Spanish, French, German and Brazilian workers get the most holiday

SPANISH workers – along with those in France, Germany and Brazil – are the ones who take the most holiday per year.

And the Italians, Japanese, Koreans, Mexicans and workers from the USA take the least.

The research, carried out by Expedia, says the mindset in Europe is that holidays from work are a right rather than a privilege, whereas in Asian countries in particular and in the States, workers are not encouraged to take time off.

Spanish, Brazilian and French workers have an average of 30 days' holiday per year, plus bank holidays, as do Germans, but although in France and Spain employees take every single day's holiday they are entitled to, in Germany they tend to take an average of 28 of these.

But Germans are far less likely to take work on holiday with them, with 62 per cent say they completely forget about the office when they are away, compared to 66 per cent of Brazilian workers who check their work emails when they are off, even if they go away for their break.

British, Norwegian, Danish, Canadian and Swedish employees get an average of 25 days' holiday plus bank holidays every year, and tend to take all of them, whereas in Japan staff only get 13 days on average and rarely take more than five of these.

South Korean and Taiwanese workers are only given around 10 days' holiday a year, of which they usually only take seven, whilst in Mexico and the USA, of the 12 to 14 days' annual leave they are entitled to, employees normally only take 10.

Those who do not go away for their annual leave say the main problems are either financial, or problems coordinating things with their friends or family.

At least half of all employees in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Italy say they do not get support from the bosses or encouragement to take their annual leave; and in fact, doing so is normally frowned upon.

The bosses who most encourage their staff to take time off that they are entitled to are found in Norway, Sweden and Brazil, the study claims.

For those who like to go away for their holidays, most prefer somewhere with a beach – this being the first choice of workers in 18 of the 22 countries which figured in the research.

South Koreans were the biggest fans of the seaside, with 45 per cent opting for beach holidays, whilst Japanese workers tended to prefer holidays that involved enjoying outdoor life.