§ Mr. Gareth Wardellasked the Paymaster General if he will rank in ascending order for the most recent year for which figures are available the number of public holidays and days of annual leave entitlement per year per employee in each Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development country for which he has information.
§ Mr. LeeDifferent countries apply different conventions to the definition and measurement of holidays so their statistics are not wholly comparable. However, the table gives the latest information which is available ranked in ascending order of annual leave entitlement.
Number of public holidays and days of annual leave Annual entitlement per employee in 1980 (unless otherwise stated) Public holidays Annual leave entitlement Japan 12 6–203 Germany 11–132 18–333 United Kingdom 8 204 Norway5 9 203 Canada6 10.6 20.33 Italy 9–10 20–261 7 Portugal 12–14 21–301 Netherlands 8 233 Denmark 9.5 241 France 10 241 Belgium 10 241 Sweden 10 251 Luxembourg 10 2531 Austria6 12 263 Notes: 1 Statutory minimum. 2 Varies according to state. 3 Average entitlement. 4 Leave to which over 85 per cent. of full-time employees in Great Britain were entitled in 1981. 5 Figures for 1978. 6 Figures for 1977. 7 Varies according to industry. Source for other countries: Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (Living Conditions in OECD Countries, 1986).