Eurovacations

Longer and cheaper

Kevin Luke, 16, of London, was hired as a British postal clerk only eight months ago. But like most of his countrymen, he is nevertheless now looking forward to a nearly four-week paid vacation, including a summer holiday he plans to spend in Italy.

Almost a month off after only eight months on the job seems like the vacation deal of all time to most Americans, who on average must complete one full year of service to be eligible for a mere nine paid vacation days. But lengthy vacations are generally the norm throughout Europe for labor and management alike.

When compared with holidays for Europeans, vacations for Americans seem downright puny. A report last month by the U.S. Department of Labor showed that during 1980, the average U.S. worker with three years of service got only ten days of vacation. By contrast, in West Germany 95% of workers enjoyed at least four weeks of paid vacation during the year.

In many European nations, vacation is considered not a matter of company largesse or individual trade union contract, but an official right granted workers by generous national laws. Little or no weight is given to worker age or job tenure in computing basic vacation entitlements. France virtually shuts down in August as businesses close and urban dwellers flee to the Pyrenees and the seashore. French law provides two days of vacation for every month worked, or typically almost five weeks of holiday per year for nearly all employees. A month-long hiatus is also a tradition in Italy, West Germany, Scandinavia and Spain. In fact, Europeans have trouble comprehending the prevalence of shorter vacation spans in the U.S.

Though Britain has not historically been as vacation-obsessed as Continental Europe, the U.K.'s entry into the European Community in 1973 is helping to change that. Some 60% of British manual workers now receive between four and five vacation weeks annually. Explains Benjamin Roberts, professor of industrial relations at the London School of Economics: "Employers in the U.K. have found it difficult to resist demands for longer holidays because they have seen them in effect in Europe. American employers tend to look at the cost-effectiveness of vacations and therefore take a stronger line."

European workers not only take longer vacations, but also find it easier to pay for them, largely because their companies often help pay for a substantial amount of vacation costs. Some firms go so far as to offer cash to cover hotel, meals and transportation. About 90% of workers in West Germany receive Urlaubsgeld (holiday money), a bonus that can equal 45% of the salary a worker collects during his paid vacation period. Other companies subsidize vacations by funding resorts and tours for employees. In France, the state-owned Renault automotive firm contributes to the operation of 30 family vacation villages that offer tennis, snorkeling, golf and horseback riding--plus baby-sitters for children. Employees who earn $800 monthly pay only $51 each week to stay at these resorts, located in such popular getaway spots as Brittany and Corsica.

Unlike their workaholic American cousins, Europeans tend to see lengthy vacations as somehow part of the natural order of things. Thus unions are sometimes willing to accept a management offer for increased vacation time instead of a rise in hourly pay rates. As an official of Britain's Transport and General Workers' Union puts it, "What has normally happened is that the union has gone in to negotiate a 35-hour week and come out instead with a longer holiday."

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