US workers are not legally entitled to any paid holiday at all. However, in reality, most US employers offer paid vacation time to their workers. The number of days varies from employer to employer, but on average, US workers receive around ten days of paid holiday each year .
That included national days off for new year christmas etc.
With all the trade unions they have I would have thought there would be a compulsory payed holidays but no. It appears if an employer doesn’t want to give you a paid holiday then in USA terms “your screwed”.
Watching several youtubers that now live in the UK from the USA , each can’t get over the fact of having compulsory paid holidays.
You are not realizing how much of our working conditions and labor unions work.
Where to begin? Yes, most of our companies do include paid holidays with 40 hour jobs. When you are hired to a firm, it is transparent what your paid holidays are, in addition to health insurance benefits, and any pay scale increments.
Many small individual companies that mostly hire part time help are not required to compensate for legal holidays when the business is closed. Keep in mind about state and federal minimum wage laws are always adhered to.
Labor unions in bigger companies have the obligation to set forth contracts with the company on wages, time paid for holidays, personal leave, maternity leave for both spouses, jury duty pay, family crises, etc. Often, there are three or more personal days paid a year for random needs. If you choose to join a union when your are first employed, they make sure all contractual rules and laws apply.
This is just the beginning of our labor laws in the US. Almost never, are wescrewed, as when you are hired, these conditions are set forth up front.
I was told by a friend of mine that lives in Dallas that Boxing Day is not a public holiday in the USA. Have no idea if that is true or whether that is just Texas.
In NSW we have 10 public holidays a year:
New Year’s Day
Australia Day
Good Friday
Easter Sunday (you get Tuesday off)
Easter Monday
Anzac Day
King’s Birthday
Labour Day
Christmas Day
Boxing Day
As shift worker I loved working public holidays - double time and a half plus an additional day on your annual leave.
The only annoying thing is that when I first came to Australia 60 years ago paid annual leave was legislated at four weeks a year, it is still four weeks a year (plus 5 to 10 days for shift workers plus 17% holiday loading). 38 hours is the legislated working week though some employees have a 35 hour week, depending on your award.
Boxing day is not a Holiday in the US. I don’t even know what boxing day is but it’s not one here.
Federal Holidays are:
New Years day
Martin Luther King jr. Birthday
Memorial Day
Washington’s Birthday
Juneteenth
Independence Day
Labor Day
Columbus Day
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day
Vacation and Health care costs and things depend on who you work for and what type of hire you are. Full time, part time, Salary, hourly, government worker, contractor, small business, big company, a corporation, LLC, Union, non-union, etc. and individual state laws.
But if you desperately want the job you might agree to any conditions because you need the money.
Over here we have certain paid holiday enshrined into law so that every employment contract absolutely has to honour the stipulated minimum level of annual leave and sick leave. Some employers give better terms but legally they cannot give less.
There are ways that employers get around this, flexible zero hours contracts and then there is a cultural pressure to work more hours than contracted in some places. Particularly in some internships where the workers are basically working for free in return for training opportunities. But the state is constantly trying to close these loopholes.
Overall, the typical US employment package (pay, holidays, benefits) is not as good as the headline salary appears to be. The federal 15% tax rate looks good, but the state tax and other taxes erode the take home quite significantly. Then you add on the much fewer paid days holiday, the inadequate health insurance, the lack of decent maternity / paternity leave, the restrictions on paid sick leave, the ease of firing - and its not that attractive. That is, unless you are earning a very good salary. Of course, the ease of firing is matched by the ease of quitting.
Overall its a cultural thing. The norm in the US is ten days paid leave, maybe 3 paid sick days regardless of health issues and two weeks notice for dismissal. That is expected and not seen as an issue. In Europe, the sort of package I had when working was not that unusual and for me preferable. It included 25 days paid leave on top of public holidays, nearly unlimited sick leave if confirmed by a doctor, employer contributory pension, 3 months notice, private medical cover even though the state health service is totally free. Of course, the other side of the deal was an expectation that I worked the hours needed, when needed. So 12 hour work days were not unusual and more at times, up early / back late for travel, extended periods away from home, fairly high levels of stress. But I also noted that my American peers had all these negatives as well.
Income tax in the US for example 37,000.00 is 12% compared to the UK 20% for same wages.
Income tax in the US for example 125,000.00 is 24% compared to the UKs 45% for the same wages.
Social security rate in the UK is 13.25% while in the USA it’s only 6.2%
Health coverage tax for Americans over 65 is 2.9%
While the health care coverage tax is 20%. Each individual health costs, all depends on the individuals choices they have made in their life. For example, I pay $42 a month and pay nothing out of pocket. That was my lifes choices I made. Others pay thousands because of the life choices they have made.
Vacation is a wide range depending what your job is. Some get 30 days a year, others vacation times increase on the number of years you’ve worked for a company and others are earned according to number of hours worked. Again, these are determined by life choices they make. If they don’t like it, they can change their life choices.
There are 12 Federal holidays a year. Getting paid extra or having the day off is each individuals choice, again. If person choose that, don’t complain about it because it was that individuals choice.
If one serves in the military you can have health care called “Tricare” it costs $42 per person in your family. Your children can be covered up to age 21. You and your spouse can have it until 65, then it becomes “Tricare for life” which is free. You have to get “Medicare plan B” at 65 and what ever Medicare does not pay for, Tricare for life pays the rest.
And I still have VA coverage where I pay $10 per visit if I want to use that.
That was my life’s choice. Others have that choice and if they don’t, that is the choice.
Working Holidays varies by employer. It can be any where from time and half or double time.
European countries wages pay more but the US pays less taxes and things are normally less expensive than European countries. But Canada and Mexico prices are lower in medication prices. The US medications cost ten times more then Mexico. Made by the same companies and the same product, so a lot of Americans go to Mexico to get their medications. I don’t, because mine are free because of my life’s choice.
Wow, this is the last time I explain my comments. Tricare is medical coverage for soldiers families. Do you know E1(PVT), E2(PV2), E3 (PFC), E4(SP4) make less then minimum wage. they are given Uniforms, fed, houses and medical and dental for free if they are single (not married). If they are married they are paid separate rations, Cost of living allowance, separation pay, housing allowance, low cost life insurance and low cost medical and dental for their family members.
If you get out you lose everything that was free but you can keep your life insurance and medical coverage at low monthly payments. You can not drop you coverage and then try to get it back. That is choices people make. And if you retire you get 50% (and up, depending on the number of years over 20) of your wages for life.
In short, it’s the contract you sign when you join the military. It’s all in the military annual budget. Just like every government employee. Every government job has its own benefits and contracts.
I was simply curious as to where the difference in cost is made up if you all receive the same treatments. Presumably the answer is that either the government subsidises the cost of treatment or the hospitals charge more to the insurance companies for non-Tricare users. (or perhaps a bit of both!) Hence the £thousands vs the $42.
There was an interesting discussion on the radio about a parallel situation over here but in respect of social care funding/costs. The presumption by a caller was that due to their commissioning clout, councils receive social care for a discounted rate where people who have less money receive care for free via local authority packages of care. Care homes then charge higher rates to self-funders to make up the loss of income.
It’s interesting because this is a stealth type re-distribution of resources of private individuals to fund others. Nobody sees this and you don’t read about it in the papers. People are so focused on visible costs they don’t realise they are being cheated.
