Comment Re:Vacation time (Score 2) 610
Just to clarify, that list isn't quite correct either. Different countries measure differently.
For example the 28 days (4 weeks) in Estonia is just that, 4 weeks vacation, not 28 working days (close to 6 weeks of vacation). You are supposed to take it in chunks of at least 1 week obviously, and by law you have to have one vacation of at least 2 weeks in length. For Canada however, the 10 days means 10 working days, so really 2 weeks.
Holidays - again quite a big difference. In Estonia, if a holiday falls on a weekend, it doesn't get carried over to the next week like it does in Canada. So hence some years you'll have more actual holidays than others. In 2010, 7 out of the 12 holiday days in Estonia fall on actual working days. In 2011, only 5.
Sick days - another difference maker. All depends on local labour law and how sick pay is legislated. In Estonia, the first 3 days are considered your "deductible", to use an insurance term, so you don't get paid anything by anyone. Days 4 through 8, your employer pays 70% of your calculated daily wage (calculated from your last 6 months of employment). From day 9 onwards, the state pays 70% of your calculated daily wage (calculated from your previous calendar year's income). In the province of Ontario, Canada, by law you are allowed up to 10 unpaid sick days per year, but most Canadian employers provide paid sick days, some even bankable and some allow it to be paid out if you leave the company.
So all in all, tables such as this are rather meaningless without an actual analysis of the labor laws and practices of each country.