Brussels, 29/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - In 2008, the average collectively agreed weekly working time in the European Union remained unchanged from 2007 at 38.6 hours. The average paid annual leave entitlement for workers in Europe was 25.2 days across the EU in 2008. Some countries, however, had up to three weeks' more holiday than others. Such are the findings set out in the annual report published by Eurofound (Dublin) on working time developments in the European Union.
In its report, Eurofound notes that, in 2008, there were substantial differences in working time between the former EU15 member states and the majority of the new EU member states. The average working week in the EU15 was 37.9 hours in 2008 (the same as in 2007). It was longer in the new member states - 39.5 hours (down very slightly from 39.6 in 2007), a difference of 1.6 hours or 4.2%.
For most European workers, collective agreements are the main way in which working time is set. In the EU15, average weekly working time has fallen slightly over the past decade, from 38.6 hours to 37.9 hours (i.e. a fall of 1.8%). In the ten member states that joined the EU in 2004, a smaller fall has been recorded since 2003: from 39.6 hours/wk to 39.4 hours, i.e. 0.2 hours/week or 0.5%. Eurofound stresses, moreover, that these working time reductions have not entailed any losses in salary and yet, towards the end of 2008, cuts in working hours with consequent cuts in pay became increasingly topical as the economic crisis deepened. Enforced reductions in working time - and usually pay - in the form of short-time work and temporary layoffs have been on the increase in many EU countries as companies seek to cope with falling demand.
Across the European Union, the longest working weeks, worked by full-time employees in their main jobs, are found in Romania (41.8 hours), the Czech Republic (41.7 hours) and Latvia (41.7 hours). The shortest are in France (38.4 hours), Belgium (38.6 hours) and Ireland (38.9 hours). As far as annual paid leave is concerned, the average in the EU15 and Norway was 26.5 days/year with a substantial difference between the average in Sweden (33 days) and in Greece (23 days). In the new member states, the average was 21.4 days/year, with differences between the Czech Republic (25 days) and Estonia (20 days). The report is available at: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu (G.B./transl.jl)