We have movies here in Flanders where you can hear flesh being cut into to get across that no, these protests for more rights didn't end without blood.
@@Londronable Here in UK same story - see Peterloo Massacre of 1819 in Manchester where workers striking for better conditions were cut down with sabres by the 15th Hussars Cavalry
@@BritBlue582 Not surprised. Americans think they're going to get it by voting. That's just not how things work. You don't need violence, but you very much need the threat of it.
I'm from the UK. When my dad died I told my work I would be back after a week. I thought that would be enough. After a week I was still a mess but I had said one week so I went into work. Within an hour my manager pulled me aside, told me I looked awful and I was making mistakes. He told me to go home and take a month for myself. I am beyond grateful we have that system in the UK.
I had a similar experience when my brother died. I took a few days off thinking I was fine, but within an hour of returning to work my boss said I looked terrible and I should not be in work. They straight up told me to take a week off and sent me home. Extremely grateful to be living and working in the UK.
This happened to a guy I worked with, he suddenly didn't come into work one morning (we knew his brother had been ill) and someone told me that it's cus his brother passed. This was shortly before covid so he came in once to grab a few pieces of kit and the poor guy was just so distraught. Didn't hear from him again till mid summer - boss' orders too!
@@Abcd-j9i They would not have anything taken off their annual leave. That would be illegal in the UK. There is something called Statutory Sick Pay in the UK. This kicks in after after 3 days I think. It's paid by the Government. Your employer may also pay you a percentage of you wage on top of that.
An understatement. You're probably not aware yet of just how destroyed our "Democracy" is now. For example, this past summer (2024), the profoundly rotten US Supreme Court majority literally redefined the bribing of government officials as legal "Gratuities", so long as 1) the payment is done after the favor is performed, and 2) the accusation of pre-payment is unequivocally proven in a lower court that hasn't already been comprised. Another example is the Court's recent ruling that removed the power of government agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency and Food and Drug Administration to use unbiased experts, like leading scientists, to help make and enforce policies and rules, and to advise Legislators with facts on protecting Americans from harm. Most Americans are either ignorant, in denial, or too cynical/apathetic to care.
This and other things are the reason why UK and European people don't see America as a free country. Worked till you die or die from lack of affordable healthcare. It's a bum deal whatever you do over there.
I’m also seen another of I believe his videos where he talked about how he still has to pay the IRS, every single American citizen working abroad still has to pay taxes to the IRS, absolutely crazy
Under the UN, access to basic food and adequate water and sanitation is a fundamental human right in 191 of the 193 countries. Guess the 2 countries that refuse to recognise it? N. Korea and the USA. Sums it up doesn't it, the "land of the free" doesn't recognise the 2 most basics things needed to live are a basic human right 🤷♂️
I worked for a Welsh University and came down with severe depression. I called in sick and was entitled to up to six months full pay. As it happens, it took four months to make a good enough recovery to return to teaching. Had I been sick for more than six months, I would have received half-pay for a further six months. Had I not received this support, I would have lost my job and my life would have fallen apart. I will be forever grateful for the consideration I received when I needed it.
Exactly the same thing happened to me. I had major surgery and was on crutches for 3 months and no way I could work. The physio took another few months. Went back to work for the same company after 5 months. No problem.
I don’t think this is the right attitude though. Not everyone should ‘have a right’ to taxpayer’s money. Someone who has never worked a day in their life versus someone who has always worked but found themselves unemployed recently for example. Who has more right here?
@@karstenstormiversen4837 the class system will never go away. Unless you’re commenting from a tribe in Africa you are part of and contribute to the class system. Look up poverty rates in communist countries. It still exists. It has nothing to do with who is worth more, it is about who has *earned* the right to something. I’m not pretending to have the answer just don’t think benefit systems should be viewed as a ‘basic’ human right.
@@pinkpixels8806 The fact you think work is more important than, say, being "allowed" to survive is pretty telling of the society you live in. And gross.
I’m Czech and I’m planning to open a business in the US following months and I promise you, I’ll not change, I’ll treat my employees the same way we do in Europe!
Laudable... but it'll be frickin' expensive with the health insurance. Think in terms of US$10s of thousands per employee - and it still won't be as good as the European systems with the US' crazy system of being "in network" and all the other nonsense their insurance companies impose. The latest wheeze by a very large health insurance company (since withdrawn since it received so much bad publicity) was to limit the amount of time that a anesthetic was supposed to last (as determined by the insurance company). If the patient (on the operating table, say) needed more because of complications or whatever, the insurance company would refuse to pay for _any_ of the anesthetics or the anesthetist's time or for the preparation! So, what would your company do in that case? Pay the US$15000 or whatever to cover your employee for out of pocket expenses? And I haven't included the amount of time you'll spend negotiating with health insurance companies - which is an extra cost. Oh, and insurance often does not cover eye or dental health either...
When I was applying for my green card in the US, my father-in England-became ill and was given only a few months to live. But, when you apply for a green card it is on the condition that you do not leave the US until the card is granted. However, in my case, with my father dying, there was a process whereby I could apply for a temporary compassionate travel warrant... it cost $500. Apparently the US has found a way to monetize compassion.
Here's a kicker for you Jess, if you take two weeks holiday leave, and you get sick the second week, then sick pay kicks in, and you've only used one weeks holiday.
My wife passed away in 2016, having being diagnosed with a very aggressive brain tumour, she was ill for six weeks prior to her passing and I was given that time off to look after her. People who I worked with were given the day off to attend her funeral, my employer told me to take all the time I needed to 'sort myself out'. After about three weeks I asked to go back to work and was asked by my employer if I was sure? I needed to try and get my life back on track so they let me return. All of this time was on full pay.
My husband works for a dutch owned company. Last time he needed time off was because our child needed to go to the hospital, so he called his manager and said he would try to be back in the next day, his manager said, "no, youre going to take a few days off and take care of your family" once he got in trouble for working too many hours in a week.
For the most part us europeans take employee health and mental health seriously. Which is what i really dont understand about america, becuase the science proves that happy and rested employees are better employees, more energy, less stress, less likely to make mistakes and more likely to be loyal which overall adds to more productivity and revenue. Which is why it baffles me becuase surely US is making less money overall by treating employees worse then dog shit.
@@ashleygoggs5679 It's because 1. US companies only care about making money - in fact they're legally obligated to take decisions to make money if they're a publicly traded company as they have a fiduciary duty to their stockholders. Also b) the US likes to brag that their GDP per capita is about 20% more than the EU, because they work 20% longer hours on average, and bigger numbers = better, right? That'll show it to those liberal commie EU socialists! Never mind of course that in a lot of EU countries we couldn't care less about that 20% extra productivity as we're having a good time with our friends and relatives enjoying a long meal or a glass of wine or a cup of tea and a chat, or a nice walk around the town square of an evening. It's about the work/life balance in the EU - we work to live, whereas Americans live to work.
@@steddie4514 I refer to it as "Ruling by Middle Finger". The political wealthy ("plutocrats") and our culture have convinced many Americans to equate psychopathic greed and Survival of the Fittest as glorious FREEDOM, a basic RIGHT, and the natural order of things. Accordingly, Wealth is Virtue, Dignity, and the best defense against any danger.
Evan is actually now a British citizen as he qualified for Naturalisation. he is a brilliant presenter and makes the differences SO easily understood. And funny with it.
@@wessexdruid7598 well, you can learn and absorb another culture, thus being fluent in it. However, that doesn't mean that you forget your own culture. You don't.
I’m British and I’ve watched a few of these comparisons between UK to US. I’m shocked. I knew about health costs but there’s so much more. The cost of food seems crazy to me. Our supermarkets compete on price which ultimately benefits the consumers. The food safety, workers rights, political donations alone are so different. The fact that 64% of families are living paycheck to pay check is just plain wrong. We have a lot of protections in law. I’m struggling to see how America is the best country in the world.
They also call it the land of the free but its not even in the top fifteen in the freest countries list. They just have to keep lying to themselves to make them feel better.
That North Korean style making kids recite the pledge of allegiance really doesn't help. It's really, really creepy and sickening and helps keep the insular bullshit idea that USA is the only way. It's very bizarre and very backward.
I've seen so many of this type of reaction videos and every time we see Americans say 'yes, this is great' and 'this is what we should be doing' but they keep electing people into office who will do anything but put such a system into practice! The UK is not alone in this type of approach in treatment of it's employees - in fact the USA is the ONLY country in the western world that doesn't have this approach. Before retirement, I worked for IBM in the UK and had a holiday entitlement of 30 days PLUS public holidays (which added another 8 days). America, you only have yourselves to blame in electing the wrong people to represent you.
Here in Australia I get 4 weeks annual paid leave (unused leave accumulates), 3 days annual wellness leave (has to be used or lost), unlimited paid sick leave (no doctors certificate required). This is because we're adults working to fulfil our role and not slaves or children.
Problem imo is that most Americans do not know the difference between socialism and communism…. As soon as you talk about social care for instance you’re accused of being a commie…
@@simpsonsamamost of them have been for years tbh mate, maybe only the paternity rights for new dads has came into action in recent years, it’s shocking that guys in the U.S don’t have the basic right we have
I worked on the Railway in the UK. We had 100% sick pay for 6 months and 50% for the following 6 months of our salary. Also paid leave, hospital leave, moving house leave and compassionate leave. All this is down to the industry having a strong workers union. Unions get a bad rap but as you can see if there is no one looking after the workers rights then the corporations will run roughshod over them. Unions also prioritize workers safety.
I haven't worked for a company in the UK that does the minimum 28 days holiday. The company I currently work for has 33 days holiday and you can buy another 5 days. My daughter works for a university and gets 47 days paid holiday
In Canada parental leave is up to 18 months and can be shared between the mother and father. Healthcare is government paid. Paid vacation is mandated as is sick leave. These things all cost money and explain why taxes are higher here, but the benefits create a better society.
When I used to have a job working for someone else whenever I went to book any of my 6 weeks holiday (I was a product designer so we'd work long hours during our busy times of year and in return would get 6 weeks paid holiday) they'd smile and say going anywhere nice with genuine enthusiasm, we'd even get warned if we hadn't booked enough holidays in any given year yet, most employers see it as an important way to keep employees fresh, enthusiastic and happy.
This video is from a few years ago. The Labour Government now, is bringing forward a new Employment Rights law that will give us even more protections.
The 'extra protections' are just returning protections, that were eroded/stripped away by some companies/employers who found loopholes in the older rules/laws.
@stephenlee5929 There are genuinely new things, such as the right to paternity/maternity/bereavement leave from day 1, and the right to a guaranteed hours contract if you want one.
I really enjoy the way you two two have grown on those topics. Your pinned comment is crazy good and self-reflecting! Also your reactions in your videos have grown a lot from accepting some things as a reality - I really hope you keep going this way!!!
I am in the US and work for a UK company. When I was out for cancer treatment, about five months total over two years, they just kept paying me my normal salary, plus the US missed work insurance payments. Insurance covered most of the cost and that missed work money covered everything else. So, I didn't rack up any real expenses. If it was a US company I'd expect to be fired.
In fact, I was told by friends working at US companies their policy is universally - work through treatment or be terminated and only one week absence is tolerated for surgery recovery. The worst part was the paperwork. It was a lot of bureaucracy to go through for every missed work period - 10 to 30 minutes per missed block of time. I used PTO when it was a just a day or two just to avoid the paperwork.
I wouldn't want to work alongside someone who is sick. I might get sick from them. Also as say a customer I wouldn't want my food served to me by someone who is sick.
Speaking of bereavement leave. A friend of mine lost his partner and mother of his young children unexpectedly. He work was amazing, they gave him 6 months paid leave to look after his children and grieve. Made the awful events so much easier for him.
I work for a University here in the UK - I get 33 days annual leave that I can choose when to take off, plus an additional 3 days (sometimes 4 days) between Christmas Eve and New Year, so with the statutory Christmas / Boxing & New Year's day this works out over a week off to spend with friends and family etc. When my Mum passed away I was given a total of 3 weeks paid leave as "special leave" at the discretion of the company I worked for at the time. This was to help with planning her funeral and to just give me time to simply grieve, without having to worry about work.
I too worked at a university, and found them very reasonable with their staff. This included university 'closure days' at Christmas when we were obliged not to come in, and take paid leave, that wasn't taken off our annual leave allowance.
Here's a sentence that will make no sense to Americans: I am quite bad at taking my annual leave (holiday). My manager checks in every quarter whether I have taken roughly 25% of my holiday, because MULTIPLE years it has gotten to the end of the tax year and have had SEVERAL WEEKS of holiday left, EVEN HAVEN TAKEN OFF SEVERAL WEEKS FOR CHRISTMAS etc. So my manager would basically FORCE ME to go home for a couple of weeks.
Similar situation to the UK in New Zealand. It has long been accepted by all political parties that workers have these kinds of rights and that employers must provide them. Employers must also have reason to fire employees or provide financial compensation. We also have 11 days a year of compulsory paid holidays per year (Xmas, New Year, Waitangi Day (National Holiday), Labout Day, etc, etc. Employers can require you to work on those days, but have to pay you overtime PLUS days in lieu of those worked! There again, we have a genuinely democratic electoral system,
I suffer with chronic neck pain which was triggered just by me going down the stairs, my neck just clicked and instant pain. Immediately I was given time off, no strings attached and I eventually recieved 6 months full pay and 6 months half pay before I had to eventually leave. My employer was brilliant, I wasn't expected to give them a blow by blow rundown of what was happening with my diagnosis and treatment just occasional updates with major developments. For me this was really helpful as even now with many years of gradually increasing my medication levels I still struggle to manage simple tasks that before my injury I would not have even registered. My mental health has also changed over the years because I feel I am letting my wife down as things I would have expected to normally do easily now take about 20 times longer. The reason I mention the mental health is because channels like yours, Evans' and Elizabeth from the Charasmatic Voice with your warmth of character, humor and personalities keep me going when I am feeling worthless, so Thank You.
You should check out Scotland's Baby Box (Clan Broonford has a good video). It's an idea we took from Finland, theirs come with a lot more benefits but ours is at least a start. I don't have kids so have never, and will never, directly benefit from this but I'm really proud of the Scottish government for doing it & think society benefits as a whole.
@@orwellboy1958 You think any policy that Trump puts in place is going to favor the people over the corporations? Bless. How about free speech... it's already being manipulated (see Ann Telnaes's resignation for example). You may have the right to say what you want, but Trump and Musk are going to make sure it doesn't get heard by anyone if it doesn't fit their agenda
@@RNTV And suddenly we're face to face with one of the main issues bothering much of the populations of the western world - 'our' politicians do not work for us. Until that changes, I suspect little else will change.
I've been in a long term relationship with my American partner, however, we really struggled over movement. She didn't want to move to the UK due to the loss of family and bringing children over and I could not bare the thought of living and working in the American system. Watching other friends, as well as her struggle to survive in it just sounded soul crushing and I don't think our relationship would thrive under such pressure as the US government and businesses place on their citizens and employees.
Same story here, theres a lot to admire about the US but I just could not see myself living there after spending the first 35 years of my life in the UK. We have flaws but we are allowed to be ill occasionally and actually have holidays without worrying if my jobs been given away when you return
@@idrm1988 only way i would bother living in the US is if money was never an issue. However as a common worker iw ould never go there. What makes me laugh is americans dont want better healthcare becuase it will increase taxes and they laugh at europeans for high taxes becuase we use VAT. But a study showed if all taxes added up in america they are taxed more even without free healthcare. Just madness.
@@ashleygoggs5679 says who? I left my family in Africa and moved to Europe. I would not go back to a lower quality of life just to spend more time with them. You should try it.
I am 71 years old and have been retired for a few years. Most of my working life has been in Australia. I was always thankful for the benefits of working there......ie four weeks paid holiday per year with a 17.5% loading on my paid leave, ten days sick leave each year, bereavement leave, three months paid leave after ten years service. I have always believed that if you treat your employees well they will be a happier workforce
I am not sure if it is a national UK thing but, where I worked, if you went on holiday and became sick the company put you on sick leave and you got your holiday leave reinstated. When my brother died I was told I could have 3 days bereavement leave, but as he lived three hundred miles away (a long way in the UK) they gave me a week.
Bereavement leave is not a right unless the individual is a dependent. Paid Bereavement Leave is not a right at all. Most employers give you the paid leave depending on the relationship and their own policies. They can make you work or use annual leave as it is usually on a case by case basis.. Similarly, it is up to the employer whether being sick on holiday can result in leave being reinstated and it is dependent on circumstances for most employers. For example, if you had a terrible sick record which is not down to a long term illness, it is possible your employer may not have reinstated your leave.
I think something to consider in this is that UK wages are on average SIGNIFICANTLY lower than the US. Like I am a therapist, I have 4 degrees and do a highly skilled very in-demand job, and I earn about 40k. If I was in the US, I would EASILY be earning at least double or likely triple that. Now that's a bit of an extreme example, because with our public healthcare (NHS) most healthcare employees are experience an even bigger wage disparity to our American counterparts, but it will be true for almost any job that the UK equivalent is on a lower wage. THAT SAID, I wouldn't trade out workers rights for triple my salary. A good work/life balance is worth FAR more than the extra pay. The US is honestly a third world country in it's rights for employees.
Yes I know an American who sacrificed a higher US salary to immigrate to New Zealand for a better work/life balance. She was shocked when her boss told her she must take a holiday immediately to use up her statutory holidays before the end of the year.
You'd likely find your rent/mortgage would be quite a bit higher in the US compared to the UK (excluding central London). You earn more there because you're expected to spend more... (said as a UK person who worked in the US a while back)
I'm British. Years ago I was working for an American company. I was called on my wedding day to see if I was available. When I explained I was getting married I was asked what time I finished
Employers in Germany also have a duty of care for their employees. That includes sending employees away from work to get medical care if they are obviously unhealthy. It obviously benefits the sick employee, but also their colleagues, because it lowers the risk of contagion.
A US colleague had some kit delivered to his home on a Sunday in a former job, a day early and it was raining so he lifted it into his garage and ripped his shoulder. The company he worked for refused to pay his max medical care because it was not a working day. When he joined us (a UK company) he was asking about PTO for going to the dentist. We said, just take a day off and go. But what about the time off from my holiday, we all looked at him and it took about 5 minutes before we realised what he was asking. No just take the day off. Don't worry about it. I'm just back from my Christmas holiday 20th dec to 6th Jan. I'm off to Bilbao in a couple of weeks for a long weekend and I'm in Italy on holiday in the first week in feb. I won't take another holiday until the summer but I can take it off whenever I want. Life is for living.
This is not just the UK who pays Sick Pay, it's Europe and pretty much the rest of the world, with the exception of USA! If a parent or sibling dies, one gets 1 week paid leave, Grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews = 2 days paid leave. I think when we work for a month, we automatically earn 1.50- 2 days holiday per month for each month we work, this does not include the 20 days paid Bank (Public) Holidays Overtime = any hours after 39 hr week, the first 4 hours (after 39 hours) are paid at time and a half, everything after 4 hours are paid at double the hourly rate, working Sundays and Public Holidays = double time plus an extra days holiday. By the way, Revolut is huge over here in Ireland and prob the rest of Europe, thought it was worldwide so surprised you never heard of it! Thanks for the upload, cheers from Ireland
I read an interesting quote a few weeks ago that really made me think - when you pass away, your family will grieve for months, but your employer will look for your replacement the next day. Prioritizing health and happiness over a career is so important.
You hit the nail on the head! I've had some great employers who made me feel like a valued member of staff. When my wife was having a baby, they gave me a pay rise, what they called a nappy bonus, but was essentially meant to help her to not have to rush back to work! And guess what happens?! I felt valued, I felt that they appreciated me and what I do for them and I happily gave that job my best effort. And everyone who worked there was treated that way, there was nobody who felt like they needed to work harder and longer because they were easily replaceable. They got a reputation for being a great employer and, consequently were able to attract the best employees. It's not rocket surgery! Be excellent to each other!
A basic realisation all US citizens need to have is that US culture depends on MONEY. The politics are controlled by MONEY. No politician is going to forfeit campaign donations from rich companies
In the US they live to work, in the UK we work to live. BTW, Revolut are a great card, don't use one for everyday use but I always use it when I go abroad on holiday.
When my granddaughter had a baby she got 52 weeks on full pay. She went back to work, part time, still on full pay for a further 3 months. So 15 months on full pay and her job was protected. Why do Americans think they are living the "American dream", when, in fact, it's a nightmare?
@@wessexdruid7598 It's a bit pointless though, when, whatever time they take off it isn't paid. I had a friend who lives in the US who was back to work when the baby was only 10 days old, that's ridiculous, but when you've got mortgage/rent and other things to pay she really had no choice.
Hi from Australia. My last job was in the disability sector, 4 weeks a year, 5 days family leave and every public holiday paid. I forgot 10 days paid sick leave and 3 days paid bereavement leave. Also, the company pays into my retirement fund, if you earn under a certain amount the government will match your voluntary payments into that fund. After we were in an accident, my bosses offered free counselling. I love Australia.
I've lived both in Australia and the UK. In Australia, it's even better than the UK when it comes to entitlements - there is Long Service Leave. If you have worked for the same company for 10 years, you are entitled to a paid THREE MONTHS off. That's after you have had 25 days paid holiday every year. Employers get really angry if you don't take your annual leave in Australia, too. Oh and then there's the public holidays - Australia loves a day off doing nothing, for so many reasons: King's birthday, Australia Day, Melbourne Cup Horse Race (only available in Victoria but the rest of the country has time off to watch the race, anyway), the list goes on. Love your videos guys! Loads of love from little old England.
Don't forget also, these UK rights are received by US corporations in UK, such as Macdonalds, Burgerking, Google, Amazon and so on. In US the workers for those same companies don't get those rights and benefits. I love your channel. You two are fantastic and wish you the very best for your RUclips adventure. 😊
To hear this its so glad to be a italian who lives in the netherlands for almost 15 years and not in the US. Almost everything i see from the US is not so good than europe. Even the eastern part of europe is doing better it looks like.
I really like Evan’s videos and this was a good one. As someone from the US who has lived in the UK for 30 years, can I just point something out. Yes, in the UK I have the NHS, the 6 weeks of paid holiday and sick leave etc., but I also make less money. In the US I would have made 3 times the amount I made in the UK, but for me the work/life balance made up for it.
I have Bloomberg on in the other room and they are proudly banging on, for the umpteenth time, about how productivity is better in the US than in Europe but they never explain why that is the case. We know why.
When my dad was dying I was given 2 weeks Special leave fully paid to care for him in his final days. This did not come off my annual leave entitlement and I still had time off to arrange and attend the funeral. This makes any employee so much more willing to work hard for such a caring company.
Governments and the employers don’t just give these rights, they are often fought for and won by unions, something which is getting rarer in the UK as the right wing press and political parties paint them as something evil - something that I understand is already the case in the USA.
What's BONKERS about all of this for me is that all the evidence suggests that governments SAVE MONEY by giving people these rights. For instance, in the UK I work in a part of the NHS that provides FREE therapy for MILD TO MODERATE mental health concerns. E.g. the type of Anxiety or Depression where you're gonna be ok, but you'd probably need to take some time out of work or not be super productive. THE ENTIRE REASON that the government funds us to do that is because we were able to provide the research to show that paying me to keep the public HAPPY AND HEALTHY is cheaper than the government needing to pay for sick leave. It is cheaper for the government, better for business, and just overall common sense (surely) to keep your population as happy and healthy as reasonably possible. And yet America doesn't do that, SOLELY because big businesses will pay them to keep people miserable, because that's cheaper for the business. Honestly, it's disgusting.
Greetings from England. My dad passed away in 2002 and I worked at Honda at that time, my 2 brothers also worked there and we all had time off for my dads passing, 2 weeks later we were asked to go into work to speak to our main manager for an update. He asked how we were etc etc. Told him we weren’t quite ready to return to work. He said take your time, no rush. There was no pressure to return. In the end we had a month off and didn’t lose any pay or holiday entitlement. On a side note if you are going to off work sick and will be longer than 7 days then you self certify yourself for those first 7 days, after you have to get a doctors sick note to cover anything over the 7 days and the note costs nothing
For comparison, although I'm a born and bred Yorkshireman I now live and work in Australia. I get 28 days paid annual leave, there are 14 days of paid public holidays a year, 10 days of paid sick leave and I also get long service leave. That's when you have worked full time at the same place for 10 years you are given 13 weeks of paid leave (not all places do this) and another 1.3 weeks leave for every subsequent years. This means I have about 59 days a year of paid leave available to use, you guys have it very bad!
My dad was dying of cancer through out the summer of 2022. He lost his ability to walk, he would fall out of bed every night. My husband would go and pick him up off the floor day and night, he would leave work and go pick him up. When he eventually went into hospital my husband was by my side the whole time. My dad passed in September and my husband was home with me until after his funeral in November. We are in the UK.
This is an example why in the UK many of us we see the USA term the Land of the Free home of the brave as an oxymoron, we got these rights in the UK, buy unions fighting for them in the past
I've watched a few of this guys video's, he's a brit that grew up in the states, then came back to England where he was born. He done a great video with supermarket differences between the States and the UK ... Massive price difference! I lived in Canada myself for about 8 years so I also get where the Americans are coming from as well as the UK. Another video where you 2 have learnt something new about us in the UK. Good reaction guys, keep them coming.
As a Manager of people for years I would never let employees come to work sick as they spread diseases to other employees which caused more issues! Also if you care and respect your employees you get more out of them
I saw this vid before. For ages I wanted to find somone who would look at the differences between the us and uk, and I found Evan Edinger. Just the guy to point out such MASSIVE differences between us (Im a brit). You both have just grown my list of uk/us comparison channels, great veiwing :)
Sorry to keep jumping in, when I lost my Dad to cancer I was told to take as much paid time off as I needed, all my boss asked was I kept them in the loop.
Hello from a union rep in the UK. I’ve been in a meeting with a colleague today because her absence had been off 4 times in 26 weeks and a % of just under 5. The meeting was for management to find out what the issues have been if they can help in any way. My role covers health and safety too and I’m so glad I live in the UK. My company (a large supermarket chain) has a policy that means if a female is off with menopause related issues they cannot be penalised. Also everyone is paid the same hourly rate whether you are 16 or 82 which the union fought for,
The USA is not run for the benefit of its population, but for the benefit of those people who own the big businesses. That's why it has the education system it does - to generate an unquestioning workforce who will always do more for less and act as consumers who always want the newest and biggest.
Im from the UK and I retired just over a year ago and prior to retirement I was sick for 8 months, I got full sick pay which was around £3400 every 4 weeks and when I left I even got paid the 25 days leave I didn't take due to sickness, just turned 60 and got great pension, happy days over here!!
Can you imagine how much productivity would improve in all facets of work, if all these aspects were put in place in the U.S. As for paid maternity leave. Well its almost like the countries that don't use the metric system. Also you pay next to nothing in most places to have a child unlike the exorbitant fees in the U.S.
I'm retired now, but my job in the UK gave me 30 days paid annual leave plus the 8 bank holidays, so in effect 38 days. My sick leave entitlement was 6 months on full pay then 6 months on half. In addition you were entitled to compassionate leave etc for things like bereavement and funerals. It was also mandatory to take at least two weeks holiday as one single time period of holiday annually.
If you drive a workforce into the ground, they’ll be ill for weeks; if you give them that day or two to recover, they’ll be better AND feel appreciated & want to work for you!
I'm in the uk and there's been more than one occasion my boss has actually came to me and told me to go home because I need to take my holidays before they refresh for the year. Last year he I dodged the whole Christmas mania season with my feet up at home with the fam gettin full pay for it 😎
One company i worked for would literally bring up in team meetings that many in the team hadnt fully booked their time off, and would remind us every time.
Evan became British Citizen or a Subject of the Crown in 2023! The UK welfare state began in 1908 with the Old Age Pensions Act, which provided small, tax-funded pensions for people over 70, reducing reliance on the harsh Poor Law system. However, the modern welfare state emerged after World War II, driven by the Beveridge Report and the Labour government’s reforms. Key milestones included the National Insurance Act 1946, offering sickness, unemployment, and retirement benefits, and the creation of the NHS in 1948, providing free healthcare for all.
I had a stroke about 10 years ago. A mild one, albeit, but nonethless a stroke, not a TIA. I was told by my work to take a month off and after that my return was phased - a couple of mornings a week, followed by a couple of days a week, 3 days a week and so on. I think my return to full work took about 3 months and I had all the physical and emotional support that I needed. Bloody glad I don't live and work in the US.
Almost every country in mainland Europe has better workers' rights than the UK. Both need to catch up majorly, but when you're used to nothing, the relatively little the UK has makes a world of difference
In the UK my Dad went into full cardiac arrest and I needed to give him CPR until the paramedics arrived. He survived but the shock of the situation rattled me, after informing my work of what happened (Dad works at the same place I do) they told me to come in when I feel like I'm up too it. After a month, fully paid, I went back to work and it was a smooth transition.
A couple of years ago, my partner had to go into hospital for an op to remove a tumour from her brain. I had booked some holidays for this period in advance, but my partner ended up being in hospital five and a half weeks, which was much longer than the holiday time I had booked. As my yearly allowance of sick leave is six weeks fully paid before I drop onto statutory sick pay, and I hadn't yet used any sick leave that year, my employer actually allowed me to take the extra weeks off that my partner was in hospital as fully paid sick time so I could be at home focusing on things at home and I could visit my partner twice a day in hospital.
I'm happy for Jess and really hope you guys and your kids will be better for this choice. Love the channel. Both of you are smart, humble and relatable.
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Workers' rights weren't gifted by the government's, they were hard fought for by hardworking people who got tired of being walked over.
Well said!
We have movies here in Flanders where you can hear flesh being cut into to get across that no, these protests for more rights didn't end without blood.
The unions betrayed you and the Labour / Dems betrayed you, decades ago. How many US workers were unionized 70 years ago?
@@Londronable Here in UK same story - see Peterloo Massacre of 1819 in Manchester where workers striking for better conditions were cut down with sabres by the 15th Hussars Cavalry
@@BritBlue582 Not surprised. Americans think they're going to get it by voting. That's just not how things work.
You don't need violence, but you very much need the threat of it.
I'm from the UK.
When my dad died I told my work I would be back after a week. I thought that would be enough. After a week I was still a mess but I had said one week so I went into work. Within an hour my manager pulled me aside, told me I looked awful and I was making mistakes. He told me to go home and take a month for myself.
I am beyond grateful we have that system in the UK.
We're you paid for that month & week off? Was any of it taken out of your annual leave?
@@Abcd-j9i I can't speak for them but I work for a firm that allows 4 weeks if it's parent, child or sibling.
I had a similar experience when my brother died. I took a few days off thinking I was fine, but within an hour of returning to work my boss said I looked terrible and I should not be in work. They straight up told me to take a week off and sent me home. Extremely grateful to be living and working in the UK.
This happened to a guy I worked with, he suddenly didn't come into work one morning (we knew his brother had been ill) and someone told me that it's cus his brother passed. This was shortly before covid so he came in once to grab a few pieces of kit and the poor guy was just so distraught. Didn't hear from him again till mid summer - boss' orders too!
@@Abcd-j9i They would not have anything taken off their annual leave. That would be illegal in the UK. There is something called Statutory Sick Pay in the UK. This kicks in after after 3 days I think. It's paid by the Government. Your employer may also pay you a percentage of you wage on top of that.
What Americans call lobbying, Brits call corruption!!
Only those stupid enough to think it doesn't happen in their own country.
True
that counts for most country's tbh
Plenty of that in the UK too, bro.
An understatement. You're probably not aware yet of just how destroyed our "Democracy" is now. For example, this past summer (2024), the profoundly rotten US Supreme Court majority literally redefined the bribing of government officials as legal "Gratuities", so long as 1) the payment is done after the favor is performed, and 2) the accusation of pre-payment is unequivocally proven in a lower court that hasn't already been comprised. Another example is the Court's recent ruling that removed the power of government agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency and Food and Drug Administration to use unbiased experts, like leading scientists, to help make and enforce policies and rules, and to advise Legislators with facts on protecting Americans from harm. Most Americans are either ignorant, in denial, or too cynical/apathetic to care.
This and other things are the reason why UK and European people don't see America as a free country. Worked till you die or die from lack of affordable healthcare. It's a bum deal whatever you do over there.
I’m also seen another of I believe his videos where he talked about how he still has to pay the IRS, every single American citizen working abroad still has to pay taxes to the IRS, absolutely crazy
As the 'Pub Landlord' said. "America is a good idea, that's got out of hand".
@@simonmetcalfe5926 and this is Great Britain. The clue is in the name FFS. :-)
😂
"a lucky escape"
I've always described it as a good idea done badly.
You mean that privately educated t*at that makes his living punching down and caricaturing the work class?
And everyone thinks slavery was abolished !
Indeed, the USA is modern day slavery, especially in prisons where prison workers work for $1 per hour.
Wage slavery and debt slavery. Chattel slavery big in the US, Biden human trafficking.
Under the UN, access to basic food and adequate water and sanitation is a fundamental human right in 191 of the 193 countries. Guess the 2 countries that refuse to recognise it? N. Korea and the USA. Sums it up doesn't it, the "land of the free" doesn't recognise the 2 most basics things needed to live are a basic human right 🤷♂️
shaddup. the US gives away more food than any other nation in the world.
UN is evil and robs the hard working westerners for illegals
They both sound like communisms to me! 😅😒
South Korea?
Wasn't North Korea. Was the US and Israel. So even North Korea voted yes.
I worked for a Welsh University and came down with severe depression. I called in sick and was entitled to up to six months full pay. As it happens, it took four months to make a good enough recovery to return to teaching. Had I been sick for more than six months, I would have received half-pay for a further six months. Had I not received this support, I would have lost my job and my life would have fallen apart. I will be forever grateful for the consideration I received when I needed it.
Exactly the same thing happened to me. I had major surgery and was on crutches for 3 months and no way I could work. The physio took another few months. Went back to work for the same company after 5 months. No problem.
What you call 'benefits' we call 'rights'. US workers get a really terrible deal.
I don’t think this is the right attitude though. Not everyone should ‘have a right’ to taxpayer’s money. Someone who has never worked a day in their life versus someone who has always worked but found themselves unemployed recently for example. Who has more right here?
@@pinkpixels8806 So you are for a class system then,where some are more worth than others!
Got it!
That is how it is in the US right know!
@@karstenstormiversen4837 the class system will never go away. Unless you’re commenting from a tribe in Africa you are part of and contribute to the class system. Look up poverty rates in communist countries. It still exists. It has nothing to do with who is worth more, it is about who has *earned* the right to something. I’m not pretending to have the answer just don’t think benefit systems should be viewed as a ‘basic’ human right.
@@pinkpixels8806 Every day, living the dream in Trumpland. GO MURICA
@@pinkpixels8806 The fact you think work is more important than, say, being "allowed" to survive is pretty telling of the society you live in. And gross.
I’m Czech and I’m planning to open a business in the US following months and I promise you, I’ll not change, I’ll treat my employees the same way we do in Europe!
Good man! 🇬🇧
Do it and you get massive que of people want to work at your place
Laudable... but it'll be frickin' expensive with the health insurance. Think in terms of US$10s of thousands per employee - and it still won't be as good as the European systems with the US' crazy system of being "in network" and all the other nonsense their insurance companies impose. The latest wheeze by a very large health insurance company (since withdrawn since it received so much bad publicity) was to limit the amount of time that a anesthetic was supposed to last (as determined by the insurance company). If the patient (on the operating table, say) needed more because of complications or whatever, the insurance company would refuse to pay for _any_ of the anesthetics or the anesthetist's time or for the preparation! So, what would your company do in that case? Pay the US$15000 or whatever to cover your employee for out of pocket expenses? And I haven't included the amount of time you'll spend negotiating with health insurance companies - which is an extra cost. Oh, and insurance often does not cover eye or dental health either...
Hope you don't go out of business, as you will be at a disadvantage compared to competing businesses.
I'm sorry, but you can't.
When I was applying for my green card in the US, my father-in England-became ill and was given only a few months to live. But, when you apply for a green card it is on the condition that you do not leave the US until the card is granted. However, in my case, with my father dying, there was a process whereby I could apply for a temporary compassionate travel warrant... it cost $500. Apparently the US has found a way to monetize compassion.
Wait until you see how much people get charged to hold their newborn baby!
It is also the only country in the world that also taxes their citisens after they have moved to another country as well!
I hear they literally kick people out their hospital beds if they cannot afford treatment..that is so bad.
@@karstenstormiversen4837Eritrea do also at 2%
Same happened to me when my Nan died except I didn’t have time to get permission and wasn’t there for her last days 😢
Here's a kicker for you Jess, if you take two weeks holiday leave, and you get sick the second week, then sick pay kicks in, and you've only used one weeks holiday.
In my job I get 6months full sick pay then 6 months half pay
Sounds like you were in the public sector where the tax payer has to pick the bill.
😂😂😂 wtf do you work ???? Your bosses must be simpletons I'm a union man but that's bull
@CM-1723 council or civil servants eg robbing barstewards about time both were kicked into touch
@@scotthendry6298 nope non of them and sounds like your a bit jealous and got a 💩 job haha
My wife passed away in 2016, having being diagnosed with a very aggressive brain tumour, she was ill for six weeks prior to her passing and I was given that time off to look after her. People who I worked with were given the day off to attend her funeral, my employer told me to take all the time I needed to 'sort myself out'. After about three weeks I asked to go back to work and was asked by my employer if I was sure? I needed to try and get my life back on track so they let me return. All of this time was on full pay.
im sorry for your loss, im glad they looked after you in the worst time of your life, its the only decent thing to do
My husband works for a dutch owned company. Last time he needed time off was because our child needed to go to the hospital, so he called his manager and said he would try to be back in the next day, his manager said, "no, youre going to take a few days off and take care of your family" once he got in trouble for working too many hours in a week.
For the most part us europeans take employee health and mental health seriously. Which is what i really dont understand about america, becuase the science proves that happy and rested employees are better employees, more energy, less stress, less likely to make mistakes and more likely to be loyal which overall adds to more productivity and revenue. Which is why it baffles me becuase surely US is making less money overall by treating employees worse then dog shit.
Does his boss smoke weed
@@ashleygoggs5679 It's because 1. US companies only care about making money - in fact they're legally obligated to take decisions to make money if they're a publicly traded company as they have a fiduciary duty to their stockholders. Also b) the US likes to brag that their GDP per capita is about 20% more than the EU, because they work 20% longer hours on average, and bigger numbers = better, right? That'll show it to those liberal commie EU socialists!
Never mind of course that in a lot of EU countries we couldn't care less about that 20% extra productivity as we're having a good time with our friends and relatives enjoying a long meal or a glass of wine or a cup of tea and a chat, or a nice walk around the town square of an evening. It's about the work/life balance in the EU - we work to live, whereas Americans live to work.
Max in Ireland is generally 48 hours per week, including any overtime.
It strikes me the "fuck you Jack I'm alright" attitude prevails in the U.S. 😐
To an extreme degree
@@steddie4514 I refer to it as "Ruling by Middle Finger". The political wealthy ("plutocrats") and our culture have convinced many Americans to equate psychopathic greed and Survival of the Fittest as glorious FREEDOM, a basic RIGHT, and the natural order of things. Accordingly, Wealth is Virtue, Dignity, and the best defense against any danger.
Evan is actually now a British citizen as he qualified for Naturalisation. he is a brilliant presenter and makes the differences SO easily understood. And funny with it.
He still thinks like an American, though.
@@wessexdruid7598 well, you can learn and absorb another culture, thus being fluent in it. However, that doesn't mean that you forget your own culture. You don't.
I’m British and I’ve watched a few of these comparisons between UK to US. I’m shocked. I knew about health costs but there’s so much more. The cost of food seems crazy to me. Our supermarkets compete on price which ultimately benefits the consumers. The food safety, workers rights, political donations alone are so different. The fact that 64% of families are living paycheck to pay check is just plain wrong. We have a lot of protections in law. I’m struggling to see how America is the best country in the world.
It's not and never has been.
@@johnmc128 True but what is sad is that with its resources it could have been.
@@digidol52 Yes, but corporate greed politicians and foolish voters are the downfall.
They also call it the land of the free but its not even in the top fifteen in the freest countries list.
They just have to keep lying to themselves to make them feel better.
That North Korean style making kids recite the pledge of allegiance really doesn't help. It's really, really creepy and sickening and helps keep the insular bullshit idea that USA is the only way. It's very bizarre and very backward.
I've seen so many of this type of reaction videos and every time we see Americans say 'yes, this is great' and 'this is what we should be doing' but they keep electing people into office who will do anything but put such a system into practice! The UK is not alone in this type of approach in treatment of it's employees - in fact the USA is the ONLY country in the western world that doesn't have this approach. Before retirement, I worked for IBM in the UK and had a holiday entitlement of 30 days PLUS public holidays (which added another 8 days). America, you only have yourselves to blame in electing the wrong people to represent you.
Trump about to give tax breaks to the rich while imposing tarifs which will hurt the poor. They bring it on themselves.
Keep the Evan Edinger reactions coming. 👏🏻 I love the effort he puts into his clips. Very informative.
Here in Australia I get 4 weeks annual paid leave (unused leave accumulates), 3 days annual wellness leave (has to be used or lost), unlimited paid sick leave (no doctors certificate required). This is because we're adults working to fulfil our role and not slaves or children.
Absolutely love the honesty in the way you talk about this channel being your new career. I hope it goes from strength to strength.
An important thing to note. If you are SICK whilst on HOLIDAY, the holiday days are not counted, they are sick days and you get other days as holiday.
BULLSHIT
It's stuff like this that blows my mind that people say America is the greatest country and, most hysterically, 'land of the free'
Problem imo is that most Americans do not know the difference between socialism and communism…. As soon as you talk about social care for instance you’re accused of being a commie…
@@simonwilkins2082 it's brainwashed ignorance
@@simonwilkins2082Exactly. A lot of these rights didn’t exist in the UK either until relatively recently.
USA; three times the cops per 1000 pop. And three times the crime.
@@simpsonsamamost of them have been for years tbh mate, maybe only the paternity rights for new dads has came into action in recent years, it’s shocking that guys in the U.S don’t have the basic right we have
Very few companies in the UK just rely on the government sick pay, they usually pay full pay when you are sick, but it may be for a limited time.
This. Where i work you can be off for two weeks before you need a dr note
I worked on the Railway in the UK. We had 100% sick pay for 6 months and 50% for the following 6 months of our salary. Also paid leave, hospital leave, moving house leave and compassionate leave. All this is down to the industry having a strong workers union. Unions get a bad rap but as you can see if there is no one looking after the workers rights then the corporations will run roughshod over them. Unions also prioritize workers safety.
I haven't worked for a company in the UK that does the minimum 28 days holiday. The company I currently work for has 33 days holiday and you can buy another 5 days. My daughter works for a university and gets 47 days paid holiday
Plenty do the basic 20 plus 8 bank hols. Awful.
In Canada parental leave is up to 18 months and can be shared between the mother and father. Healthcare is government paid. Paid vacation is mandated as is sick leave. These things all cost money and explain why taxes are higher here, but the benefits create a better society.
When I used to have a job working for someone else whenever I went to book any of my 6 weeks holiday (I was a product designer so we'd work long hours during our busy times of year and in return would get 6 weeks paid holiday) they'd smile and say going anywhere nice with genuine enthusiasm, we'd even get warned if we hadn't booked enough holidays in any given year yet, most employers see it as an important way to keep employees fresh, enthusiastic and happy.
This video is from a few years ago. The Labour Government now, is bringing forward a new Employment Rights law that will give us even more protections.
The 'extra protections' are just returning protections, that were eroded/stripped away by some companies/employers who found loopholes in the older rules/laws.
@stephenlee5929 There are genuinely new things, such as the right to paternity/maternity/bereavement leave from day 1, and the right to a guaranteed hours contract if you want one.
I really enjoy the way you two two have grown on those topics. Your pinned comment is crazy good and self-reflecting! Also your reactions in your videos have grown a lot from accepting some things as a reality - I really hope you keep going this way!!!
I think it's fab that you are both doing this now, good on you both. Love it!
I am in the US and work for a UK company.
When I was out for cancer treatment, about five months total over two years, they just kept paying me my normal salary, plus the US missed work insurance payments. Insurance covered most of the cost and that missed work money covered everything else. So, I didn't rack up any real expenses.
If it was a US company I'd expect to be fired.
In fact, I was told by friends working at US companies their policy is universally - work through treatment or be terminated and only one week absence is tolerated for surgery recovery.
The worst part was the paperwork. It was a lot of bureaucracy to go through for every missed work period - 10 to 30 minutes per missed block of time. I used PTO when it was a just a day or two just to avoid the paperwork.
That's so sad, I feel for you guys, let's hope things get better for you, from your friends in the UK.
I wouldn't want to work alongside someone who is sick. I might get sick from them. Also as say a customer I wouldn't want my food served to me by someone who is sick.
They make money off of sick people. They want sickness to spread on purpose imo.
Speaking of bereavement leave. A friend of mine lost his partner and mother of his young children unexpectedly. He work was amazing, they gave him 6 months paid leave to look after his children and grieve. Made the awful events so much easier for him.
I work for a University here in the UK - I get 33 days annual leave that I can choose when to take off, plus an additional 3 days (sometimes 4 days) between Christmas Eve and New Year, so with the statutory Christmas / Boxing & New Year's day this works out over a week off to spend with friends and family etc.
When my Mum passed away I was given a total of 3 weeks paid leave as "special leave" at the discretion of the company I worked for at the time. This was to help with planning her funeral and to just give me time to simply grieve, without having to worry about work.
You were lucky. A colleague of mine was given only a half day off to visit his mother on her deathbed & another half day off for her funeral.
I too worked at a university, and found them very reasonable with their staff. This included university 'closure days' at Christmas when we were obliged not to come in, and take paid leave, that wasn't taken off our annual leave allowance.
Here's a sentence that will make no sense to Americans: I am quite bad at taking my annual leave (holiday).
My manager checks in every quarter whether I have taken roughly 25% of my holiday, because MULTIPLE years it has gotten to the end of the tax year and have had SEVERAL WEEKS of holiday left, EVEN HAVEN TAKEN OFF SEVERAL WEEKS FOR CHRISTMAS etc. So my manager would basically FORCE ME to go home for a couple of weeks.
They are not benefits, they are rights.
The $ seems to be king in the USA. Everyone serves that - people are secondary.
Tertiary, I'd say!
@@vilebrequin6923 Sadly you’re probably right. 🙁
$ is not the king in the USA, it is their *god.*
Similar situation to the UK in New Zealand. It has long been accepted by all political parties that workers have these kinds of rights and that employers must provide them. Employers must also have reason to fire employees or provide financial compensation. We also have 11 days a year of compulsory paid holidays per year (Xmas, New Year, Waitangi Day (National Holiday), Labout Day, etc, etc.
Employers can require you to work on those days, but have to pay you overtime PLUS days in lieu of those worked! There again, we have a genuinely democratic electoral system,
I suffer with chronic neck pain which was triggered just by me going down the stairs, my neck just clicked and instant pain. Immediately I was given time off, no strings attached and I eventually recieved 6 months full pay and 6 months half pay before I had to eventually leave. My employer was brilliant, I wasn't expected to give them a blow by blow rundown of what was happening with my diagnosis and treatment just occasional updates with major developments. For me this was really helpful as even now with many years of gradually increasing my medication levels I still struggle to manage simple tasks that before my injury I would not have even registered. My mental health has also changed over the years because I feel I am letting my wife down as things I would have expected to normally do easily now take about 20 times longer. The reason I mention the mental health is because channels like yours, Evans' and Elizabeth from the Charasmatic Voice with your warmth of character, humor and personalities keep me going when I am feeling worthless, so Thank You.
You should check out Scotland's Baby Box (Clan Broonford has a good video). It's an idea we took from Finland, theirs come with a lot more benefits but ours is at least a start. I don't have kids so have never, and will never, directly benefit from this but I'm really proud of the Scottish government for doing it & think society benefits as a whole.
It's an expensive gimmick!
Americans voting Trump are like turkeys voting for Christmas. They're going to lose a lot of freedom in the coming years and they have no idea
Name one.
It matters not who sits at the top when the roots are corrupt.
@@orwellboy1958 You think any policy that Trump puts in place is going to favor the people over the corporations? Bless. How about free speech... it's already being manipulated (see Ann Telnaes's resignation for example). You may have the right to say what you want, but Trump and Musk are going to make sure it doesn't get heard by anyone if it doesn't fit their agenda
@@RNTV And suddenly we're face to face with one of the main issues bothering much of the populations of the western world - 'our' politicians do not work for us.
Until that changes, I suspect little else will change.
Orwell boy is right - USAians haven’t any freedoms above what everyone else has.
In the UK the legal minimum hourly rate for over 21s in any job will be $15 an hour from April
I've been in a long term relationship with my American partner, however, we really struggled over movement. She didn't want to move to the UK due to the loss of family and bringing children over and I could not bare the thought of living and working in the American system. Watching other friends, as well as her struggle to survive in it just sounded soul crushing and I don't think our relationship would thrive under such pressure as the US government and businesses place on their citizens and employees.
Same story here, theres a lot to admire about the US but I just could not see myself living there after spending the first 35 years of my life in the UK. We have flaws but we are allowed to be ill occasionally and actually have holidays without worrying if my jobs been given away when you return
@@idrm1988 only way i would bother living in the US is if money was never an issue. However as a common worker iw ould never go there. What makes me laugh is americans dont want better healthcare becuase it will increase taxes and they laugh at europeans for high taxes becuase we use VAT. But a study showed if all taxes added up in america they are taxed more even without free healthcare. Just madness.
Quality of life is more important than seeing less of your family. That's what Zoom is for.
@@magnetiktrax such a stupid comment.
@@ashleygoggs5679 says who? I left my family in Africa and moved to Europe. I would not go back to a lower quality of life just to spend more time with them. You should try it.
I am 71 years old and have been retired for a few years. Most of my working life has been in Australia. I was always thankful for the benefits of working there......ie four weeks paid holiday per year with a 17.5% loading on my paid leave, ten days sick leave each year, bereavement leave, three months paid leave after ten years service. I have always believed that if you treat your employees well they will be a happier workforce
These basic rights take away the stress of financial ruin if we are ill or have a loved one pass away. I will never take them for granted.
I am not sure if it is a national UK thing but, where I worked, if you went on holiday and became sick the company put you on sick leave and you got your holiday leave reinstated. When my brother died I was told I could have 3 days bereavement leave, but as he lived three hundred miles away (a long way in the UK) they gave me a week.
Bereavement leave is not a right unless the individual is a dependent. Paid Bereavement Leave is not a right at all. Most employers give you the paid leave depending on the relationship and their own policies. They can make you work or use annual leave as it is usually on a case by case basis.. Similarly, it is up to the employer whether being sick on holiday can result in leave being reinstated and it is dependent on circumstances for most employers. For example, if you had a terrible sick record which is not down to a long term illness, it is possible your employer may not have reinstated your leave.
This type of reallocation of holiday to sick is usual here. It's a lot fairer to everyone.
I think something to consider in this is that UK wages are on average SIGNIFICANTLY lower than the US.
Like I am a therapist, I have 4 degrees and do a highly skilled very in-demand job, and I earn about 40k. If I was in the US, I would EASILY be earning at least double or likely triple that.
Now that's a bit of an extreme example, because with our public healthcare (NHS) most healthcare employees are experience an even bigger wage disparity to our American counterparts, but it will be true for almost any job that the UK equivalent is on a lower wage.
THAT SAID, I wouldn't trade out workers rights for triple my salary. A good work/life balance is worth FAR more than the extra pay. The US is honestly a third world country in it's rights for employees.
Spot on. What's the point of having all that extra money, when you don't have the time to truly enjoy it.
Yes I know an American who sacrificed a higher US salary to immigrate to New Zealand for a better work/life balance. She was shocked when her boss told her she must take a holiday immediately to use up her statutory holidays before the end of the year.
You'd likely find your rent/mortgage would be quite a bit higher in the US compared to the UK (excluding central London). You earn more there because you're expected to spend more... (said as a UK person who worked in the US a while back)
I'm British. Years ago I was working for an American company. I was called on my wedding day to see if I was available. When I explained I was getting married I was asked what time I finished
Afternoon guys and a Happy New year from a very cold n soggy UK
Employers in Germany also have a duty of care for their employees. That includes sending employees away from work to get medical care if they are obviously unhealthy. It obviously benefits the sick employee, but also their colleagues, because it lowers the risk of contagion.
A US colleague had some kit delivered to his home on a Sunday in a former job, a day early and it was raining so he lifted it into his garage and ripped his shoulder. The company he worked for refused to pay his max medical care because it was not a working day. When he joined us (a UK company) he was asking about PTO for going to the dentist. We said, just take a day off and go. But what about the time off from my holiday, we all looked at him and it took about 5 minutes before we realised what he was asking.
No just take the day off. Don't worry about it.
I'm just back from my Christmas holiday 20th dec to 6th Jan. I'm off to Bilbao in a couple of weeks for a long weekend and I'm in Italy on holiday in the first week in feb.
I won't take another holiday until the summer but I can take it off whenever I want.
Life is for living.
This is not just the UK who pays Sick Pay, it's Europe and pretty much the rest of the world, with the exception of USA!
If a parent or sibling dies, one gets 1 week paid leave, Grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews = 2 days paid leave.
I think when we work for a month, we automatically earn 1.50- 2 days holiday per month for each month we work, this does not include the 20 days paid Bank (Public) Holidays
Overtime = any hours after 39 hr week, the first 4 hours (after 39 hours) are paid at time and a half, everything after 4 hours are paid at double the hourly rate, working Sundays and Public Holidays = double time plus an extra days holiday.
By the way, Revolut is huge over here in Ireland and prob the rest of Europe, thought it was worldwide so surprised you never heard of it!
Thanks for the upload, cheers from Ireland
Yep, Every January my Boss emails me and asks for my holiday dates in order to book my holiday days off.
I have been so grateful for compassionate leave and sick leave following death of a loved one .. is vital ❤
I read an interesting quote a few weeks ago that really made me think - when you pass away, your family will grieve for months, but your employer will look for your replacement the next day. Prioritizing health and happiness over a career is so important.
You hit the nail on the head! I've had some great employers who made me feel like a valued member of staff.
When my wife was having a baby, they gave me a pay rise, what they called a nappy bonus, but was essentially meant to help her to not have to rush back to work!
And guess what happens?! I felt valued, I felt that they appreciated me and what I do for them and I happily gave that job my best effort. And everyone who worked there was treated that way, there was nobody who felt like they needed to work harder and longer because they were easily replaceable. They got a reputation for being a great employer and, consequently were able to attract the best employees.
It's not rocket surgery! Be excellent to each other!
"The land of the free!"
....
Where EVERYTHING will cost you!
yeh land of the free to treat people like slaves.
A basic realisation all US citizens need to have is that US culture depends on MONEY. The politics are controlled by MONEY. No politician is going to forfeit campaign donations from rich companies
It’s ok to pause and comment in reaction videos, after all, that’s what we’re watching for, not just to watch you watching.
In the US they live to work, in the UK we work to live. BTW, Revolut are a great card, don't use one for everyday use but I always use it when I go abroad on holiday.
When my granddaughter had a baby she got 52 weeks on full pay. She went back to work, part time, still on full pay for a further 3 months. So 15 months on full pay and her job was protected. Why do Americans think they are living the "American dream", when, in fact, it's a nightmare?
In the US, women can legally take up to 12 weeks as maternity leave. BUT all of it is completely unpaid, so people go back as soon as possible.
@@wessexdruid7598 It's a bit pointless though, when, whatever time they take off it isn't paid. I had a friend who lives in the US who was back to work when the baby was only 10 days old, that's ridiculous, but when you've got mortgage/rent and other things to pay she really had no choice.
Hi from Australia. My last job was in the disability sector, 4 weeks a year, 5 days family leave and every public holiday paid. I forgot 10 days paid sick leave and 3 days paid bereavement leave. Also, the company pays into my retirement fund, if you earn under a certain amount the government will match your voluntary payments into that fund. After we were in an accident, my bosses offered free counselling. I love Australia.
I've lived both in Australia and the UK. In Australia, it's even better than the UK when it comes to entitlements - there is Long Service Leave. If you have worked for the same company for 10 years, you are entitled to a paid THREE MONTHS off. That's after you have had 25 days paid holiday every year. Employers get really angry if you don't take your annual leave in Australia, too. Oh and then there's the public holidays - Australia loves a day off doing nothing, for so many reasons: King's birthday, Australia Day, Melbourne Cup Horse Race (only available in Victoria but the rest of the country has time off to watch the race, anyway), the list goes on. Love your videos guys! Loads of love from little old England.
Don't forget also, these UK rights are received by US corporations in UK, such as Macdonalds, Burgerking, Google, Amazon and so on. In US the workers for those same companies don't get those rights and benefits. I love your channel. You two are fantastic and wish you the very best for your RUclips adventure. 😊
To hear this its so glad to be a italian who lives in the netherlands for almost 15 years and not in the US. Almost everything i see from the US is not so good than europe. Even the eastern part of europe is doing better it looks like.
I really like Evan’s videos and this was a good one. As someone from the US who has lived in the UK for 30 years, can I just point something out. Yes, in the UK I have the NHS, the 6 weeks of paid holiday and sick leave etc., but I also make less money. In the US I would have made 3 times the amount I made in the UK, but for me the work/life balance made up for it.
I have Bloomberg on in the other room and they are proudly banging on, for the umpteenth time, about how productivity is better in the US than in Europe but they never explain why that is the case. We know why.
When my dad was dying I was given 2 weeks Special leave fully paid to care for him in his final days. This did not come off my annual leave entitlement and I still had time off to arrange and attend the funeral. This makes any employee so much more willing to work hard for such a caring company.
Governments and the employers don’t just give these rights, they are often fought for and won by unions, something which is getting rarer in the UK as the right wing press and political parties paint them as something evil - something that I understand is already the case in the USA.
Well said.
What's BONKERS about all of this for me is that all the evidence suggests that governments SAVE MONEY by giving people these rights.
For instance, in the UK I work in a part of the NHS that provides FREE therapy for MILD TO MODERATE mental health concerns. E.g. the type of Anxiety or Depression where you're gonna be ok, but you'd probably need to take some time out of work or not be super productive.
THE ENTIRE REASON that the government funds us to do that is because we were able to provide the research to show that paying me to keep the public HAPPY AND HEALTHY is cheaper than the government needing to pay for sick leave.
It is cheaper for the government, better for business, and just overall common sense (surely) to keep your population as happy and healthy as reasonably possible. And yet America doesn't do that, SOLELY because big businesses will pay them to keep people miserable, because that's cheaper for the business. Honestly, it's disgusting.
Actually Jess, most countries in Europe have similar worker’s rights. It’s a right, not a privilege as in America
Greetings from England.
My dad passed away in 2002 and I worked at Honda at that time, my 2 brothers also worked there and we all had time off for my dads passing, 2 weeks later we were asked to go into work to speak to our main manager for an update. He asked how we were etc etc. Told him we weren’t quite ready to return to work. He said take your time, no rush. There was no pressure to return. In the end we had a month off and didn’t lose any pay or holiday entitlement.
On a side note if you are going to off work sick and will be longer than 7 days then you self certify yourself for those first 7 days, after you have to get a doctors sick note to cover anything over the 7 days and the note costs nothing
For comparison, although I'm a born and bred Yorkshireman I now live and work in Australia. I get 28 days paid annual leave, there are 14 days of paid public holidays a year, 10 days of paid sick leave and I also get long service leave. That's when you have worked full time at the same place for 10 years you are given 13 weeks of paid leave (not all places do this) and another 1.3 weeks leave for every subsequent years. This means I have about 59 days a year of paid leave available to use, you guys have it very bad!
My dad was dying of cancer through out the summer of 2022. He lost his ability to walk, he would fall out of bed every night. My husband would go and pick him up off the floor day and night, he would leave work and go pick him up. When he eventually went into hospital my husband was by my side the whole time. My dad passed in September and my husband was home with me until after his funeral in November. We are in the UK.
This is an example why in the UK many of us we see the USA term the Land of the Free home of the brave as an oxymoron, we got these rights in the UK, buy unions fighting for them in the past
I've watched a few of this guys video's, he's a brit that grew up in the states, then came back to England where he was born. He done a great video with supermarket differences between the States and the UK ... Massive price difference! I lived in Canada myself for about 8 years so I also get where the Americans are coming from as well as the UK. Another video where you 2 have learnt something new about us in the UK. Good reaction guys, keep them coming.
As a Manager of people for years I would never let employees come to work sick as they spread diseases to other employees which caused more issues! Also if you care and respect your employees you get more out of them
I saw this vid before. For ages I wanted to find somone who would look at the differences between the us and uk, and I found Evan Edinger. Just the guy to point out such MASSIVE differences between us (Im a brit). You both have just grown my list of uk/us comparison channels, great veiwing :)
Sorry to keep jumping in, when I lost my Dad to cancer I was told to take as much paid time off as I needed, all my boss asked was I kept them in the loop.
How much time off did you take?
@Abcd-j9i 3 weeks in total. All fully paid.
Hello from a union rep in the UK. I’ve been in a meeting with a colleague today because her absence had been off 4 times in 26 weeks and a % of just under 5. The meeting was for management to find out what the issues have been if they can help in any way. My role covers health and safety too and I’m so glad I live in the UK. My company (a large supermarket chain) has a policy that means if a female is off with menopause related issues they cannot be penalised. Also everyone is paid the same hourly rate whether you are 16 or 82 which the union fought for,
America. Land of the free. Greatest country in the world. 😂😂😂😂
The USA is not run for the benefit of its population, but for the benefit of those people who own the big businesses. That's why it has the education system it does - to generate an unquestioning workforce who will always do more for less and act as consumers who always want the newest and biggest.
Very well put. You are spot on.
Im from the UK and I retired just over a year ago and prior to retirement I was sick for 8 months, I got full sick pay which was around £3400 every 4 weeks and when I left I even got paid the 25 days leave I didn't take due to sickness, just turned 60 and got great pension, happy days over here!!
Can you imagine how much productivity would improve in all facets of work, if all these aspects were put in place in the U.S. As for paid maternity leave. Well its almost like the countries that don't use the metric system. Also you pay next to nothing in most places to have a child unlike the exorbitant fees in the U.S.
I'm retired now, but my job in the UK gave me 30 days paid annual leave plus the 8 bank holidays, so in effect 38 days. My sick leave entitlement was 6 months on full pay then 6 months on half. In addition you were entitled to compassionate leave etc for things like bereavement and funerals. It was also mandatory to take at least two weeks holiday as one single time period of holiday annually.
5:15 thats common sense, why risk your entire work force getting ill when you can give one person a day off
If you drive a workforce into the ground, they’ll be ill for weeks; if you give them that day or two to recover, they’ll be better AND feel appreciated & want to work for you!
I'm in the uk and there's been more than one occasion my boss has actually came to me and told me to go home because I need to take my holidays before they refresh for the year. Last year he I dodged the whole Christmas mania season with my feet up at home with the fam gettin full pay for it 😎
One company i worked for would literally bring up in team meetings that many in the team hadnt fully booked their time off, and would remind us every time.
@ashleygoggs5679 I bet after that meeting there's a stampede to the office to get all the Fridays 😅
Evan became British Citizen or a Subject of the Crown in 2023! The UK welfare state began in 1908 with the Old Age Pensions Act, which provided small, tax-funded pensions for people over 70, reducing reliance on the harsh Poor Law system. However, the modern welfare state emerged after World War II, driven by the Beveridge Report and the Labour government’s reforms. Key milestones included the National Insurance Act 1946, offering sickness, unemployment, and retirement benefits, and the creation of the NHS in 1948, providing free healthcare for all.
USA: benefits
Everyone else: you mean rights.
I had a stroke about 10 years ago. A mild one, albeit, but nonethless a stroke, not a TIA. I was told by my work to take a month off and after that my return was phased - a couple of mornings a week, followed by a couple of days a week, 3 days a week and so on. I think my return to full work took about 3 months and I had all the physical and emotional support that I needed. Bloody glad I don't live and work in the US.
If you think UK got it good you should look at the Scandinavian countries
Almost every country in mainland Europe has better workers' rights than the UK. Both need to catch up majorly, but when you're used to nothing, the relatively little the UK has makes a world of difference
@@donnie1725 For sure I just have little knowledge on rights outside the Nordics as its where Im from
In the UK my Dad went into full cardiac arrest and I needed to give him CPR until the paramedics arrived. He survived but the shock of the situation rattled me, after informing my work of what happened (Dad works at the same place I do) they told me to come in when I feel like I'm up too it. After a month, fully paid, I went back to work and it was a smooth transition.
You should have got Bernie Sanders, then things might have started to finally to change to put people first!
Brits were fighting for workers rights at least as far back as The Peasants' Revolt in 1381. They didn't come easily.
A couple of years ago, my partner had to go into hospital for an op to remove a tumour from her brain.
I had booked some holidays for this period in advance, but my partner ended up being in hospital five and a half weeks, which was much longer than the holiday time I had booked.
As my yearly allowance of sick leave is six weeks fully paid before I drop onto statutory sick pay, and I hadn't yet used any sick leave that year, my employer actually allowed me to take the extra weeks off that my partner was in hospital as fully paid sick time so I could be at home focusing on things at home and I could visit my partner twice a day in hospital.
I'm happy for Jess and really hope you guys and your kids will be better for this choice. Love the channel. Both of you are smart, humble and relatable.
Remember, America is the "Greatest Country in the World."
it will be again when trump leads again
lmao