Pulaski

Yeah, I'd heard that it was going to go/had gone up to 20 days plus the bank holidays (NY, GF, Easter, May Day, Spring, Summer, Xmas, and BD).

old.sparkles

Not 11/11 - NY day, Good Fri and Easter Mon, May day, late May (whitsun), Summer, Xmas and Boxing day.

About the last 5 years I think.

Pulaski

Are you sure about GF? I always understood that to be a "common law" bank holiday, .... and 11/11 was added in the mid 90's if I remember correctly (unless it has been taken away again?). EDIT: Must be a brain fart, I can find no mention of it now, or back 10-15 years ago either.

BTW It's not "Whitsun" any more, that is a religious holiday that does not coincide with (day before) the "Spring" bank holiday in late (last Monday) May.

old.sparkles

It always used to be called Whitsun holiday when I was in school (living up to the old bit )

Def good Friday though - https://www.gov.uk/bank-holidays

Nutek

Well, it's good if you don't have to work it, anyway.

Guindalf

I guess I'm going to be the one to be blunt...

If vacation time is your only consideration of whether to go through the (near-impossible) route of coming to the States to work, then your priorities are WRONG!

There are hundreds of reasons to consider the move, some of them are even possible, but basing it on how much time off one could get shouldn't be one of them!

kins

I started on 23 days, go up to 28 days next year, and five years after that go up to 33. That doesn't include bank holidays - I get 8 of those.

So now you've heard of anything from 0 to 33 days :-)

Duncan Roberts

I disagree with that. Having time to do things you want to do is one of the most important pieces of life, in my opinion. Pretty much everything hinges on how much time you have to do it.

Pulaski

Agreed, unreservedly. If I didn't get a reasonable amount of time off I'd probably not have stayed here. Coming here to the US for the perceived "lifestyle" and then taking a job with only 10 days of annual leave, incl sick days, is utterly pointless.

Welshgator

Yes, clearly stated that as an option in my post.

If she reduced her salary more to spread it over the 12 months she'd probably lose heart... . Teachers wages in Alachua County are dismal.

SultanOfSwing

That makes sense - obviously if part of the attraction of coming here is to enjoy all the travel opportunities then one might think twice about settling here when faced with the prospect of not being able to enjoy them.

Since I came here for marriage, it was a little different. I learned to make do, first on five days, which went to ten early in lieu of a bigger raise when I got my first review.

I started on ten in my new job and that'll go up to fifteen after I've been here five years but I also get six bank holidays (there is talk of the office being closed with PTO for the day after Thanksgiving, Xmas Eve and NYE as well) and three personal and three sick days so with careful planning, I can make those ten days last.

For example, this year I spent a week at home when my parents were out (helped by a weekend in the middle of it) and I'm just back after a long weekend away but I still have two days left, which I'll take as a long weekend next month before they reset. That my start date is in September helps as well because in a 12 month period I could, in effect use twenty days of annual leave if I wanted to leave myself nine months with no leave the following year

Noorah101

I know you aren't wanting to hear advice about the visa, but I have to give it to you anyway, for my own peace of mind. You should not be using an "agent" to obtain a visa to the USA. If you need help, you should only be consulting with a qualified immigration attorney. What this agent is telling you already sounds wrong. There is no such "list of required skills" for getting a visa to the USA.

Read this link yourself: http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulask...ork_in_the_USA and do your own research on what visa you might qualify for. Do not rely on an "agent". They are telling you exactly what you want to hear (yes, we will take your money and apply for your visa, but no guarantees). They will do just that...take your money, and then say oopsie, you didn't get the visa, sorry (because there isn't one availble for you!).

Please do your own research before you pay an agent anything. I would hate to see you pay someone to do what you can do yourself.

Rene

Mr Weeze

My company credits external experience too. 0 years = 3 weeks, 10 years = 4 weeks, 20 years = 5 weeks, 25 years = 6 weeks, 30 years = 7 weeks. We also get 10 public holidays. And we can do 9/80 so you can add another 26 days there. It's amazing we find time to work.

Nutek

Totally agree.

Xebedee

Apart from bacon, this is my favourite subject for having a good moan!

About 2 or 3 years ago, there was a bill suggested here in the US for there to be a minimum leave entitlement made law.
It didn't get anywhere and what it proposed was a minimum of 1 week per year.

Simply put, US employment law is written for the benefit of the employer and not those who work.