According to a recent review in Australian Newspaper – The Herald Sun, we Europeans get more annual vacation time that any other nationality in the world, and with the washout summer we have had this year (so far), it looks as though we are going to need those vacation days to find some autumn or winter sun!

Austria and Portugal are the world’s most generous countries when it comes to annual holiday entitlement, with employees in both countries receiving a whopping 22-days annual leave and a further 13 days of paid public holidays.

If you have worked for in Austria for 25 years or more, your entitlement increases to 36 calendar days per year, and in the unlikely event that you are asked to work on a public holiday, you can expect a nice bonus of 200% of your usual wage (thank god I married an Austrian!).

Next up is Finland with 25 days paid annual leave each year and an average of nine public holidays, but you need to prepare yourself for chilly temperatures during the winter, so I’m not sure Finland would be an option for everyone!

In Spain, New Zealand, Italy and Belgium workers receive between 20 and 22 days paid holiday each year, with a further 10 to 12 public holidays, and in good old Blighty, employees can receive up to 28 days paid annual leave each year – but let’s face it, we need it to escape the British weather!

At the other end of the scale, Canadian workers are entitled to just two weeks paid leave each year, Japanese workers get just 10 days per year, and our American friends over the pond are not guaranteed any paid leave, although most companies do offer some sort of vacation allowance.

So now we know how lucky we are, I’m off to book a holiday!