Paid leave? Indians get the least

Indians enjoy the highest number of holidays in a year but they figure at bottom when it comes to the number of paid leaves, says a survey.

Employees in India get the least number of statutory annual leaves (paid leaves), while those in Finland, Brazil and France receive the highest, says global HR consultancy Mercer's 2009 Worldwide Benefit and Employment Guidelines.

Canada and China are the two other countries where paid leaves are limited.

Employees in India get statutory holiday allowances for 12 days, while in Canada and China they get 10 days each.

In contrast, workers in Finland, Brazil and France are entitled to as many as 30 days' statutory holiday a year.

On number of public holidays, India is joined by Japan at top. Employees in both the countries are entitled to 16 public holidays in a year. Japan and India are followed by Cyprus, Slovakia and South Korea with 15 public holidays in a year.

The survey analysed both the statutory minimum number of holidays that companies must provide to their staff, as well as the number of public holidays in over 40 countries.