New Delhi: Indians are at the bottom of the list when it comes to the number of paid leaves they receive, even though they enjoy the highest number of holidays annually. According to a survey by human resource consultancy firm Mercer, employees in India get the least number of statutory annual leaves (paid leaves), while those in Finland, Brazil and France receive the highest.

The 'Worldwide Benefit and Employment Guidelines' survey says that employees in India get statutory holiday allowances for 12 days, while in Canada and China they get 10 days each. However, workers in Finland, Brazil and France are entitled to as many as 30 days statutory holidays a year, reports PTI.

On the number of public holidays, India is joined by Japan at top. Employees in both the countries are entitled to 16 public holidays in a year. Japan and India are followed by Cyprus, Slovakia and South Korea with 15 public holidays annually. Interestingly, workers in Australia, the UK and the Netherlands are entitled to the least number of public holidays of eight days. The survey analyzed that both the statutory minimum number of holidays that companies must provide to their staff, as well as the number of public holidays in over 40 countries.

"Public holidays tend to be rooted in local tradition or religious beliefs, so it can be difficult to change practices. But with the increasing cultural diversity of the global workforce, there is pressure for greater flexibility around public holidays," said Matthew Hunt, Mercer International Team Principal. The survey figures are based on mandatory entitlements for an employee working five days a week with 10 years of service. In total, employees in Japan are entitled to 36 days off work followed by South Korea (34) and New Zealand (31). While, employees in Australia, Taiwan and India would potentially get 28 days followed by Hong Kong (26), Singapore (25) and China (21).