Why You Get Better Employee Benefits In Europe!
Although the United States and Europe have many similarities, their approaches to employee benefits and compensation differ significantly. Numerous studies have found that the United States lags far behind Europe in terms of employee benefits such as healthcare, paid leave, parental leave, and flexibility, whereas Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland were among the top countries for employee benefits.
To cite a few notable comparisons, the United States is the only developed nation that doesn’t guarantee paid vacation time to workers. By comparison, Europeans are entitled to at least 20 days of legally mandated vacation days, with some countries requiring at least 30. It is also the only industrialized nation that does not provide universal healthcare for its citizens, spending more on healthcare per capita than any other high-income country. Regarding the amount and duration of benefits, it offers one of the least generous systems. For example, while Denmark compensates 90% of a worker’s lost earnings for up to 104 weeks, the United States only pays half of the previous wages for up to 26 weeks.
It is important to note that many of these US policies differ depending on a worker’s state. Some state policies are more lenient than the federal minimum requirements. Several bills have been presented in Congress, specifically around paid leave and minimum wage, that if passed, would improve benefits for working Americans.
As part of our employee benefits package breakdown of the US and Europe, we created the below resource to highlight the stark comparison.
