To offset the problem of including the 8 days of public holiday in employees’ paid leave, EU regulations will increase the minimum number of days of holiday entitlement from 20 to 28 in April 2009.

Currently, regulations state that all employees within the European Union are entitled to a 20-day minimum of paid leave; however, some companies include 8 days of public holiday which effectively gives workers only 12 days of paid leave per year. The new regulations will close this loophole by increasing the entitlement to a minimum of 28 days.

In 2009, despite the increase in holiday entitlement, Britain will still lag behind all other members of the European Union when it comes to paid leave according to a survey by Incomes Data Services.

Top of the league is Denmark which offers 39.5 days of paid leave. The UK’s holiday entitlement increase in 2009 will bring it closer to that of the Netherlands, who offer 28-29 days a year.