We have been told by quite a few people annual holiday is 2weeks per year but there are 3 extra bank holidays compared to uk.

Just wondered how people who have made the move, find this a pain in having only 2wks holiday.

Also do you get more time off at xmas or is this just down to your employer.

Cheers

Average is three weeks per year. Here in Alberta we get a bank holiday every month bar one I think. You can also negotiate your employment contract here more than you can in the UK, so you could ask for slightly less money in exchange for more leave entitlement.

That's true but it not be a good idea. It's not the done thing to take the full two weeks of vacation so to ask for more would indicate a lack of commitment to the firm.

True, I guess it depends on the province as well as they are a little more flexible here in Calgary Alberta as they really are desperate to employee people.

Two of the three companies I have worked for since being here have also offered flexi time. So you do extra hours in the week and then get either every third or second Friday off. Which can work out to you only doing two full weeks a month including the bank holidays.

YES More time than what? Some employers throw a couple of floaters in there, others make you work for them or take it from your 10 days.


Three weeks is becoming more common, but 2 is still the norm. Fortunately for me the lower stress of living here compensates for the lack of time off.

Generally in private industry the norm is still two weeks though with many firms if you have been employed for more than 3 years then they add on an extra week. This encourages workers to stay with a firm (for better or for worse).

In the public sector: local, provincial and federal government the entitlement is greater. Generally starting at 3 weeks and can rise depending on years of service and job position.

As DB has mentioned, in some firms they seem to frown upon you taking your holiday entitlement. It's a North American 'holidays-are-for-wimps-we-love-our-jobs' kinda thing. However, in others they encourage you to take them and will even allow you to add your unused sick pay days if you fall short (yes - I have had this offered to me so I'm not talking crap as some will no doubt jump in and say )

So just like home then - depends on where you go, the company attitude, the prevailing wind and whether the capricious Goddess of Holiday Pay smiles upon you.

I remember reading somewhere that in fact one in four working canadians dont even take their full annual vacation entitlement

As a European minded individual (i.e., I like time off) I will never understand that attitude but each to their own and I can accept that lots of them actually enjoy being in work.

I work with folk that have never taken a days holiday in two years and that's in the public sector.

Life's too short - get out and watch the world go by. Better still - participate.

With Statutary days if the stat falls on a Sat/Sun you don't get the extra monday off same as if it falls on a Wed for example - it's the Wed you have off.

What hubby and I have both found is you can book time off work but you won't get paid for it unless you ask to be paid for it - then it counts as holidays. Clear as mud?

Gosh, here in Australia we get 4 weeks annual leave, that'll be real hard to get used to!

Guess I'm gonna struggle then. At the mo I work part time and get 14 weeks hols a year. BUT I an prepared to give all this up, work full time and have what ever hols I get, just to get off this sinking island.
I work for the NHs over here and will stay in nursing over there. From what I can gather the work will be harder but its got to be more rewarding than here. Maybe the money will be spent more equally as well

My daughter's a nurse. She works 25 days of each 30, not sure how that compares but I suspect it's more shifts here.

This explains why canadians go absolutely ape when they do eventually escape the office and take vacation overseas...

My wife is a nurse and starts in Calgary next month, after 9 years in the NHS. Her holiday entitlement is very similar to what she gets in the UK - as they recognise her 9 years experience, and so gets at least 20 days of per year plus B/H, it may well be 25, can't remember the details. Check the Nursing Union site for your preferred province, and the details will be on there as collective agreements.

thanks
I am going to Edmonton in summer. awaiting the LMO as we speak
I know I get 4 weeks plus the BH but that means 10 weeks less than in the uk. Also I will have to go full time as opposed to the part time I do now. But the better lifestyle has to be worth it. I travel upto 90 mins each morning and only work a 5 hour day. The travelling there and back equates to a full time job by the end of the week so I might as well get paid for it.

JO