus an extra day after three years service and another day after five years. And yet people complain that the time between Xmas and New Year when the office is closed is deducted from annual leave. Personally I think it is pretty generous all things considered! In my last job (similar size company) we got 23 days plus bank holidays and statutory sick pay only when we had any time off.

31 days plus bank holidays, full time over 5 days. Local authority, can purchase an additional 5 days.

28 days plus bank holidays. They reserve the right to make us take 4 at Christmas. Rises to 30 after 5 years.

Gosh sounds like it really is a low amount that she gets then! I will show her this and encourage her to branch out. I think its the work life balance thats really lacking in her role.

Nhs, 33 days plus 8 bank holidays. As it's a 24/7 service, it's all just lumped together so 41 days as some bank hols are work days depending on rota

IME it's almost unheard of for small businesses to offer enhanced holiday entitlements. Definitely not the norm, unlike public sector where more than the statutory minimum is perfectly standard.

Seems a bit drastic to look for another job if she otherwise likes the job she has, but I guess it's a question of what her priorities are.

Nhs clerical worker of about a year - 27 plus bank hols, only get Xmas day boxing day and NY day, but still feels incredibly generous compared to my last job. Small business, worked there 10+ years and got 20 days plus bank holidays (got 1 extra day at christmas), and was frequently turned down when I asked for holidays or asked to come in one day of a week off to answer the phone and chase up answer phone messages. Just had 2 glorious weeks off in a row. Too broke to go anywhere but still, I haven't had that amount since school holidays.

DP has 28 days the business he is in has major events on Summer bank holidays so no one is off. They have enforced shut down for 10 days in August and enforced shut down at Christmas last year required 5 days holiday to be used. So he got to choose 13 days holiday. The year before Christmas shut down used 6 days holiday so only 12 to choose. In 24/7 manufacturing this is very common.