I know that UK and France offer more time by law but how is it actually within the finance world? Will you be looked down upon for taking the full vacation time in UK or France?
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any input would be helpful
No idea in Europe. In U.S. it's very firm dependent but after your first 2yrs or so generally no one will frown on you taking 10-15 days off a year
I'm planning to take off 20 days this year (my max leave) but I've also been at this job for a while
Think it might depend on the firm culture/team a bit more but some firms (like Citi I believe but correct me if I’m wrong) have a 2 week leave where you’re not allowed to log into your laptop so in that sense you’d have to take at least 10 days. People I know generally take at least 20 days in the UK but this might not be the same for all banks
I'm mid-seniority, based in London.
No, you'd generally not be looked down on for taking your holiday allowance. Like another poster has mentioned, this will depend on team culture, and whether you have an oddball or very old school senior around, but most people way over-think this. Your MD or VP is probably thinking way more about the status of the big sellside they're working on, or what their girlfriend / boyfriend / husband / wife said to them last night, or most other things, than whether Dave is taking 2 weeks off in August. I've literally no idea how much holiday % any of my first years have taken. I could look it up but I have way more uses of my time. Including going home 10 minutes earlier and playing videogames rather than doing that.
Culture has moved on a lot.
That said, some points:
1) Try to take your big holidays around Christmas, Easter, July / August. Exceptions happen and we all get that (e.g. weddings, etc.), so don't over-worry here.
2) Ask your staffer and the people you work closest with first, politely and in person. It's just courtesy.
3) Remind people before you go - especially if there's a live deal. Say it in person and send an email. They'll probably forget anyway though.
4) Try to limit the bigger holidays. Weeks are perfect. 2 or 3 weeks is a bit less ideal.
5) Be available to an extent - check the old phone in case someone needs to find where a specific file is. Not every 10 minutes, but a handful of times a day.
6) Try to space them out. 2 weeks in April then 2 weeks in May isn't great.
7) You'll regret not taking holidays if you don't - use your allowance. Life's too short.
Finally, another poster referred to the block leave policy. This is regulatory actually, and for juniors is only 5 consecutive days, not 10. You do need to take it though.
On the block leave a few banks require 10 days for everyone (or 9 with a public holiday) but yes thanks for clarifying that most are only 5 for juniors!
In London IB as A2A Associate, have taken all six weeks every year since the beginning, has not once been an issue. Usually take a week every 2 months so there is always an awesome thing to look forward to whether its heading home or skiing/surfing/etc
If I am accepting European levels of pay, I am taking my European levels of vacation.
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