# Vacation allowance



## laddo (Apr 20, 2009)

Hi all,

My wife is from Montreal, I'm from England. We live in England. We have been discussing making the move to Montreal. The one thing that really concerns me is that I have been used to 25 days holiday per year plus 8 days bank holidays. A total of 33 days holiday allowance.

I know that the norm in Canada is 10 days plus 10 days public holidays. A total of 20 days.

How do people who move there cope with that? Is unpaid leave a flexible option?


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

laddo said:


> Hi all,
> 
> My wife is from Montreal, I'm from England. We live in England. We have been discussing making the move to Montreal. The one thing that really concerns me is that I have been used to 25 days holiday per year plus 8 days bank holidays. A total of 33 days holiday allowance.
> 
> ...


It's always a shock to Brits when they learn of the vacation policies here. Usually, if one works for a large corporation, there is a graduated vacation policy such as, 10 days (2 years), 15 days (3-5 years) etc going up perhaps to 30 days after say 25 years. Often when being hired in a senior (executive) position vacation days are negotiable.
People cope very well as they have no option. Unpaid leave can be granted depending on the employer, but it is not a common practice.


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## laddo (Apr 20, 2009)

Apparently the UK has less vacation allowance than anyone else in Europe!

I'm finding it reeeeeally hard to find reasons to move to Canada other than it will make my wife & her family happy.

Isn't the goal in life to be able to spend as much time doing the things you enjoy?

I don't see working more hours as being a step in the right direction towards a better quality of life.

I keep hearing that the quality of life in Canada is better but nobody has explained to me how.


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

laddo said:


> Apparently the UK has less vacation allowance than anyone else in Europe!
> 
> I'm finding it reeeeeally hard to find reasons to move to Canada other than it will make my wife & her family happy.
> 
> ...


But this isn't the UK or Europe. This is the way it is here. If you relate this to the social welfare nets existing in UK/Europe vs those in USA/Canada there is considerable difference. We do not have a cradle to grave society where the government namby/pamby's the population such as in Europe. Since this country was founded people were expected to stand on their own feet. It is, unfortunately, becoming more socialistic but so far not to Europe's level.
If you enjoy a good lifestyle in the UK, have a nice house, take good vacations, enjoy your job then why would you want to move? Your dilemma is that your wife wants to be closer to her family, so use some of the vacations she has and send her over 3-4 times a year


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## laddo (Apr 20, 2009)

Thanks for your input Auld Yin. The UK has its problems for sure and I would never argue otherwise but what I've found is that lots of my friends & acquaintances are saying to me "what the hell are you doing here. Why are you not living in Canada". I've being trying very hard to see the benefits of moving to Montreal but to be honest apart from the fact that I would be able to ski after work & at weekends through the winter I can't see any. I think lots of people in the UK suffer from grass is greener syndrome.


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## laddo (Apr 20, 2009)

Out of interest what took you to canada?


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

laddo said:


> Thanks for your input Auld Yin. The UK has its problems for sure and I would never argue otherwise but what I've found is that lots of my friends & acquaintances are saying to me "what the hell are you doing here. Why are you not living in Canada". I've being trying very hard to see the benefits of moving to Montreal but to be honest apart from the fact that I would be able to ski after work & at weekends through the winter I can't see any. I think lots of people in the UK suffer from grass is greener syndrome.


Some people have wanderlust and want a new scene every few years. Many people seem disillusioned with the UK but there are such people in every country. For many Canada is a success story but it is not for everybody for a variety of reasons. For those in the UK on good incomes and lifestyles there is no good reason to change. Why do friends and acquaintances say that? Is it perhaps because your wife is Canadian and that allows you very easy access? Are they making moves to get here? I suspect not, maybe they just want to see your back, lol.


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## nonation (Feb 28, 2009)

Forget about skiing after work.The nearest ski station is around 1:30h from montreal....(Mont-Tremblant)


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## Oggy (Jan 25, 2009)

It really depends on the company that you are employed by... remember the 2 weeks is a minimum, not a maximum. The last company I worked with I started at 3 weeks off, then went onto 4 after 5 years. I had every 2nd Friday off and also had all the stat holidays too. I was able to book time without pay, or in exchange for overtime, as well. I know of a couple friends, one being a recent newcomer to Canada, that started at 6 weeks.... so although it may not be as optimal as vacation time granted overseas, it does vary. 

EDIT TO ADD: Also received sick days, family emergency days and time allowed for medical/dental appointments.
.


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## laddo (Apr 20, 2009)

Auld Yin said:


> Some people have wanderlust and want a new scene every few years. Many people seem disillusioned with the UK but there are such people in every country. For many Canada is a success story but it is not for everybody for a variety of reasons. For those in the UK on good incomes and lifestyles there is no good reason to change. Why do friends and acquaintances say that? Is it perhaps because your wife is Canadian and that allows you very easy access? Are they making moves to get here? I suspect not, maybe they just want to see your back, lol.


Haha..I'm sure they do!!

I think Canada, Australia, NZ are all places which people believe are the answers to all their problems. I have a friend who has spent all of his working life in the army. When he has been posted to the UK he has been posted to pretty grotty areas. His atittude is that he hates the UK and anywhere is better. I hear it a lot. "Why don't you move to Canada?, Must be better than this place"
I'm sure that in Canada I would have more expendable cash for the simple reason that the difference between earnings and mortgage loans are much narrower than in the UK. My wife is a teacher here in England. She earns £23,000. In Canada she was earning $44,000 CAD. We could buy a house for $100,000 CAD.
Fact is I love where I live here, everything is within "arms reach". Life is pretty good just the way it is.
The wifes family see that we have a small house and think that the standard of living here is lower. I think its completely down to what you value in life.


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## laddo (Apr 20, 2009)

Oggy said:


> It really depends on the company that you are employed by... remember the 2 weeks is a minimum, not a maximum. The last company I worked with I started at 3 weeks off, then went onto 4 after 5 years. I had every 2nd Friday off and also had all the stat holidays too. I was able to book time without pay, or in exchange for overtime, as well. I know of a couple friends, one being a recent newcomer to Canada, that started at 6 weeks.... so although it may not be as optimal as vacation time granted overseas, it does vary.
> 
> .


I've heard that before. I work in construction as a CAD technician. How do you find out which companies offer the best vacation allowance?
We would move to Quebec. I read on the Commission de la construction du Québec website that construction workers get 2 weeks in July & 2 weeks at christmas plus public holidays but a CAD tech is not considered a construction worker. I also spoke with someone from Montreal who said that companies don't really abide by the rules and a lot of people get less than that.

To me Vacation allowance is more important than salary!


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## laddo (Apr 20, 2009)

nonation said:


> Forget about skiing after work.The nearest ski station is around 1:30h from montreal....(Mont-Tremblant)


I have a friend who lives in Vaudreuil and regularly night skis at Bromont. Also there are closer areas than Tremblant. 
What about Mont Saint Sauveur, 45mins from Montreal and Mont Sutton, Morin Heights, Edelweiss Valley?


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## ottou (Mar 7, 2009)

laddo said:


> Haha..I'm sure they do!!
> 
> I think Canada, Australia, NZ are all places which people believe are the answers to all their problems. I have a friend who has spent all of his working life in the army. When he has been posted to the UK he has been posted to pretty grotty areas. His atittude is that he hates the UK and anywhere is better. I hear it a lot. "Why don't you move to Canada?, Must be better than this place"
> I'm sure that in Canada I would have more expendable cash for the simple reason that the difference between earnings and mortgage loans are much narrower than in the UK. My wife is a teacher here in England. She earns £23,000. In Canada she was earning $44,000 CAD. We could buy a house for $100,000 CAD.
> ...


You're right it is down to what you value. 
For us, the challenge as working parents is ensuring that "vacation days " are available for health/appointments and childcare. As immigrants with limited extended family support we save our vacation not for vacation but for things like if the kids are sick or off school, but you may not have to worry about that if you have in-laws willing to help out with coverage. Ten weeks of summer holidays for the kids means 10 weeks of paid summer camps ranging in price from $ 30-250 per week of camp, but again you may not have to worry about that if your spouse is in teaching. So our kids don't have so much the traditional family holiday as i remember, two weeks away that you looked forward to all year. We tend not to need to go away anywhere as such because the weather can be fabulous spring, summer, fall and winter. Instead of family holidays we're more set up for regular family fun/recreational activities that are a part of day to day living and go on year round. So yes, there are sacrifices, and it's not for everyone. Without family, things like Thanksgiving and Christmas are shared more with friends, and provide an opportunity to do things differently and start new traditions. For some it can be lonely and difficult. Like anything though, it is what you make it.


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