Survey of EU employees

Employees in the EU should choose to work in Germany for the most generous holiday entitlement, Italy for the best pension contributions and Sweden for maternity leave, according to a report published yesterday. The findings are given in a guide to benefits and labour law by consultants Sedgwick Noble Lowndes.

"Apart from those in Denmark, which funds most of its benefits through taxation, employers in the UK make the smallest mandatory contributions on your behalf at just 8% of salary," said the report. "With the exception of Ireland, wherever you go in Europe you are likely to get longer holidays than you do in the UK."