London Ninja

So you get more holidays in the UK than in the US. But before you start packing thinking you’re going to get summer and winter vacations like when I used to steal your lunchmoney in grade school, think again. The number of holidays I get with my employer are an improvement but not as much so as one would think:

Holidays in the US: 16 Days + 10 days public holiday + 1 floating holiday = 27 days. I am not adding in the fact that I am losing the three days of vacation that I got for each year of service at my company. Boo.
Holidays in the UK: 25 Days + 8 public holidays = 32 days

Combine that with a 3 day mandate in the UK to take the week between Xmas and NYE off, and it’s really a wash. The problem with the mandate to work that week is that it’s the best week to actually work. You can go into the office late, go out for a 3 hour lunch followed by a 3 hour coffee, and then it’s time to go home. It’s just that time of the year when it’s ok to do this (or maybe I’m just a bastard you don’t want to work with).

There is one more difference between the UK office and my US office: vacation days DON’T carrry over from year-to-year. What this means is that you cannot convert a significant portion of your vacation days into cash if you wanted to. In the US, you accrue vacation days with a cap on the amount you can accrue, which is 255 hours. That’s like 6 weeks. Whatever you have in your vacation bank at the end of your employment you get paid out for. If you have the entire 255 hours, you would get an extra 6 weeks pay! That goes away if they make you take all your vacations annually. Bummer.

Oh well. On paper it’s more, anyway. For people out there that have that perception that there are a ton of “bank holidays” in the UK, you’re wrong. We get less in the UK than the US. This isn’t exactly France with the 35 hour workweek and additional holidays if you work longer than 35.

How do I transfer to France again? Bonjour!