Europeans get vacation ‘do-over’
If you’re lucky, the “Fourth of July falling on a Wednesday” thing didn’t deprive you of an extended holiday. But hey, this is vacation-deprived America. And a lot of us worked the week with just one day off for BBQs, the beach or whatever it is we do over the Fourth.
So, it’s not easy to hear about many workers in Europe taking, say, the entire month of August off, with vacation time to spare. Well, recently Europe’s high court threw workers another bone. It ruled that if Europeans get sick during vacation, they can take another one later to make up for it. We called Marketplace’s European bureau chief Stephen Beard to find out if this could really be true.
“Paid annual leave is all about rest and relaxation and leisure,” said Beard, quoting the court ruling. “It’s not about recovering from an illness.”
It’s real. Take a listen to the interview above to learn about how citizens in different countries are reacting to the ruling. Not everyone is rejoicing the “do-over” vacation option.
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