How long do you have off work for Easter?

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   CASE1WORKERposted 12 years ago

   I just wondered how long a "paid" holiday people around the world get. I work in a University in the UK and I get Good Friday and Easter Monday as Bank Holidays and then Tuesday as an extra day- all paid?
   
   What do you get, if anything?

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      wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      You've got to be kidding - we get paid to work, not to stay home.  I've never heard of anyone in the US getting paid time off for Easter.  It probably happens, but is few and far between.

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         rebekahELLEposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Sure, people get paid days off for Easter in the US. It depends on the employer. Often it is Good Friday. Some public schools are off on Good Friday. I have today off and I work in a private school. The private school I worked at before this took Good Friday off. (Both are non-religious schools.) And we were paid.
         One of my friends had Friday off (paid) and she works for a small business.

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            wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Well, going through the reply list so far, I've decided I need to change jobs.  In 40+ years of working, I've never had a job where Easter (or Friday or Monday) was a holiday.

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               Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               I imagine employment rules in Australia are very different from the US.
               
               Here, if you work a permanent job (i.e. you're not paid by the hour or have a limited-term contract), you must be paid for every public holiday.  If you're asked to work on a public holiday, you get paid extra time on top. 
               
               We also get 4 weeks' holiday a year.

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                  wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Not paid by the hour?  Most Americans are still paid an hourly wage, even though they have a permanent job.  The only other real option is a salary, where you are paid the same each month regardless of how many hours you work (  minimum is usually necessary; you'll be fired if you skip work without very good reason).
                  
                  I've heard that Americans spend way more than the world average amount of time working; maybe it's true.  I wanna be an Aussie!

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                     lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     And what's the worlds average?

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                        wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                        No idea.  Probably the most common in the US is a 40 hour week with 1 or two weeks of paid vacation and around 8-10 paid holidays.  An awful lot of people get no paid time off at all, though a relative few get a month per year.

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                           lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                           In India the average will be around 56 hours (8 hours a day - 6 days a week)

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                     Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     The majority of Aussies (and most Brits) are paid a monthly salary. Hourly pay is only for people who don't have a permanent job.

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                        lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                        Same here monthly basis and not hourly.

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            2. 84

               rebekahELLEposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                 I guess it depends. It actually feels like a day off in contrast to the weekend when there's so much to get done, especially if you're a homeowner.

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   2. 61

      nightwork4posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      i'm my own boss and i get easter day off and that's it. i don't pay myself when i'm not working but employees get paid for friday and monday if they want it off.

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2. 68

   travelespressoposted 12 years ago

   In New Zealand and Australia it depends upon your employment status.  If you are an employee you get paid as it is a recognised public holiday.  The self employed and contract workers usually get nothing.
   
   Here in Vietnam, Easter is not a public holiday.  The major holiday here is TET - the lunar New Year and this is a paid holiday for salaried employees.

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3. 89

   lobobrandonposted 12 years ago

   In India Good Friday is a holiday and almost everyone is paid as its a national holiday (I'm a student though so can't give u any specific example) and Easter being a Sunday is a holiday as every sunday is. But, we don't get an off on Easter Monday

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4. 61

   CASE1WORKERposted 12 years ago

   I think everywhere is the same for the self employed- if you take a break you don't get paid!
   
   Interesting about US schools being closed as our school and universities always close for two weeks around Easter (3-4 weeks for colleges and universities) this break marks the start of the last term or semester for the academic year

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   1. 84

      rebekahELLEposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      US schools have spring break before or after Easter, it depends when Easter falls for that calendar year. Public schools usually have a week off with an extra Monday or Friday off. I don't know if any K-12 schools take 2 weeks off at one time during spring break. With so many working parents, it's hard to take 2 weeks off during the school year, plus it impacts the learning process at this busy time of the year.

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5. 62

   freecampingaussieposted 12 years ago

   As a casual we get paid if we work so I was pleased to work 8 hours yesterday as we get $52 an hour on public holidays !
   What is the rate where you are ?

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      freecampingaussieposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      PS. we were shut the Good Friday , I worked Saturday as well whch is a public holiday . My husband had the whole time off so will get paid for Friday & Monday !

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6. 84

   rebekahELLEposted 12 years ago

   wilderness, you will have to go to France if you want the most holiday time. 5 weeks plus an additional 2 weeks for RTT. 
   
   http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/lab_v … y-required

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7. 92

   Tinskyposted 12 years ago

   Hey Marisa -  As an Aussie worker and HR generalist with a broad understanding of award agreements and national employment standards (NES), I disagree with your comments regarding the monthly salary in Australia and not working public holidays.  I am sure that your comments are true for yourself but I don't think they reflect Australian workers in general.
   
   Many Australian workers are now covered by national awards (currently promoted by the Gillard Government as the "New Modern Award"). These awards provide provisions for an hourly rate of pay.  This hourly rate of pay is used to work out the weekly, fortnightly, or monthly salary for permanent full-time and a large number of increasing permanent part time workers, who if being paid at the award rate may be entitled to time and a quarter, time and a half, double time or double time and a half for hours worked over the Easter long weekend (depending on the award coverage etc).  It all comes back to the Award if they are covered.  Full time permanent workers can and do work public holidays.  How they are paid or treated for this time is up to the employee, employer and the award coverage or NES.
   
   There are many industries in Australia where payment of award rates only is standard. Current minimum wage in Australia for an adult is about $15.51 an hour. If you are on a "salary" which has been calculated based on an award  ($589.30 per week for a standard 38 hour week), you should check the conditions of your award, including entitlements and penalties, you may find that you are not receiving all your entitlements especially if you are asked to work back.
   
   Some employers will pay a little bit extra over and above the award rate.  In doing so, they feel that this "salary", meets the conditions of the award and they don't need to pay consideration for agreed upon overtime or penalty rates but this is not the case.  Some employers will have policies for time in lieu or a rostered day off to compensate for work outside the standard Monday to Friday 38 hour full time working week.
   
   Of course a full-time employee is entitled to not work a public holiday in Australia under the National Employment Standard.  This doesn't meant that none of them do. A full time employee may with the agreement of the employer, work the publig holiday and then take a different day in lieu of the public holiday (usually a good outcome for the Employer who would normally have to pay a casual employee at higher rates) or they could just be paid the correct penalty rate.
   
   If you are on a salary which has be calculated to include penalty rates and overtime etc then that's well and good, however a lot of people aren't and really should be paid extra if their employer is asking them to do extra hours.  (Make sure to get it in writing.)  If you do the extra hours because you love your job then you have no claim for extra remuneration but it could be a good case to put to your employers for a pay rise or if you work for a good employer they may recognise this with additional bonuses etc.  In some cases, particularly in sales roles, some employees receive a standard salary with commission on top which is considered remuneration for additional hours worked.
   
   I had Friday and Monday as public holidays, I don't normally work weekends unless I have a special project to get completed (and then I do extra work for the love or sometimes I will get a day in lieu) so I had a four day break.
   
   In August I usually work a local public holiday and will take a day in lieu during  the remainder of the week so I can stay at home and look after my child (as the day care center is in a different district and their public holiday fell on a normal work day for me.)  This is an arrangement that I have with my employer and I love working on the public holiday as I am very productive in the very quiet office.
   
   Easter Saturday in Australia is also a public holiday and penalty rates may apply if it was worked depending on your award.
   
   Easter Sunday is not a public holiday but normal weekend penalty rates apply for workers on a Sunday.
   
   Overall, I get a standard 4 week annual leave for my job plus one Doona Day a year.  I am also entitled to a standard 10 days sick leave a year.
   
   And after 10 years of employment with the same company I will be eligible for Long Service Leave which I think is an extra 6 weeks annual leave on-top of the standard 4 weeks for that year (Partial LSL may be taken at 7 years in Queensland).
   
   We have a few public holidays, like the Easter Long weekend and the amount of public holidays differ between states.  South Australia just introduced two new half day public holidays - New Years Eve and Christmas Eve so workers after 12 midday will be entitled to public holiday penalty rates.
   
   If you need to check your pay and working conditions in Australia here are some helpful links for the National Award system and employee entitlements:
   
   http://www.actu.org.au/HelpDesk/YourRig … x#jobtypes
   http://www.fairwork.gov.au/awards/pages/default.aspx
   
   Some stats:
   http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6306.0/

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      Kangaroo_Jaseposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      This should have been a hub (it would be a good one for us Aussies and Kiwi's)

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