Employees in Europe receive the most generous statutory holiday allowances in the world, according to new research, but when public holidays are added in, employees in Lithuania and Brazil have the potential to access the most time off work.

The data come from “Mercer's 2009 Worldwide Benefit and Employment Guidelines.” The report analyzes both the minimum number of days for statutory holidays that companies must provide staff, as well as the number of public holidays in over 40 countries.

A statutory holiday allowance is the term given to the amount of paid leave that companies must, by law, offer their staff. And while the United States offers employees no statutory minimum holiday allowance, employees typically receive 15 days.

Countries that have a history of a strong labor movement typically have higher statutory holiday allowances, says Rebecca Powers, principal consultant with Mercer in San Francisco.

“In Western Europe, for instance, many of the employment terms are influenced by works’ councils. They’re not unions but they’re decision making partners,” she says. “And a number of countries in Western Europe have pretty powerful collective bargaining groups. So those locations where there’s a history of a strong collective bargaining union or works’ councils influence are the places you’re more likely to find more holidays.”

Finland and France make provisions for a minimum of 30 days of statutory holidays a year for employees, followed by Lithuania (28), Russian (28), the UK (28), Poland (26) and Greece (25). The majority of countries in Europe, including Germany, Belgium, Cyprus, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands, have a statutory minimum of 20 days.

In Asia Pacific, Australia, Japan and New Zealand have the most generous statutory holiday regime, offering employees 20 days of statutory holiday.

“There are some real variations that companies need to be mindful of when they’re planning their level of expectation for each country,” Powers adds. “I don’t think you can assume that because there are a lot of holidays and vacation that a particular place is not that productive. There’s plenty of evidence that many of the European locations are very productive, despite not having the affection for long hours that Americans are notorious for.”