By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
South Korean workers have the third-highest number of public holidays in Asia after Japan and India, according to a recent survey conducted by Mercer.
Workers in Finland, Brazil and France are entitled to 30 days a year in statutory holidays, the most in the world, while those in Russia, Lithuania and the United Kingdom have 28 days, according to Mercer's 2009 Worldwide Benefit and Employment Guidelines, which surveyed more than 40 countries.,
Within the Asia-Pacific region, workers in South Korea get 15 public holidays, just below the 16 days offered in Japan and India.
Taiwan came in fourth in the region with 13 days. New Zealand, Singapore and China all have 11 days.
With eight days, workers in Australia were entitled to the least public holidays in the Asia-Pacific region.
Employees in Japan are entitled, in total, to the most generous holiday allowances with 36 days followed by South Korea with 34 days.
"Employers trying to coordinate business operations across the world are caught in a maze of legislation when it comes to holidays," Godelieve Kroonenberg, regional benefits product manager with Mercer's information product solutions business in Asia, said Wednesday.
The figures in the survey are based on mandatory entitlements for an employee working five days a week, with 10 years' service.
"Public holidays tend to be rooted in local tradition or religious beliefs, so it can be difficult to change practices. But with the increasing cultural diversity of the global workforce, there is pressure for greater flexibility around public holidays," the official said.
"Employers are often within their rights to ask employees to work on public holidays, or require that they be taken as part of their annual leave entitlements," Matthew Hunt, a principal in Mercer's international team who advises multinationals on their employment practices, added.