>>>So you think a new employee for any full time position should get 10 days of holiday, plus sick leave days, plus 4 weeks of annual vacation?
>>
>>That is pretty much what a regular employee gets here. Paid holidays, even a bonus for holidays (vacation money), unlimited paid sick leave.
>>There is AFAIK, no difference between a new employee or one that works 10 years for the same company.
>>
>>But in our neighbouring country (Germany) things are a lot different.
>
>How are things different in Germany? I haven't been there in like 15 years, so I don't know if anything has changed in the meantime.

Legal Holidays in Bavaria:

New Year, Epiphany (Three Wise Men), Good Friday, Easter (Sunday and Monday), Labor Day, Ascension Day, Pentecost (Sunday and Monday), Corpus Christ, Assumption Day, German Unification Day, All Saints Day, Christmas (2 days). That sums up to 15 legal Holidays for Bavaria.

Three of them are Sundays (Epiphany, Easter and Pentecost Sunday) in 2013. In 2014 only Easter and Pentecost Sunday must be subtracted from the total of 15 leaving 13 legal holidays, which do not fall on a Sunday.

Other states in Germany have a few days less, but at least 12 days (with Sundays) in 2013.

Employees get:

24 days paid vacation by federal law. Saturdays are counted here. So this makes 4 weeks to start with. 6 weeks are not that unusual.

Continuation of payment to sick employees is 6 weeks by federal law. Not per year but per sickness if it is not a “follow up”-sickness.